that. _Sedum multiceps_, little Joshua tree, has a picturesque
tree-like character. Use a suitable soil mixture completely covered
with a layer of desert sand, or very fine gravel. Build a dune perhaps.
Or make an oasis with a few palms around a pool--an irregularly
shaped pool like one might see in a mirage. How about a few strands
of grass--maybe not quite in tune with the setting but it might be
considered as bamboo. A little faking is permissible.
_Rock Garden_
This usually calls for building up a rocky slope supported by hardware
cloth in the rear and lined with moss to keep the soil from falling
through. Follow good rock-gardening rules--rocks of the same kind but
of varying shapes, with their layers, or strata, running horizontal. At
the base of the slope you might contrive a small pool overflowing into
a plastic-limed stream. Make a rustic gate and bridges with evergreen
twigs wired and glued together.
_Woodland Garden_
Naturalistic arrangements of woodsy plants, rocks, moss, fallen logs.
Seedling evergreens are fine. Artificial props are out.
_Meadow Garden_
A gate might open through a split-rail fence to a winding, foot-trodden
path through a field of waving grass and flowers. At the back leafy
trees line the edge of the imagined cow pasture.
PLANTING AND CARE
Most containers for dish gardens and model landscapes are watertight.
That is wonderful for any furniture on which they might be placed,
but not so good for the plants. There is that eternal danger
of overwatering. Roots rot when they stand in mud or water. In
tight-bottomed containers it is wise to start with a thick drainage
layer--pieces of broken flower pots, pebbles, brick, coarse sand, or
even small pieces of charcoal. That gives the excess water a place to
go. Cover this bottom layer with burlap or moss to keep the soil from
sifting down.
The soil mixture should be suitable for the type of plant which is
going to live in it--acid or alkaline, sandy or humus-rich--and should
be moist--not muddy--at planting time. One at a time take your plants
from their individual pots, set them in place, and make the soil firm
enough to support them. Add dangling-edgers and ground cover last. Mist
the finished garden with a fine spray of water, thus washing off any
dirt and refreshing the foliage. Set the garden in a shaded, protected
spot until the plants have recovered from transplanting shock.
Watering these gardens can be tricky. The soil may feel dry on the
surface and yet be boggy underneath. Find a small bare spot where you
can insert the handle of a spoon or a fork. Dig down to the bottom to
make sure that water is really needed. And water with the greatest
of care--enough to moisten the soil, but not enough to leave water
standing in the bottom. No puddles, please.
Now supposing your hand has slipped--the hand holding the
watering-pot--and you have overdone it. If the planting will allow,
put the container on its side for a half-hour or so. But, please be
careful--actually, I shudder to give you this piece of advice. I’m
afraid you might find your creation out of its container and a muddy
mess in the kitchen sink. All right, here is something else you can do;
dig a hole in a bare spot--a small hole the size of a pencil and in the
deepest part of your garden. Suck up the extra moisture with a pipette
until the hole is dry. What, no pipette in your garden kit, then try a
medicine dropper. No medicine dropper either--try a soda straw, but you
had better be nimble or you will get a taste of dish garden. They don’t
taste as good as they look.
If your garden is only a temporary decoration, you have given it your
all and that is all the care it needs. But I feel you are going to
love it so much you’ll want to keep it growing as long as possible.
That changes the rules considerably. Place it, not on the coffee table,
but in a window where it will get the light and sun the plants need,
and where the temperature and humidity are to their liking. (Specific
recommendations and plant preferences will be given in Chapters 6 and
16.) Hardy outdoor plants should be kept as cool as possible. You might
set them in a cool room, or on an unheated porch, at night and bring
them in only for the day. Fertilizing is usually not necessary, except
when roots are severely crowded or you are trying to force a plant to
bloom.
Keep the garden immaculately clean and neat. Remove faded flowers and
tired leaves. Trim those plants that have a tendency to grow too large
or straggly. It might be smart to remove any that refuse to stay within
proper size. Train your climbers and creepers as you want them to grow.
Keep your pools filled with clean fresh water. Mist foliage daily to
keep it fresh and dust-free.
