by Tinamaleela (
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I love hiking, travel, photography, art, and looking for peaceful places in a busy cityscape. I'm also dabbling in some travel writing - https://tinamaleela.home.blog
When time and space are lacking but you yearn for a bit of greenery, a miniature Japanese garden may be the answer. Within the confines of a ceramic dish about the size of a large dinner plate, plants such as a bonsai fig tree can be grown together with either succulents or tropical foliage.
A bonsai fig complemented by a few tiny succulents or tropical foliage plants will complete this miniature garden. Photo by author.
In the elegant style used by the Japanese, natural features of the environment such as mountains, rivers, lakes and even waterfalls can be included into the design.
The design of a miniature garden includes many natural elements. Photo by author.
At Mappins Nursery and Aquarium in West End, there are regular workshops to learn how to design your one-of-a-kind miniature garden. This is part of their creative series workshops held on-site.
Workshop participants busy on creating their gardens. Photo by author.
The miniature Japanese garden workshop is conducted by Mikiko of Kent Florist and she explains the basic design elements of rock, water, plants, wood, and ornaments that can be used. Interestingly, at Mikiko's workshop, she incorporates kokedama into the miniature garden.
All supplies are provided and participants select their own succulents and tropical plants from Mappins' range. Ornaments are optional — you can bring your own or find something suitable at Mappins if you wish.
Participants selecting succulents for their Japanese garden. Photo by author.
To enhance the cultural experience, Mikiko is delightfully dressed in a kimono (although she doesn't wear it in summer), and she provides Japanese tea and sweets as refreshments.
Mikiko of Kent Florist dressed in a gorgeous kimono. Photo by author.
Dates of future workshops can be found at
darrylmappin.com/creative-workshops and payments are made through Eventbrite.
