Creating, and protecting, a miniature garden

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I like miniatures. Well, look at my dog! In fact, The Tropical Paradise itself is a miniature. Most of the plants are of a tiny scale, including the cycads. The palm trees are pygmies. And I like it a lot. However, there is danger with such tiny plants. That is, while they need to be close enough to see, they really shouldn't be in danger of being stepped on.

My most recent upgrade to The Tropical Paradise is creating a clearer delineation between the path and the garden. I really couldn't blame people for accidentally stepping on plants that are only a few inches tall that were planted right along the edge of the path!

So I started with the rocks, which form a bit of a "wall" along the edge of the path. I had originally thought that I would need a fairly sizable "buffer zone", but I really don't. Feet stop naturally at the sharp edge. And that protected area, which actually rises up just a bit, turns out to be perfect for miniatures.

So here you can see my progress - I am moving the Haworthia (the stuff that looks like tiny aloe) front and center. There are also some miniature aloe. If you're tempted to do this, be absolutely sure that the plants are miniatures, not just babies. This is no place for an infestation of out-of-scale plants!

I've had the Haworthia in the ground for several months now. They have only grown a tiny bit, while they are still alive, and the tallest ones are about 4 inches tall. They are easy to divide and spread around. In the background you can see that I cut the elephant ears and the cannas to the ground. It was just about a week ago and I am already seeing strong growth. The canopy will return.

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