The dish gardens and model landscapes you plant this way are easy to
care for, but those ones from a florist may present some problems. Now
let’s be fair to florists--their gardens and landscapes are turned
out on a commercial basis in order that they may make money. (Outside
of a few fancy floral outfits, none of them gets rich, particularly
when one considers the long hard hours they spend on the job.) In the
interest of economy they often combine plants of complete cultural
incompatibility--dry-growing succulents with moisture-loving aroids;
African violets that need sun for flowering with ferns that scorch
in it. Too often these dish gardens are crammed with too many plants
for the amount of soil; and the roots have been bruised and broken
in handling. The florist knows that two-thirds of the customers
who buy his product are going to abuse it anyhow. So he takes a
“what-the-dickens” attitude. Make it pretty for the moment, for
tomorrow it is going to die anyhow. One more word in praise of my many
florist friends--just let the man with the green paper, the ribbons,
and the carnations sense that you love plants, understand them, and
care for them, and he will go to bat for you. He will help you in
every possible way. I’ve never known it to fail. Actually, they are a
soft-hearted profession.
All right, so you have a typical florist-shop dish garden. Uncle
Charlie bought it for you as an anniversary present because it looked
cute in the shop window, and he couldn’t think of anything else. For
all he knows that green stuff is spinach. As soon as Uncle Charlie has
gone home, start remodeling the garden. Check over the plants and
remove any that don’t agree with the majority of the other plants on
light, moisture, and soil consistency. Pot up the good ones that you
want to keep and thin out the others. Remember, those plants are going
to do a lot of growing and must not be crowded. Use your ingenuity and
common sense. Dig in the soil with that silver-spoon handle and see how
much moisture is needed. Set the garden where light and humidity are
right for the plants. You will have made yourself a new garden. Care
for it as though it were your original creation. And when your next
anniversary comes around, and Uncle Charlie comes around with another
present--most likely a Chinese silent-butler--he will look at the dish
garden and praise you for having a green thumb.
(_In the plant list in Chapter 6 you will find plants that are
suitable for decorative containers, dish gardens, and model landscapes.
In Chapter 16, which is devoted to miniature annuals, you will find
additional possibilities._)
_CHAPTER 4_
MINIATURE GARDENS
IN GLASS
From a terraced garden in a huge brandy snifter, or perhaps in a fish
bowl, to a single orchid under an upturned tumbler, there are many
kinds of glassed-in gardens to be planted and enjoyed--terrariums
if you like. This includes the old-fashioned partridgeberry bowl,
bottle gardens, and today’s version of the classic Wardian case. In
any glass container a terrarium is literally a miniature greenhouse
in which the temperature and humidity can be controlled. Dish gardens
and model landscapes can be a great pleasure, so these terrariums add
the additional joy of permanence and variety. Most plantings will live
and thrive for twice or thrice as long, and you can grow many delicate
plants that wouldn’t last a day in the dry, drafty air outside.
TERRARIUMS
Most terrariums are small-scale replicas of woodland scenes with native
plants, pools, streams, and rocky cliffs. These are charming and
refreshing; and if there is good light, small outdoor plants will live
through the winter into spring. But there are other possibilities--tiny
tropical plants that love steamy warmth; miniature begonias,
aroids, and marantas that are compatible under glass--in fact, that
compatibility includes two-inch orchids and other dazzling epiphytes
that need extra protection and humidity indoors.
Depending on your plants, your container, and your whims or desires, a
terrarium can be a Lilliputian reproduction of a landscape, an artistic
composition, or perhaps merely a single perfect plant enhanced by a
crystal setting. Since proportions and sizes are more strictly limited
as compared with gardens which are minus glass walls, the selection of
your container should come first.
CONTAINERS
Ready-made, practical, and not undecorative are the fish bowls and
tanks of all sizes. The flat-sided and octagonal bowls are inexpensive,
though not always of good glass. Very large, round bowls and brandy
snifters of all sizes are slightly more costly, but of much better
quality. Rectangular fish tanks are in good proportion for miniature
landscapes, easy to plant, and roomy.
Or perhaps you have an heirloom bell jar; a glass candy dish or bowl;
an apothecary jar; a bottle laid on its side (rather tedious to plant.
