Create an eggshell garden with pastel-colored eggs filled with miniature violas, forget-me-nots, and moss. Choose plants with small roots and check the potting mix, watering regularly to keep your tabletop garden looking good. These gardens are so quick to make that you can simply change the plants when they fade.
Potting mix (sieved if necessary)
Moss (available from florists)
Egg holder or vintage egg cups
Myosotis sylvatica (forget-me-not)
Selaginella kraussiana (Krauss’ spikemoss)
Viola ‘Moonlight’ (violet)
Viola odorata (sweet violet)
1. Using the knife, cut the top off each of the eggs, pour out the contents, and rinse thoroughly. Make a few small holes in the bottom of the eggs with the pin, for drainage. Spoon a little potting mix into each egg, making sure that there will be enough room for the plants.
2. Put one plant in each egg and add a little more potting mix if necessary. Push a small piece of moss onto the top of the potting mix if you wish. Group the eggs in an egg holder or display them individually in vintage egg cups to brighten up your table. Deadhead the violas as required, and they’ll continue flowering for a few more weeks.
Hanging baskets are an ideal way to garden when you have limited space. These old colanders were planted with ferns and potato vines, and then hung up with hooks and chains which are readily available from DIY stores. Fix brackets to a wall to hang the colanders or attach hooks to a pergola, for example.
Hanging basket linings
61⁄2ft (2m) of chain per colander
4 S-shaped hooks per colander
1 keyring hoop per colander
Hooks or nails for suspending the colanders
Cyrtomium fortunei var. clivicola (Japanese holly fern)
Dryopteris atrata (shaggy shield fern)
Ipomoea batatus ‘Sweet Caroline Bronze’ (sweet potato vine)
Polystichum makinoi (Makinoi’s holly fern)
1. Put a hanging basket lining inside the colander, trimming it down if necessary so that it sits snugly inside.
2. Put a little potting mix in the bottom of the colander and add a handful of moisture-retaining granules. Remove the plant from its plastic pot and place in the colander.
3. Fill around the plant with potting mix, firming it in well so that it is held in place. Water thoroughly.
4. Measure and cut four lengths of chain, each 20in (50cm) long. Attach an S-shaped hook onto one end of each chain and close the hooks slightly using a pair of pliers.
5.Thread the other end of each chain onto a keyring hoop, ready to suspend your colander garden in its chosen location.
6. Thread the S-shaped hooks though holes in the colander, positioning them evenly around the colander so that it will hang level.
7. Plant the other colanders in the same way and suspend them by hanging the hoops from hooks or nails.
Tip: water the colanders regularly, making sure they don’t dry out, and feed about once a month (see page 10). Keep the shade-loving ferns out of direct sunlight and shelter both these and the potato vines from frost.
Collect vintage cups and saucers, and create a pretty desktop garden to brighten up your day. If you are feeling brave, drill a drainage hole in the base of each cup using a hand drill. If you would rather not damage your cups, then adding gravel and being careful not to overwater should keep the plants healthy.
Teacups and saucers
Potting mix with a little fine gravel added
Selection of alpine plants such as
Armeria juniperifolia (thrift) in white cup with ornate pattern
Clematis marmoraria in pink cup
Eranthis cilicica (winter aconite) in white cup with blue interior
Fritillaria uva-vulpis (fritillary) in turquoise with gold cup
Primula marginata Dwarf Form (primrose) in white cup with flower
Saxifraga ‘Penelope’ (saxifrage) in yellow cup with the decorated saucer
Saxifraga 5 petraschii (saxifrage) in gray cup with white flower
Sedum species (stonecrop) in the yellow and gold cup.
1. Put about a tablespoon of fine gravel in the bottom of each of the teacups.
2. Spoon some potting mix into the first cup, remembering to leave enough room for the plant.
3. Take the plant out of its plastic pot and gently shake off any excess potting mix. Position the plant in the cup and fill round the edges with more potting mix so that the plant sits firmly in place. Plant the remaining teacups in the same way.
4. Sprinkle some fine gravel over the surface of the potting mix in each cup, making sure that it is completely covered. Water each cup carefully, ensuring that the mix is damp but not waterlogged. Deadhead spent flowers as necessary, to keep the plants in bloom.
Tip: choose alpines or small-scale plants for your teacups. Alternatively, plant small bulbs, such as snowdrops, dwarf narcissi, or grape hyacinths, in the winter so that you will have a pretty floral display in spring.
Wire cake stand
A simple wire cake stand can be transformed into a pretty centerpiece using dainty flowers and luscious green moss. If you are making this garden for a special occasion, plant it up about a week before you need it and keep well watered so it will be looking its best on the day.
Moss (available from florists)
Three-tiered wire cake stand
Black plastic sheeting for lining the stand tiers
Convallaria majalis (lily-of-the-valley)
Hedera helix (ivy)
Helianthemum ‘The Bride’ (rock rose)
Saxifraga ‘Esther’ (saxifrage)
Black Viola ‘Molly Sanderson’ and white V. ‘Moonlight’ (violet)
1. Tear off pieces of moss and push them around the edge of each tier of the cake stand.
2. For each tier, cut out a circle of plastic and make a few drainage holes with a pair of scissors. Cut a slit half way across each of the plastic circles so that they will fit over the top of the stand, and then slip them into place to form a lining.
3. Carefully scoop potting mix into each tier of the stand and press it down slightly with your fingers.
4. Take the plants out of their plastic pots and shake off any excess potting mix. Plant them in the potting mix, spreading the roots out slightly and firming around them to keep them in place.
5. Cover the surface of the potting mix with more pieces of moss, tucking them around the rim of each tier. Water each tier thoroughly.
Tip:if your local garden center does not sell any moss for lining the stand, then try a florist shop because they will usually stock some. Make sure that the moss is kept damp so that it will keep its fresh green color.
'Teeny Tiny Gardening' by Emma Hardy is published by Cico Books at £14.99.