Are Miniature Gardens a fad worth chasing?

Miniature Garden scene

Story # 84,


     Are Miniature Gardens a fad worth chasing?


     At the MANTS trade show last week, there was a lot of interest in the vendors showing miniature garden accessories, miniature plants and clues to this evolving tiny piece of the horticulture market.


      Fads go up and down and this one is still trying to formulate into a workable specialty.  Garden Centers are giving space to the concept with displays of miniature replicas of trellises, wheelbarrows, tables and chairs.  The branded system of Fairy Gardening, Inc has plants selected to be suitable for small scenes, planted in shallow containers for indoor culture.


     It could turn into the equivalent of model trains.  Model trains have survived as a fascinating hobby with public displays, mostly around Christmas.  As a kid, I spent hundreds of hours playing with my train set and would add to it each year.

 
     With miniature gardens, the problem is where do you start and how do you make one?


     A new venture, Amy Kate Miniature Gardens, in Dallas, Texas has been successful with workshops in friend’s homes showing and selling the plants and accessories for your own Miniature Garden to take home.


     Is it opportunity or uncertainty when there is no established standard plan for creating a miniature garden?  Nobody knows what they should look like.


     Whoever can bring order to this hobby will make the fad a standard.