You have to reach through the neck of the bottle with long tweezers and
iced-tea spoons, but a good job is very rewarding). You can still buy
the traditional round, pear-shaped, and “Ming urn” covered jars for
partridgeberries. If your container has no glass cover, cut one from
window glass. Buff down the sharp edges. Terrarium glass is best clear,
not tinted.
[Illustration: Inexpensive fish bowls planted with ferns and
other miniatures]
In the do-it-yourself department you can make bell jars out of cider
jugs with the burning-string procedure. Soak a piece of string with
lighter fluid or gasoline, wrap it around the jug where you want it
cut, light the string, and when the flames are gone, dunk the jug in
cold water. The first few attempts may not work--I had three tries
before I got a nice clean break. But for fifteen cents’ worth of cider
jugs I got a nice container. If the edges come out rough and jagged,
buff them with an emery cloth or a file. But, please be careful, don’t
get splinters of glass in your fingers.
For a miniature-garden-minded child, simply build up a container with
window glass and a flat or box. Cut the sides and ends to match the
dimensions of the flat or box; then bind the corners with adhesive
or masking tape. Fold tape around the top edge and the cover. That
will prevent cut fingers. We made one for our children. Just to add
interest, we included a turtle and a salamander. They liked their new
home so well they dug into the moist soil and hibernated all winter.
These tailor-made terrariums can be constructed to fit whatever space
is available--long and narrow for a window sill, short and squat for a
table top.
History’s largest and most elaborate terrarium probably was the Wardian
case, invented (or discovered) over a hundred years ago. It is, of
course, too monstrous for today’s interior décor. But the principle can
be applied in designing an indoor greenhouse that is decorative and in
good taste--something to fit near a bright window, or to be fitted with
fluorescent light if it is to be in a dark corner. It is surprising how
a little extra light will often make a deeply shaded spot habitable for
plants. In these cases, of course, the plants usually remain in their
individual pots. A tray with water and pebbles, or sand, humidifies the
air.
Today’s adaptation of the Wardian case can be of almost any size
or shape. One company manufactures a glass-enclosed box about two
feet wide, four feet long, and three feet deep, with detachable
furniture legs. I have seen a large coffee table, designed to sit
before a picture window no doubt, fitted with plate-glass sides and
accommodating a dozen or so medium-sized plants. I’ve seen several
homemade cases as decorative as culturally practical, and sadly I must
admit, I have seen some that were neither. I seem to have said before,
in plantings of this sort let your plants be the stars.
[Illustration: Converting a cider jug into a terrarium: a. Tie
string at desired level and soak with lighter fluid b. Light
string and immerse jar in cold water when extinguished]
[Illustration: c. Lift off top of jug]
[Illustration: d. Terrariums in use]
AQUATIC GARDENS
Any watertight, glass-sided container can also be used for a
fascinating water garden with fish and plants and many types of
colorful decorations. To me, the most pleasing are those re-creations
of natural underwater scenes with coral reefs, rocks, and the fantastic
aquatic plants sold at aquarium supply stores. Quite honestly I’m
bothered by the suited underwater diver who brandishes a spear and
spouts bubbles at intervals. I’m bothered by the obviously artificial
remnants of a wrecked ship, or the opened treasure chest spilling out
coins and jewels. It is artificial to the point of being phony.
The planting and care of these underwater gardens has become an
intricate science and art and requires knowledge of the delicate
balance of plant and animal life, the proper supply of oxygen, and
other technical matters beyond my ken. About all I know is, I love a
beautifully executed aquatic garden. If you have a yen for one of these
gardens, find an expert who knows his subject and ask his advice. If
you can’t find an expert, there are many excellent books on the subject.
PLANTS AND ACCESSORIES
Rocks, twigs, bits of decaying wood, and other naturally indigenous
materials are suitable for gardens in glass. Tufa rock is always good,
whether the plants sink their roots into it or not. If you happen to
live near an old ironworks, you’ll find fascinating pieces of slag in
many sizes and colors.
