Hi ,
I hope this finds you and yours enjoying the spring in your area. Our thoughts and prayers are with our fellow MGs back east that are experiencing some extreme weather happenings - we hope you and yours are safe.
And it looks like the entire country has some warmer weather - except the Pacific Northwest. Can you please send us some warmth and sunshine? The only upside to a very cool spring is the cherry and plum trees hold on to their flowers for a lot longer than normal - I love it but then I'm just a sucker for anything that flowers!
You'll be pleased to know that my Sistine Chapel Mini Garden Guru blog is getting really close to getting published. (Honestly! Lol!) So, in an effort to free up some time, here is one of most-favorite miniature garden displays we call "The Garden Shed." This garden won Best of Show at the Seattle Miniature Show in/around 2005. We made the entire shed
and deck from scratch. See more details below!
And because I can't direct you to my blog yet, there are more spring to-do's are below. Today we're highlighting babies! How to know if you can divide your miniature garden plants? Read on...
And head's up! The Easter bunny is coming! Find your bunnies, Easter eggs and a Rabbit Bench (discontinued) up in the online store here. And we have a good selection of Catholic & Christian miniature statues of saints, Mary and Jesus to help you celebrate, up in our Mini Garden Art section here.
Whatever you do, make it fun, be safe and make a miniature garden,
Janit Calvo, Head MG, Owner
Two Green Thumbs Living Miniature Garden Center
ABOVE: Our best of show garden from 2005 +- A very fun project that Steve and I made from scratch. That shrub in the very front of the photo is a Jamy Balsam Fir. The tiny plants in the tiny pots are sedums and individual Hens & Chicks.
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We made the deck and shed from old fruit boxes - way back when one could actually find wood fruit boxes. I painted/aged the wood before it was glued onto the deck. See instructions for aging wood or terracotta in our Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop book here.
That is a Little Heath Andromeda baby-shrub on the backside of the deck. Grab it if ever you see one, they are awesome for the miniature garden. (We can't sell them because we can't ship them out of state, we are registered with the USDA to ship plants.)
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A close-up of the garden bed to the left of the shed: The shrub on the left is the Compact Kingsville Boxwood, (we carry it whenever we can find it.) The middle plant is Soldanella alpina, or Alpine Snowbell, (rare, grab it if you see it.
And the wee shrub on the right is the Jamy Balsam Fir, (which we don't see any more for some reason.) I found that wee trellis at a miniature show.
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More Spring To-Dos!!
Do you have plant-babies in your miniature garden?
To know wether you can divide a ground cover plant: look at the crown, or the base, of the plant to see if it has produced a baby plant.
(Trees and shrubs are propagated differently and require some horticultural knowledge, patience, dedication - and technically a license to propagate them.)
Look at the base of the plant to see if there is one main root-system. Some plants don't grow out of one main root, they send down multiple roots from multiple plantlets as the plant grows along the
ground. And other plants send shoots, either above ground or below ground, and you'll see them come up a couple/few inches away from the mother plant.
Either way, as you're looking through the plant's leaves for the roots, you'll be able to tell how it grows its babies.
One main root system: To find out if you have new plants, look to see if there are two or three crowns clumped together. If there are, gently uproot the plant and pull them apart and replant. Early spring
is the time of year to do this (fall is good too,) so the plant has time to adjust and settle-in before the summer heat comes. If there is only one crown with one plant growing from it, you don't have babies yet.
Rooted plantlets: If the entire plant is rooted to the ground, and you don't see the one main root, you can safely divide it. Dig-up the entire plant and have a look at it. If it comes apart easily and each division is well-rooted, then you can go ahead and replant the divisions. If the plant's isn't dividing easily, you may have to use scissors
or a knife to divide it but be sure that the division is well-rooted before you do. In some instances and for really tough plants, you can use a shovel to divide it.
Rooted runners: A "runner" is a branch or root that is sent out to root and grow. Above ground runners are easy to see and to divide. Just be sure that the baby plant is big enough to survive before cutting it off from the mother plant. Underground runners will push-up a baby plant close to the mother plant and works the same: make sure it's big
enough before cutting severing the connection.
- Let me know your questions on any of your Two Green Thumbs' plants, hit reply!
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Pussy Willows on the Miniature Willow are just the bees knees! Only in spring, I might add! The Boyd's Willow is just the sweetest tree but in the springtime, it gets sweeter! A truly wonderful miniature tree with furry gray leaves that stay in scale. In the fall they turn yellow before they drop for the winter. Hardy to -30F! See it here.
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Not ready for your spring trees yet?
For Trees and Shrubs ONLY!
(We'll have plenty of fresh ground covers
throughout the spring for you!)
- We will ship after May 1st - weather permitting!
- Leave a note in the comment box when checking out or
hit reply and email us to "Hold until May 1" - we will check
with you in May before we ship.
Our instant download Peace Banner comes in three different styles.
"If you think you are too small
to make a difference,
try sleeping with a mosquito."
- Dalai Lama
In an effort to do something - we are are donate 100% of the profits of our Miniature Peace Banner toward the relief effort in Ukraine. I know it's not a lot, but - I have tried sleeping with a mosquito, I know that little things can add up to make a big difference.
We've decided to donate to the Ukraine Red Cross who are helping the relief effort inside Ukraine right now. Please send your prayers to the millions of innocent victims left without a home and garden.
Want to help the Ukrainian Relief Effort and
promote a "little" peace too?
Make two, put one up in your office!
Make three, and give one to a friend!
Feel free to buy more than one!
100% of the proceeds will be donated
to the Ukraine Red Cross.
Total to Date: $47.88
A BIG MINIATURE GARDEN
THANK YOU TO ALL
WHO HAVE DONATED!
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A shout-out to Barbara in CA and JoAnne in WA for your support via cups of coffee! I shared with Steve.. Lol! Many thanks again! <3
Your cups of coffee help to keep this
Mini Garden Gazette free and our websites
free of that annoying outside advertising
so you can focus on what counts.
Thank you for supporting the
Miniature Garden Hobby!
Janit Calvo, Self-Proclaimed Renaissance Woman
and Founder of the Miniature Garden Hobby.
We have been serving the Miniature Garden Hobby since 2001
Sending from USDA Zone 7, Seattle, Washington
in the Northwest corner of the USA.
CONTACT US ~ OTHER WAYS TO ORDER FROM OUR STORE:
~> Via Email - hit reply, (please don't email any credit card info!)
-> Via Phone - 206-352-0494 ~ We are in Seattle, 3 hours behind east coast time.
We no longer have regular office hours, please leave a message if we miss you!
PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITES:
ABOUT OUR SHIPPING:
We Ship Internationally (- but not the plants!)
All shipping costs are checked by Steve and we refund any savings promptly because of our wide range of unique inventory: we ship tiny miniatures, heavy patio materials and living plants, sometimes the automatic shipping calculator "packs" the order in multiple boxes which costs more. Steve can pack better than any online shipping
calculator can - if we can save you money on shipping, we will.
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We appreciate and serve everyone regardless of race, color,
gender, politics, religion or who they love.
Viva la difference!
If we were all the same, the world would be a
very, very boring place to live.
We believe in Oneness, Kindness & Love.
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