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The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop: DIY Accessories for Miniature Gardens and Fairy Gardens

If you have jumped on board the miniature gardening and fairy garden bandwagon, then you know that there are a ton of accessories for miniature gardens and fairy gardens that you can add to your magical living world. Using natural materials such as twigs and stones you can create patios, pathways, and fences. You can customize miniature furniture with paint or nail polish. And you can decorate your miniature world with found items and treasures. Making your own accessories can be very rewarding and I’m thrilled to have found a wealth of inspiration in Miniature Gardening Expert Janit Calvo’s book, The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop.Miniature Garden Accessories from the Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop

Last year I had the privilege of touring Janit’s miniature gardens and studio. At the time, she was amidst working on the projects for her second book The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop, a project book for DIY miniature gardeners. I was thrilled to get a sneak peek of the miniature gardens and projects for the book, but I had to keep a lid on all that I saw until the book was released. And, boy, was that hard! There were so many cool projects in her garden and I couldn’t wait to share them.Magical Miniature Gardens Outdoor Accessories

Thank goodness that day is now here!Miniature garden accessories

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop is now available and I can finally show off the photos from my tour. Everywhere you looked in Janit’s garden there were decorative accessories like a bathtub filled with sedum.

Magical Miniature Gardens (Vintage Bathtub)

Or a solar light as a street lamp. If you want to see more of her garden, I shared them a few days ago in this post: Garden Tour: A Full-Size Yard Filled with Magical Miniature Gardens.

Solar Light Miniature Garden Street Light

 

Behind the Scenes of The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop

 

Now, on to the projects from The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop. The photos in the book were taken by the talented Kate Baldwin, and so my photos do not quite do the projects justice. However, my photos give you a behind-the-scenes look at Janit’s projects.

Magical Miniature Gardens (Tiny Succulent Pots)

Have you ever wondered how real the garden projects are that you see in books? You might assume that the projects are airbrushed or staged just for the book, right?

Well, in this case, you will be amazed to learn that each and every project looks just like it does in the book, and they were all handmade to last throughout the seasons in the garden.

When my copy of Prop Shop arrived, I scanned the pages and compared them with my photos. They are EXACTLY the same! I mean, these gardens are absolutely stunning in real life. No Photoshop here at all. Wow. This woman is seriously talented!

First, there was the Japanese Garden (p. 74) from the World Tour Chapter.The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak Peek

This garden had a zen sand garden and easy bonsai pruning shown as step-by-step projects.

Magical Miniature Gardens (red bridge)

The next chapter was centered on special occasions, like an enchanted wedding.
The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak Peek

For this project, there was talk about building symmetrical gardens, making arches, lighting, and floral decor.

Magical Miniature Gardens Wedding Design

The Mother’s Day Garden had more miniature floral arranging tips, this time for live plants. The floral arrangements in the book are just darling!Miniature Flower Arranging

And plenty of ideas for containers to use.

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak Peek

Magical Miniature Gardens Patio Pot

The Haunted Halloween garden contained projects for turning figures into zombies, and tulle into ghosts.

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak Peek

Haunted Halloween Miniature Garden

The Gnome Garden was one of my favorites! Janit made a log fence from wire and twigs, used succulent cuttings for the garden, and made a door to the gnome’s home out of popsicle sticks and twigs. Gnome Garden

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak PeekJanit Calvo's Miniature Gardens

The Deserted Island Survival garden had a treehouse way up high in an unpruned hinoki cypress. Never fear, there was a knotty rope to climb down and a cave to hide in if you are afraid of heights!

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak PeekMagical Miniature Gardens (Treehouse Project)This garden was so much fun, I couldn’t keep my son’s little paws out of it.Magical Miniature Gardens (Treehouse)

Then we dove deep down Under the Sea to a broken pot garden adorned with found shells, moss, and jewels.

The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop Sneak Peek

This was a double layer filled with items that are found readily at the beach. The book projects for this garden were to make a sea throne and a miniature glass float.

Magical Miniature Gardens (Broken Pot Garden)

That covers just a few of the many projects in Janit’s gorgeous book, The Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop. If you love miniature gardens and want to do-it-yourself, you will love every page of it!Gardening in Miniature Prop Shop

Janit is our resident Miniature Gardening Expert here at Garden Therapy and also the president of the Miniature Garden Society, a fun and creative group that I would highly recommend if you are interested in miniature gardening (I’m a proud member too!). See all of Janit’s posts here.

 

Comments

  1. This is so unbelievably cute! I’m going to have to get my Daughter this book (then steal it from her) she’s just recently developed an interest in gardening after 22 years and she will absolutely love it.
    Also, What a great way to get kids interested in gardening too! I’m sure most of the project ideas in the book can be done with kids too.

    Reply

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