But many of the figurines offered for sale in stores--bridges, benches,
and the like--are questionable, even doubtful, in a setting with native
plants. If they are to fit at all, they must be artistic, believable,
and in exquisite harmony with everything else in the woodland scene. If
you want to try it, set them in place, look at them from all angles,
and think it over carefully. Decide whether they “belong” or are
merely cute. Cuteness is something that lasts for a moment--beauty is
something that is forever.
Just as with dish gardens, model landscapes, and other gardens where
plants live and grow together, terrarium plants should be chosen first
for their cultural compatibility. In fact, the principle is even more
vital here because terrarium gardens are usually meant to be lasting.
Think for a moment--you wouldn’t tuck a dry-growing peperomia in the
soil beside a moisture-loving fern, or a cool-growing wild flower
beside a tropical selaginella. They just aren’t meant to live with each
other.
Next, size up your plants as to height--larger and bolder plants for
the background or for accent, creepers for blending. In between should
come the many flowering and foliage plants that make your garden a
thing of beauty.
Many of these plants can be bought at florists’ shops or variety
stores. Others are available by mail, including the wildlings. The
woods are always a source, but conservationists urge all of us not to
destroy plants carelessly or move them out of their native haunts to
unfavorable locations.
I find that the plants available from mail-order specialists are
reasonably priced and are always good sturdy stock. More on this in
Chapter 13.
PLANTING AND CARE
Whether your glassed-in garden is an artistic arrangement of plants or
an actual garden, give your design a tryout by placing the plants on a
temporary basis. Put them in place and appraise the arrangement. Don’t
rush. You’ll save time by not having to do it over later.
In the case of containers rounded on the bottom, line them with thin
sheets of moss. Turn the green side out. Next add an adequate layer
of pebbles or sand, for drainage. A sprinkling of broken charcoal is
particularly desirable. The close humid air may cause soil to grow
“sour” without it.
Soil may be acid or not, heavy or light, sandy or humus-rich. It all
depends on the type of plant to grow in it, and it will be moist when
you use it. Please, make the soil deep enough to give the plants
root-room. If you want to make it interesting, build it up gently into
slopes or natural mounds. Flat land is dull, not nearly so interesting.
As you put in the plants, add the stones, pebbles, paths, or
pools--whatever you have in your design. May I warn you--don’t dirty
the inside of the glass. Once dirty, it is almost impossible to clean
up later. Plant sparsely. Remember, your plants are going to grow.
The finishing touch will be the addition of “sod” or moss on the bare
areas. Most of the suggestions for dish gardens and model landscapes in
earlier chapters apply here. Finally, polish the glass and spray the
plants with a fine mist to clean off any soil that may be on leaves and
stems. Water very gently.
According to tradition, partridgeberry bowls are arranged differently.
The base of the bowl is lined with moss, and covered with drainage
layers, charcoal, and then soil. Then the berried plants and any others
to be combined with them are placed, one layer at a time, with their
faces against the glass. Their roots are toward the center and covered
with soil. Finish the top layer facing up; sprinkle any loose berries
on top; mist the foliage gently; cover with glass, and deck out with a
big bow of Christmas ribbon.
For a few days after planting, set a terrarium where the light is
not bright. After that, it needs light or sunlight according to the
requirements of the plants. If they grow lank, limp, and leggy, they
are usually stretching out for more light. Window-sill plants may
lean toward the window--remedy: simply turn the terrarium around, and
alternate it every few days so that both sides get an equal share of
light.
Temperature also depends on the plants. Hardy outdoor natives are best
at 60 degrees or less, even if they are moved to a cool spot at night.
Tropical plants, and many others, are happy at the usual living-room
temperatures.
Watering can be tricky, but not if you are careful and rational.
Obviously, if the top of your container is covered tightly, not much
moisture can escape. It will condense inside the glass and drop back
into the garden. Water will be needed less frequently. But don’t be too
happy about this. If there is excess moisture, if too much collects on
the glass, if the soil is always soggy, mildew and root-rot may result.
Lift off the top for a while and let the inside dry out a little. Keep
the soil on the dry side if the cover fits too tightly.
Here is another warning--soil should never become completely dry. (I
am afraid I have you walking on a tightrope.) Again, take that handle
of a spoon or fork and dig down through a bare spot so you can see how
wet the soil is at the bottom. If water is needed, add it very gently.
