How to Create a Micro Miniature Garden

If you are a lover of miniature gardens and fairy gardens, you probably appreciate the little things in life. From garden fairies and fairy houses to tiny furniture and other small objects, fairy gardens are small spaces filled with outsized beauty and personality. What you might not realize is that a whole world of size and scale exists under the “miniature” umbrella. This Minikin Scale Guide can help give you a better idea of different fairy and accessory sizes available to gardeners. Below is the Micro scale. Note, Mini-size accessories use a 1:12 scale, where every inch in size equals one foot in “real-life.” Micro accessories and fairies are much, much smaller than Minis.

Most gardeners start out with fairy gardens built to the Mini or Tiny scale. But one of my favorite sizes to work with is Micro! Think about the size of a penny. That is about the size of a “Micro” piece of furniture! These pieces are super-small, delicate, and extremely cute. They are also the perfect size for apartment gardens, gift gardens, and other conveniently-sized gardens.

If you have never worked with Micro-sized products before, I would suggest you start with a Teacup garden. With just an old favorite teacup (or surplus coffee mug), a cup’s worth of soil, some pebbles, and a few Micro miniatures, you can create an adorable, portable garden that makes an elegant addition to one’s nightstand, desk, dining table, or bookshelf. Teacup gardens can also be a great place to try out propagated plants, extra-small miniature plants, and colorful succulents.

Micro miniature accessories can fit into a Mini-sized garden too, with just a little bit of careful planning. For example, you could plant a miniature tree and a few Micro accessories in a small terra-cotta pot. Then bury that pot about halfway down in your raised bed. This creates a separate outdoor area for your Micro accessories without giving them too much room to get lost or overshadowed by larger fairy houses, fairies, and miniature plants.

While you may be tempted to stick with larger miniature accessories, Micro-sized fairies and accessories can open up an entirely new world of gardening fun. They are a quick and easy activity for a birthday party, wedding shower, team-building exercise, or other group gatherings.  And they are sized just right for the terrarium, glass globe ornament, desktop container, and windowsill. Still not convinced? I’ll let you in on my favorite thing about Micro fairies and miniature accessories. They are incredibly easy to collect, organize, store, clean, and swap out in the miniature garden! Whether you are just digging into your new miniature gardening hobby or if you have been frolicking with the fairies for years, I hope you will try out some Micro-sized accessories the next time you are planning and planting in the garden.

Happy Gardening!