Archive for The Gathering Place "The Gathering Place" is a web community where people can gather and make new friends, share ideas, enjoy a few laughs and learn about many interesting things together. It is a safe place where friends can correspond with each other about what they love.
Tiptoe through a garden of tiny plants galore,
Large enough to be beloved by all,
Small enough to be outside a fairies door.
There are various mini plants that get lost in the crowd, when planted among the over boisterous blooms, that we all seem to love. Among many, these tiny plants are unnoticed and often not appreciated for their own unique characteristics.
If you have heard about miniature gardens you might assume they are kept under glass and enjoyed indoors. As fascinating as that might be, the miniature gardens we have taken a fancy for, are outdoors in our own gardens, grown on terraced soil, in creative containers or given a plot of land for the sole purpose of being a miniature garden. All the elements are familiar - trees, shrubs, plants and even décor, but the scale may be dropped down to a child's size garden or even something that you might expect the occupants of a dollhouse would use. There is something very enchanting about these tiny gardens, which many delightfully refer to as fairy gardens.
Because of the petite & magical nature of these gardens, it's very obvious that fairies would call these gardens, home. Gardeners who have created fairy gardens often include everything from miniature houses to small-scale arbors, pots, swings and working fountains.
God's Warrior
Miniature Plants for Miniature Gardens
This list of plants, ideal for miniature gardens, is not by any means complete. As we develop our own small scale gardens, we hope to add additional plants and pictures. Although some of these "miniature" plants may not be considered true miniature or dwarf, they are tiny growers and great additions to small gardens.
List of Miniature Plants....
Ajuga - Chocolate Chip
Ajuga x 'Chocolate Chip'
Tiny rosettes of glossy, green foliage. New leaves emerge milk-chocolate, tinged plum-purple. Spikes of blue, purple or white blooms.
Height - 4 inches
Light - Part Shade - Shade
Zone - 3-9
Astilbe, Dwarf
Astilbe chinensis var pumila
Astilbe are clump-forming perennials which have graceful, fern-like leaves and tiny flowers densely packed into erect plume-like flower panicles rising above the foliage.
Height - 12 -18 inches
Light - Part Shade - Shade
Zone - 5-9
Balloon Flower, Dwarf
Platycodon grandiflorum 'Apoyama Misato Purple'
Balloon Flower gets its name from the balloon-like flower
buds that puff up before opening in mid- to late summer.
Height - 8 inches
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Blue Globe Daisy, Mini Blue
Globularia cordifolia
Ground hugging alpine with evergreen foliage. In early summer it is set with puffs of round, blue flowers.
Height - 2 inches
Light - Full Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Campanula, Mini Blue Bells
Campanula alpina
A miniature campanula with lavender/blue bells.
Height - 2 inches
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Zone - 4-8
Conifers, Miniature & Dwarf
Miniature conifers grow less than 1 inch per year to a total height of 1 foot or less in 10 to 15 years.
Dwarf conifers grow from 1 to 6 inches annually and range from 1 to 6 feet in 10 to 15 years.
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Cotoneaster, Tom Thumb
Cotoneaster Apiculata "Tom Thumb"
A true dwarf ground-hugging shrub with rounded, shiny leaves.
Height - 3 inches
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Daisy, Miniature
Bellium minuta
Green foliage grows flat to the ground and looks attractive in nearly every season. (1/2") Daisy blossoms appear in spring and continue blooming almost all summer.
Height - 2 inches
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Dianthus, Tiny Rubies
Dianthus gratianopolitanus 'Tiny Rubies'
Forms nice neat mounds that flower from spring into summer.
Height - 2 inches
Light - Full Sun
Zone - 4-9
Geranium, Ballerina
Geranium Cinereum 'Ballerina'
Has small round leaves and single lavender-pink flowers.
Height - 8 inches
Light - Full Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 3-8
Goatsbeard, Miniature
Aruncus aethusifolius
Foliage is fern-like with plumy white flowers that occur in
late spring.
Height - 8 - 12 inches
Light - Part Shade - Shade
Zone - -8
Heuchera, Mini Chiquita
Heuchera X ‘Chiquita’
Height - 2 inches
Light - Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Hosta venusta
Very small clumping hosta of light green leaves.
Height - 4 - 6 inches
Light - Shade
Zone - 4-9
Ice Plant, Hardy Yellow African
Delosperma nubigenum 'Basutoland'
come
Height - 1 inch
Light - Full Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Knawel Cushion
Scleranthus uniflorus
Moss like plant forming a cushion type mat of very tight foliage.
Height - 1 inch
Light - Full Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 5-10
Lady's Mantle
Alchemilla faeroensis 'Pumila'
Tight compact foliage with greenish yellow blooms early in the season.
Height - 4-6 inches
Light - Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 3-7
Moneywort, Miniature
Lysimachia japonica minutissima
Slow-spreader has tiny yellow flowers and equally tiny green leaves.
Height - 1 inches
Light - Full Sun - Part Shade
Zone - 5-9
Pussytoes
Antennaria dioica
Forms dense mats that hug the ground with clusters of fuzzy white to pink flowers on 6 to 12 inch stems.
Height - 2 inches
Light - Full Sun
Zone - 5-9
Rockcress
Arabis sturii
come
Height - 4 - 6 inches
Light - Full Sun
Zone - 4-9
Sea Thrift
Armeria maritima 'Rubrifolia'
Compact clump-forming plant with small pink globular cluster flowers.
Height - 4 inches
Light - Full Sun
Zone - 5-9
Sedums & Sempervivums
Sedum a very large group of hardy and tender succulents that make excellent groundcovers or specimen plants. All sizes, shapes & colors.
Sempervivum (hens & chicks, houseleeks) These low growing succulents are drought tolerant and come in a rainbow of colors.
Light - Sun to Part Shade
Sweet Flag
Acorus gramineus 'Ogon'
Mounded, non-invasive rhizome grass with golden yellow foliage.
Height - 12 inches
Light - Part Shade - Shade
Zone - depending who you ask 7-10 or 5-11
Veronica, Blue Carpet
Veronica spicata nana 'Blauteppich'
Groundcover or garden plant with bright blue spires in late spring.
Height - 3 inches
Light - Full Sun
Zone - 5-8
Wall-rue
Asplenium ruta-muraria
Little fern with very distinct features.
Height - 3 - 8 inches
Light - Shade
Zone - 5-8?
Yarrow, Mini Buttons
Achillea ageratifolia
Low-growing, mat-forming plant which features small, flattish, white flower clusters.
Height - 1 inches
Light - Part Shade
Zone - 5-8
God's Warrior
Mary
I have an Equilegia cameo that would fit this list just perfectly. It is a 4 inch high perennial.
Elena
Thanks Mary. I will add that to my personal list that I keep in a notebook for reference when I am away from the computer. I am sure that others can do that also. I put all the info. that I will ever want to know when shopping or otherwise into Word documents. I then copy that list or info. and keep in a handy notebook for my use both at home or away from home. I am a list kind of person so that wouldn't work for everyone.
