The Generosity of Trough Gardens, Season to Season

Tiny Gardens' Trough 

at the Sedgwick Estate, Long Hill

Beverly, MA

Along low wall in rear garden ~ Spring

Sedums, conifers, ornamental grass ~ Spring

Top view ~ Spring

Detail 

~ Fall ~

~ Fall (detail)

Trough of the Week: Luke

Luke: Very cool in his 14" x 14" trough

Meet Luke: he's cool. He isn't impressed with fussy showy blooming displays. He just keeps growing, keeps building his root system and stands out as a go-to champion when other, more delicate and temperamental troughs show fatigue.

His stand-out feature is the miniature conifer (upper right) Blue Foliage Cypress Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Glauca Compacta Nana'.  (Why the horticultural world attaches so many extraneous denotations to the name of a small tree is lost on me -- but there you have it.) Blue Sterling Nursery says of this winner:

'COMPACTA' Rich greenish-blue bun that has nice compact recurving sprays and a good tight habit. The size in ten years will be somewhere around 12" high and 12" wide. Good selection! 

Photo by Wolfgang Putz

To the left of the tree is a miniature hosta 'Cat's Eye.' The little bit of bloom that will come from this trough arises here, from the mini-hosta, which blooms a delicate lavender flower in early summer.

The mounding growth below the hosta is Greek Oregano, a subspecies of Origanum vulgare. What a great herb! According to greekfood.com:

Historically, as the name implies, Greek oregano originates on the mountain slopes of Greece. It continues to be an important erosion-control plant: its roots reduce soil erosion on mountain slopes. Greek hillsides covered with summer's growth of wild oregano in bloom are a fantastic excursion for eyes, feet, and nose!

The name "oregano" means "joy of the mountain" and has its origins in the ancient Greek "oros" (mountain) and "ganos" (joy).

According to Greek mythology, the sweet, spicy scent of oregano was created by the goddess Aphrodite as a symbol of happiness. In ancient Greece, bridal couples were crowned with garlands of oregano. Oregano plants were placed on tombs to give peace to departed spirits. It was also used as a laxative because of its cathartic effect.

Oregano has powerful bacteria and fungi killing properties. It is used as a painkiller and anti-inflammatory, . . .  a treatment for indigestion, coughs, and to stimulate menstruation. The oil of oregano is used for toothache, and in some cosmetics. The leaves and flowering stems are natural antiseptics because of high thymol content.

To its right you'll find a small delicate patch of green moss, which, I've discovered, enhances any shade-loving trough. (I plan to write a future post about mosses.)

Finally, lower right, is the beginning of a stunning bundle of European Ginger  Asarum europaeum,
a low-growing ground cover that adds shiny green accent and keeps on giving (it spreads and at points needs to be divided).

Final note on Luke: He is at rest right now, bundled in for the coming cold winter (as noted here). When he re-emerges in the spring the single contingency he imposes is how much sun he will need. All of the plants in this trough are shade-loving, with the exception of the Chamaecyparis pis. Glauca Compacta Nana.  Most Chamaecypari love sun. I may need to transplant it and replace it with a shade-loving Taxus cuspidata ‘Nana Aurescens’ or Abies koreana ‘Starker’s Dwarf’. But we'll see. As I said, this trough is a champion and the Blue Foliage Cypress might do just fine.

Why Miniature Gardening?

A Large Conifer World

A Miniature Conifer World 

Is it hokey? Is it like playing dolls? Or with army men? I tell people I like miniature gardens because at least on one level -- these small, magical worlds are something I can control (as opposed to the massive huge, immeasurably fast and unstable big world in which we live).  It takes great patience to work in a small scale and steadiness of hands. Good eyes help, but magnifying apparatus can save the day.

Plants, especially, carry their own magic in miniature. One man once said to me, "If you can't eat it, why grow it? We don't need pretty. We need edible." I said, "Have you seen what I am growing?" He said (of course), "No.  I don't need to see it." I said, "Can you see that pine tree over there?"-- pointing to an Eastern Red Cedar about 50 feet tall. He said he did. I said, "I grow those, only six inches tall. Don't you think that's worth looking at?"

He didn't answer. Which, I think, is a good thing.

Aspiration: Joy in creating small living worlds.

Garden Lesson Learned: Growing in miniature can be easily managed on one level but demands vigilance on another level. Small plants in small containers need watered more regularly and will respond to adverse growing conditions in a more accelerated fashion. That said, once the stress factor is remedied, small plants in containers also rebound faster. Always keep sharp snips at the ready. These little friends will be gratified with regular grooming.

Life Lesson Learned: Gardening in miniature creates an aptitude of patience with an element of whimsy. People might not take you seriously until you show them the true scale of things and do so with a glint in your eye.