Miniature Garden Treasures
While on a trip this past week to Des Moines to visit P.E.O. headquarters (P.E.O. is a philanthropic educational organization), I had some free time to visit the lovely East Village shopping areas in the downtown district. Entering a little store called Seed, to my great delight, in and amongst the store’s many treasures, I was surprised to find they had three large cabinets filled with items for miniature garden enthusiasts, along with various items elsewhere in the store.
In the photo, you will see my first purchases in the miniature category: trellis, park bench, plant stand, a raised disk on which to mount an item of interest, a little bridge, a set of pails, a blue plant pot and a white metal garden tub. On returning home, I could see the work ahead of me in deadheading the spent roses and cleaning up the potted plants that mysteriously suffered during my absence of five days. Getting my miniature garden started will be a welcome diversion from maintenance tasks that are needed to prepare the garden for its glorious show in August, when the coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, Joe Pye Weed, and other much-anticipated growth comes into its own.
Stopping at a restaurant in the Minneapolis airport for a meal between flights, I excitedly pulled out my mini treasures and was showing them to my travelling companions. Our waiter, a man in his late twenties, arrived at our table to see if we were needing anything further, and he commented, “Oh! You are building a fairy garden. My girlfriend has a fairy garden.” (Note to those who would care about these sorts of things: In Canada, we use a double-l where our American friends would use a single l. Fairy is also often shown in its alternate spelling, as faerie.)
So there you have it. Miniature gardens have been around for a long time, and I am just discovering this wonderful new hobby. Perhaps you, too, will take a shine to growing or constructing a little world to brighten days when working in the big garden is not going to happen, for one reason or another. Spare time gardeners don’t need to justify and state their reasons. We are free to indulge in whimsy. No one is coming to inspect my yard. I can let the weeds grow for a few more days.
The photo, below, is an image of one of the miniature garden item displays in East Village Seed in Des Moines, Iowa (taken with permission from the staff member)…
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Photos and Text: NK
Photo ID: 1307_27 & 1307_28
Copyright: www.cookiebuxton.com
