Growing a tabletop garden is a great way to get children interested in gardening, says gardening expert Pat Welsch. Materials:
Flat plastic saucer
Drill and drill bit
Pottery shards or scrap window screen
Saw
Juniper in 1-gallon pot
Potting soil
Small potted plants
Miniature sculptures or buildings
Blue aquarium gravel
Sheet moss, sphagnum moss or groundcover with small leaves
- Use a large plastic plant saucer as a container for your tabletop garden. Drill drainage holes, then cover them with pottery shards or plastic window screen to prevent the soil from washing out.
- Junipers in 1-gallon containers may be used to create miniature bonsai. Usually grown outdoors, these hardy plants will survive indoors for a few weeks. Use a saw to remove the bottom half of the roots from the juniper. Fan out the remaining root ball, and remove most of the soil. Pat recommends taking one root and wrapping it around the trunk of the plant. The root will "strangle" the plant as it grows, keeping the juniper small.
- Place the prepared juniper in the saucer, and anchor it with a small amount of soil. Use several plants if you'd like to create a miniature forest. Cover roots with fresh potting soil.
- Cover the surface of the soil with sheet moss or sphagnum to act as a mulch. Or plant a groundcover with small leaves such as thyme or baby's tears (Soleirolia soleirolii). The groundcover gives your tabletop garden the illusion of the forest floor or a grassy covering.
- Create the finishing touches by adding a "stream" of blue aquarium gravel. Small sculptures or miniature buildings complete the garden setting.
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