Helpful Tips – Soil for a Miniature Garden

When setting up a large-scale fairy garden, there are many details to consider. Which miniature plants will you choose? What fairy garden accessories will be included? Will there be a theme? Whether your miniature garden extends across your yard or occupies a humble corner, you always want to be sure that the most basic elements are in place before adding fairy garden accessories and decorative touches. When it comes to miniature gardening, you cannot get more basic than beginning with soil. It supports your fairy garden plants, serves as a base for your miniature houses, and is, quite literally, the foundation of a successful fairy garden. So, are you ready to dig in a project?

Getting Started with SoilMiniature gardens come in a variety of sizes and shapes. If you are growing a fairy garden in a container, you will want to use high-quality potting soil. Choose a potting soil based on the recommendations for specific plants you intend to use in your fairy garden. An organic black gold potting soil plus fertilizer is recommended for container fairy gardens. A cactus, which prefers dry roots, will want a different kind of soil than other flowers and miniature plants. Let your plants’ needs to be the guide.

If you are growing a large-scale outdoor miniature garden, you will use garden soil. The plants you choose for an outdoor garden will likely be slow-growing, dwarf, or miniature plants. They will appreciate your existing topsoil mixed with organic compost. Your outdoor soil may be loamy, or it may be a sandy or clay variety, depending on the location of your miniature garden. Be sure to choose miniature plants that are suitable for your particular growing zone and the amount of available sun.

Fertilizer and Mulch

Throughout the year, you may want to add fertilizer, mulch, and other substances to your miniature garden. These amendments ensure that your plants bloom at their most significant, brightest, and healthiest levels. Organic mulches help smother weeds, and a favorite is fairy mulch, which is small-scale to fit in miniature gardens. Sawdust, fir bark, ground bark, and shredded tree leaves are additional options for organic mulch. Inorganic mulches include landscape fabric covered with pea gravel, gravel, and river rock. These hardscapes help to block weeds, but they will not decompose nor add nutrients to the soil like organic mulch.

When it comes to miniature garden maintenance, it may be helpful to get on a schedule. Ours looks like this:

• In the springtime, just after the ground thaws, add fertilizer of your choice to trees, shrubs, and perennial beds. Some plants, such as rose bushes and azaleas, may need fertilizers that are formulated for their particular plant type. Avoid fertilizing on the spring days that are dry and hot. Wait for mild temperatures. Apply bone meal to blooming plants, bulbs, fruit trees, shrubs, and ornamentals in your fairy garden.
• Throughout the summer, you can mulch plants to help control weeds in the fairy garden and keep the soil temperature moderated. We recommend high-quality hardwood mulches spread in a 2-3-inch later. Of course, in the summertime, you can expect to weed! Pull weeds before they flower or seed in your miniature garden.
• Autumn is another chance to apply bone meal to blooming plants. Check the status of your mulch in your miniature garden and add more if needed. Then, after the first hard frost, apply fertilizer to trees, shrubs, and perennial beds. If any of the plants in your outdoor miniature garden are houseplants, you will want to bring them indoors during the winter months. Do not worry—you can move them back outside to your fairy garden when the weather warms up again in the springtime!

There you have it, the "dirt" on the soil in the miniature garden. With the right soil mixture, mulch, fertilizer, and regular care, your fairy garden is sure to flourish.