Not long ago, a line of decorating indoor plants in the form of a garden in pots appeared. It turns out to be a kind of landscape design in miniature. This idea is exciting and has quite a variety of developments. The works of the masters are truly amazing, because... plants and miniatures of buildings and inhabitants of these gardens are selected with great care and calculation, so that the finished composition resembles a still from a film or a three-dimensional panorama of a small courtyard, garden, area with a hut or a castle. Passion for this activity encourages you to strive for excellence. But, as in any business, you need to start somewhere.
Let's try to create a small garden in a pot with a miniature tower house and a ginger cat.
The implementation of the plan takes place in two stages: the first is planting and rooting of plants, the second is the design of the potted landscape.
First stage.
For work we will not use an ordinary flower pot, but an oblong plastic container. In our case, from under the ice cream. Bowls and bowls are also suitable; the surface of the soil should be larger than in a regular pot, but at the same time the pot should not be too bulky.
We select live plants for planting.The best option is succulents. They do not grow so quickly and are not too whimsical. We buy appropriate soil and plant small cuttings. In our case, these are Gasteria, Peperomia variegato, Peperomia ampelous, and Kalanchoe carved. We plant the plants and leave them so that they can take root properly. Usually this takes no more than a month.
Second phase.
To decorate the pot we use the knitted cover method. From a thick double thread we knit in a circle the outer part of the flowerpot, which will cover the plastic container. We start with a ch chain, which we then tie in a circle to the size of a plastic jar. We finish with a thickened side, which should cover the edge of the container.
Now we are preparing to fill the kindergarten with objects. To try our hand at micro-landscape, let’s create some simple elements: a castle house made from a plastic bottle, a cat made from a champagne cork, and floating butterflies.
House made from a plastic bottle.
You will need: a small plastic bottle, acrylic paints or nail polish, a cap from toilet water or something else of a suitable shape for the roof top, hot glue, permanent marker.
We cut the bottle at a convenient height, so that when installed in a pot, it is clearly visible. We draw the outlines of the windows and doors of the house on the surface. We use acrylic paints or varnish and paint the surface of the plastic in a thick layer.
For windows it is better to choose translucent paint. We decorate the top of the tower house with a plastic top. You can add a decoration or an original mesh from a perfume bottle to it. We cover it with paint or, conversely, leave it in its original form. Using hot melt glue we connect these elements.
Soaring butterflies.
You will need: thin wooden sticks, a plastic bottle, bright colored nail polish, black permanent marker, hot glue.
Using a template, cut out the outline of a butterfly from a fragment of a plastic bottle. We paint it with varnish, in different colors, dry it, and again outline it with black contours.
Using hot glue, we attach the butterflies to wooden sticks. In this case, dried willow branches were used. We stick the sticks into the ground until they stop so that they are stable. Such elements can serve as additional support for growing plants.
Kitty.
All that remains is to add the cat Kotofey to the composition. You will need: a champagne cork, a thick red non-woven napkin, false eyes, soft lint balls (sold separately or in craft kits).
We cut out strips from a napkin, having previously measured the required length. Two stripes will become paws, one will become a tail. Using a heat gun, glue the strips: paws around the cork, tail to the back. We attach the fluffy cheeks and eyes with hot glue, and draw a mustache, nose and mouth with a marker.
Since the cat contains fabric parts, it cannot be placed in the ground; it will become damp and dirty. Therefore, Kotofey will sit on the rubble, i.e. on the side of the bowl. In order to secure it there, we use a strip cut from a transparent plastic bottle. It won't even be noticeable. Glue the cat and tuck the strip behind the knitted cover on the bowl.
Flowers for decoration.
To give the composition a little fabulousness, we’ll add a few details to it, for example, flowers made of foil paper. Here you can do whatever you dream up.
In our case, tulips are made origami, which are placed on thin wooden sticks along one side of the bowl.
This is the composition we ended up with. The knitted cover can be removed and washed, and handmade elements can be replaced with others. When living plants grow, repeat the product in a new design.
Using the first experience of such micro-landscape design, you can move on to other forms and levels of execution.
