Lemon Button Fern - 'Mini' plants for Miniature Gardens

Lemon Button Fern

Sixth in a series,

Common name:  Lemon Button Fern

Botanical name:  Nephrolepis cordifolia ‘Duffii’

Height: 5”  Width:  4”

  Why would you want it?


      Lemon Buttons Fern is one of the best small clumping Ferns.  It smells of lemon when brushed.


What is its best feature?


      A thrifty Fern with small upright fronds.  Durability.


How would you grow it?


      It works in a terrarium but does not need the humidity.  It can take bright light but does well in lower light, too.  You can trim individual fronds to height if needed.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?


      It can give you some height as an upright Fern that could be a bush-form surrounding a house in a scene.

Tricolor Sedum - 'Mini' Plants for Miniature Gardens

Sedum spurium 'Tricolor'

Fifth in a series,


Common name:  Tricolor Sedum
Botanical name:  Sedum spurium ‘Tricolor’

Height: 2”  Width:  Spreading
  Why would you want it?


      Sedums are hardy plants and tricolor is bright and colorful.


What is its best feature?


      Durability.  Sedums can stand drying out and various light levels.


How would you grow it?


      Sedums are low spreading plants that can be in small pots or combination planters.  Tricolor will have more intense colors with high light to full sun.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?


      Tricolor Sedum could be planted as groundcover or used to fill a foreground area in a tiered scene.  It could be mixed with the many other Sedums with various forms and colors.

Pin-cushion Spikemoss - 'Mini' Plants for Miniature Gardens

Pin-cushion Spikemoss - Selaginella kraussiana 'Brownii'

Fourth in a series,


Common name:  Pin-cushion Spikemoss

Botanical name:  Selaginella kraussiana ‘Brownii’



  Why would you want it?

      It’s cute.


What is its best feature?


      It is a mounding clump of green moss with dark green leaves.  It has a structured form.


How would you grow it?


      They make a cute little potted plant.  It does well in a terrarium or combination planter.  It should not dry out or it will get brown edges.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?


      ‘Brownii” can be a specimen plant which acts as a shrub.

Job's Tears - 'Mini' Plants for Miniature Gardens

Job's Tears - Pilea depressa

Third in a series,


Common name:  Job’s Tears

Botanical name:  Pilea depressa

  Why would you want it?

       Job’s Tears is a self-branching creeper with light green leaves.  Millions have been sold because it lives.


What is its best feature?


      Job’s Tears is a tough plant that can withstand drying out.  It is far superior to Baby Tears, which dies if too dry.


How would you grow it?


      It can grow in small pots or small hanging baskets since it creeps sideways and will trail out over pots.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?


      Job’s Tears can be used as groundcover or as small clumps of greenery.  It will not be as flat as Baby Tears or Blue Job’s Tears.

Springfield African Violet Society Show & Sale Now

Sinningia 'Colorado Sunset' for sale

Springfield African Violet Society Show & Sale


Friday, 19 April  12:00 to 9 PM (Sale Only)

Saturday, 20 April 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM (Show and Sale)

Sunday, 21 April 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM (Show and Sale)

  Granite Run Mall
1067 West Baltimore Pike (Rt 1)
Media PA 19063


Not the Springfield Mall as in previous years

Blue Job's Tears - 'Mini' Plants for Miniature Gardens

Blue Job's Tears - Pilea glauca

Second in a series,


Common name:  Blue Job’s Tears

Botanical name:  Pilea glauca



  Why would you want it?

      Blue Job’s tears is a popular plant for mixed planters, terrariums and Miniature Gardens.  The blue leaves give interesting contrast to other green foliage.


What is its best feature?


     It is a fast growing spreading plant with decorative blue green leaves.  It self-branches.


How would you grow it? 


      It will trail out over a pot and survives some drying out between waterings.  It can take full sun but does well in less light as a house plant.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?    

     Blue Job’s tears is one of the best groundcover plants.  It will fill in an area and spill over the edge of your container.  Trim to shape as necessary.

Baby Tears - 'Mini' Plants for Miniature Gardens

Baby Tears - Helixine soleirolii

First in a series,

Common name:  Baby Tears

Botanical name:  Helxine soleirolii



  Why would you want it?

      Baby tears is an heirloom plant.  It is an old time houseplant that my Mother grew on the windowsill.  If yours died out you could get a start from your neighbor.


  What is its best feature?


      It is a fast growing green foliage plant with cute tiny leaves—giving the name—Baby tears.



How would you grow it?


      Grow in a small pot as a houseplant somewhere that you see it regularly so that you can avoid extreme drought which kills it.  However, if any green survives, it will grow back quickly.  Having the pot sit in water is equally deadly.


What would you do with it in a Miniature Garden?


      Baby tears can be used as groundcover in your Miniature Garden.  It is dense and green so it could represent a grassy area.

Celebrate!

Streptocarpus 'Essue' - Heirloom hybrid by Gary's Specialty Plants

Story # 101,

Celebrate!

                “Is this a great country or what?”

      This quote should come to mind almost everyday by every American who benefits from today’s modern world.  My impression of its source is what non-American born baseball players say when they can successfully play professional baseball and get paid millions.

      My little piece of the puzzle is to celebrate one year of writing this blog.  The amazing point is not that I made it this far.  The amazing part is that the capability of producing these pictures and words is on an internet platform --- Blogger--- provided by Google --------FREE.

      How can they do that?

      I didn’t know if I was capable of writing a blog that would be of any value to anyone.  The Blogger stats show that there have been over ten thousand pageviews worldwide in this first year.  Many of the searches find previous posts, so maybe there is some residual value here.

     My motive is still to do it for myself.  It may have indirectly helped sell some plants.

      It has helped me think more clearly about some things --- Plants and business.  If you can’t write it down, you probability don’t know what you’re talking about.

      Success is a fleeting state.  In sports after every win, there is the coach saying, “Ok, let’s get ready for the next game.

      I choose to celebrate one year of writing with a picture.  Thank you to Google for providing this capability.