Remember, the small plants must not be deluged and dislodged; use
just enough water to moisten the soil, not soak it. Sorry, but it is
impossible to write down any definite schedule for watering. Frequency
and quantity depend on the size of the terrarium and the size of the
plants, on the outside temperature, and on other environmental factors.
Even the weather and the season of the year are important. But, I’ll
bet you need watering much less frequently than you think. You may feel
you should fertilize the plants so they will grow more vigorously. Here
is a word of warning on that score--few woodland plants appreciate
chemical fertilizers (the powders you buy at the hardware store or
in the horticultural supply shops). If you want to feed your plants,
the best thing to use is a weak solution of manure water. I am always
bundling up manure in gunny sacks, soaking it in a watering pot, and
then using the water on my plants.
Glass-covered terrariums usually keep themselves clean inside,
because dust just can’t get into them. You may need to remove fading
flowers and leaves. If you have any plants, particularly creepers,
that threaten to take over and smother the others, get a sharp pair
of embroidery or manicure scissors and begin pruning. Aliens such as
earthworms and slugs are out. Put on your sharpest-pointed heels and
step on them.
_CHAPTER 5_
MINIATURE
GREENHOUSE GARDENS
As far as I am concerned, the first part of this chapter is a dream.
It is such a precious dream I shouldn’t even publish it until it comes
true. I am afraid I must confess that parts of it have already been
published in _Flower and Garden_. I was so carried away with the
idea I rushed it into print, just so I could tell the world about a
dream. It is a dream I hope you will dream with me. The magazine has
given me permission to repeat the article I wrote for them.
The whole thing started when I began to get bored with prissy rows
of pots in my own greenhouse. It is a forty-by-twenty-foot house and
really isn’t ours. (It belongs to a neighbor who used to use it for the
chickens. The chickens didn’t like being dispossessed, but they adapted
themselves to the horse barn, where they are much happier.) My dream
picked up emphasis when I tried a few “potless gardens” with plant
roots unconfined and running freely in the soil. I immediately saw how
much happier the plants were and how much more naturally they throve. I
am a working girl. I have but a few years to go on my retirement plan,
and then I can retire. Hence, I dream about my own personal greenhouse.
My dream greenhouse.
I picture it as an extension of our recreation room so I can look out
through the large window to the glassed-in garden a dozen times a day,
every day of the year. There will be a convenient door for the many
times I’ll be lured away from my typewriter. Any moment I wish, I can
step into my garden to watch a bud unfold, tuck a wandering tendril
back around a support, breathe in the fresh, moist fragrance only a
greenhouse has.
My garden will be tropical. I love it that way. You, my reader, may
wish a desert planted with fabulous cacti, or perhaps a cooler garden
for alpine and hardier plants. But I love the exotics; and I will plant
each one where it will grow according to its natural whims. Please,
no more neat rows of pots on benches. My creepers will be planted
where they can clamber over the soil and an occasional rock or rotted
log. Climbers will have some picturesque support on which to climb.
Epiphytes will have trees to perch on; and the danglers, baskets to
hang from.
There will be variations of light, from full sun to patches of dappled
or deep shade. If I can manage it, somehow I’d like to have variations
in temperature in the different parts of my dream greenhouse. Some
plants like the vigor of a cool corner; others revel in tropical
warmth. Then there is the matter of moisture. For dry-growing plants
there would be rock gardens and raised beds; for moisture-lovers there
would be sunken, humus-rich bogs.
But you can’t have a greenhouse, dream or otherwise, without having
utilities, heating plant, water pipes, and potting places. Those I
would conceal under the shade of flowering vines. I think I should
allow myself the luxury of a stool--perhaps even a rocking chair--where
I can sit down to pot or propagate my plants.
Of course, there would be a pool in my greenhouse garden, with a water
lily to flower in it. Around the edge would be arranged rocks to make
a home for friendly frogs, salamanders, and turtles. I would teach
them to be so friendly I could take them to safe quarters when I had
to spray or fumigate. Restful ferns would frame that pool. A fountain
would make the musical sound of splashing water. Perhaps the overflow
would run into a tiny, winding stream. I’ll have to ask Fred, our
plumber, about that.