Wednesday, June 15, 2011

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Mini Gardens.... Just a Beginning.....

Ever since last Christmas when I was given a tiny Bonsai plant kit by my Secret Santa at my workplace, I have been nurturing the long held dreams of creating a truly mini garden..... with real plants growing in real soil..... surrounded by a tiny picket fence..... perhaps enclosed in a little glass garden pagoda......... It is still a LONG way from being realized..... but recently I Did FINALLY plant the seeds for the tiny bonsai plant kit! It came with a tiny planter and seeds and scissors for trimming..... but so far we are just watching the newly sprouted plants as they germinated in the tiny planter. I say "WE" because Pollyanna has taken a keen interest in this little planter and really likes the whole idea of a little garden..... she thinks it should be right next to the Lovely Old Dollhouse....... but we shall see.
For now, there are only tiny sprouts.... can you see them?

Here, maybe you can see better in this picture......
they have a long way to go before we are even thinking of pruning them!

So, in the meantime, you can forgive me for thinking about making some little flowers for the dollhouse out of paper..... like so many talented bloggers do! I even bought some punches recently that had leaf shapes..... so that I could give it a try! And finally, just last weekend I had the perfect opportunity because my Sister was visiting and I wanted a mini project that we could both work on that wouldn't take too much effort. So I pulled out the paper and wire and paints and beads and the new little punches and we jumped right in! I had never made any of these flowers before, but I had read a tutorial or two on other blogs so I had a vague sense of what to try. Once I had explained the basics to my Sister, she was off and running!

And I must admit she is a real Natural when it comes to making mini plants!

We started by gluing a bead to the top of the wire to act as the stamens.
Then we added the punched out circles.......

And bits of green for sepals.......

Before I had even started mine, my Sister had completed several lovely poppies and had moved on to her real Creations......
Remember the Cottage I sent to her that had a space in the yard for a garden? Well, she wanted her garden to have some Corn plants.... that is American Corn... Maize to you Europeans.......
And she started with the ears of corn made from beads.... like so........

And then attached some leaves....... and a tassel that I helped her make from embroidery floss.....
Isn't it just amazingly beautiful?

And as if that weren't enough.....
She wanted to make an old Oak tree stump that had sprouted a few stems of new growth............. so she could use those lovely leaves from the oak leaf paper punch.......

Like so.........

And the corn needed to be a little taller...
so she added another ear of corn and some more leaves.........

Isn't it just absolutely GORGEOUS???

So, while she was so busy making her plants..... I was trying to get the bead to stay glued to the wires for my Roses..... and trying to make the petals behave like rose petals..... and having to WAIT for the glue to dry.......... so I didn't get very far........ and my roses don't look much like roses yet.........
I am not going to get discouraged! But I am not going to hurry to get them done either! In fact, I packed up all the punches and the wire and the paper and sent it home with my Sister so she can finish HER mini garden! My flowers will wait. I have plenty of other projects I am working on......... maybe I will just get going on the Mini garden with the Bonsai tree in the center.....
And for now, I will just enjoy my REAL Roses .... overflowing my Real garden........

I'll get to the mini Garden.... Someday......

How Does Your Garden Grow?

18 comments:

  1. How exciting to have a mini bonsai tree grown with seeds you planted! What a great gift for a miniaturist :)
    So glad you were able to share miniatures with your sister, her corn and stump look great. I have seen mini gardens on other blogs, they are fascinating.
    My veggies are tiny, it is just warm enough to plant seeds here in Wyoming. Tell Polyanna Happy Gardening form me :)

    Hugs
    Victoria

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  2. Sounds like a delightful day! :]

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  3. Oh gosh! Bonsai from the seeds? Please post of their grow often!
    I still have a plan to make a miniature garden with real plants one day but for now it is just a plan:)

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  4. AND the mixpod IS working!:) Love these spring birds!

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  5. I feel like I'm in your garden right now! Love the bird songs! :D

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  6. The real tinies will be interesting!
    I love the corn made of beads - what a great idea!!
    Best of all is having someone to share the making :)

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  7. Betsy Primero que nada me imagino lo contenta que debes sentirte , por que tu Bonsai ya empieza a ¡cobrar vida!!!! Si a mi me emociono , ya me imagino a ti jejejeje
    Me gustaron mucho las flores que hicieron tu y tu hermana. Cayeron en buenas manos esas perforadoras , que están muy bonitas las formas que puedes lograr con ellas ( =
    Un beso
    Flor

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  8. Yesterday evening I was so tired and needed a break, so I popped over here to read about your tiny lovely flowers. And I kept your blog up because of the wonderful birdsong and went back to work. It was wonderful to make art to. Thank you!

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  9. My garden? It grows so wildly that we can no longer locate where our water meter is ..hahaha! How do you do it, Bets? A huge castle, a few houses, and a real life garden and work . You are Wonder Woman! :)

    Some of my memorable moments in minis are when I share it with my sis, Suz. I can totally see this happening between you 2 as well. It is great isn't it that you got her interested in building a dollhouse as well? But I think having a mini garden with real plants is a great idea. I wanted one too. Maybe I can just pop by to yours when it is done :). Like Ewa say, pleae keep posting progress of your Bonsai. :)

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  10. Thanks, Victoria! We had a lot of fun! I hope your little veggies have sprouted by now.... It's taken me so long to respond here... they might be a foot tall by now! My real garden is using a lot of my time... but it is only flowers. :)

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  11. Thanks, Otterine! It was fun!
    I am looking forward to seeing just what YOU are building for your Spring Fling Project!
    Thanks for commenting!

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  12. Hi Ewa! Sorry it has taken me so long to reply here! But even so the Bonsai has not grown much.... too little sun this spring! I will try to keep you updated as it grows. And thanks for your help with the mixpod!

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  13. Hi Kathi! I LOVE birdsong... I'm glad you like it too! Thanks for commenting!

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  14. Hi Glenda! It was a RARE treat to make things with my Sister! I really can't remember the last time we did.... :( Obviously we let it go too long! But I think we will do it again .... sooner this time.
    I am not sure how soon the mini Garden will take shape.... but there are mini Roses I am tempted by....... :)

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  15. Gracias, Flor! One of these days I am buying a Spanish Dictionary.... and then I am learning Spanish.... just so I can comment to you!
    Thank you for commenting!

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  16. Thank you Amy! You were in luck, because I only JUST figured out how to add the mixpod to my blog! I love to hear the birds sing.... and I'm glad they gave you good company!

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  17. Hi Sans! I thought I left a reply to your comment yesterday.... but blogger must have stolen it!
    I am sure you are too kind calling me Wonder Woman.... the only kind of Wonder woman I am is the "I wonder if I can get anything DONE" woman! You may have noticed how little I have actually accomplished on my minis lately!
    I must comfort myself that it is Garden Season here in the North. We must take advantage of it while it is here. But it has been so wet that even MY yard is looking like a jungle!
    I truly enjoyed the time with my Sister.... I can't remember the last time we made things together! I will have to make sure we do it again soon!
    As for my mini real garden.... you know how Daydreams go.... we shall see how long it takes me to make THIS one real.....! :)

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  18. I'm so impressed by people who can make miniature plants, and your sister is really talented! All her plants are really beautiful!

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