Miniature gardens should be not only in harmony with the style of the surroundings, but also in proper proportion. A birdbath with miniature roses planted underneath can look lost in the center of a spacious lawn, but could be in correct scale for a niche or arch in a brick wall.
Simplicity is extremely important. The smaller the space, the faster it will take on a spotty, cluttered look when crammed with too many different plants. The smaller the space and the plants, the more care and thought should be given to combining various types, forms, textures, and colors for best effect.
In addition to aesthetic principles, there are practical aspects to designing miniature gardens. Any site should be checked for cultural and environmental conditions that favor healthy plant growth. Is a wall so high it throws too much shade for sun-loving plants? Is an area too exposed in winter for questionably hardy plants? Is the spot so low that water collects and stands in the soil, making it suitable only for bog plants?
Think of the work of maintenance, too. Use ground covers instead of lawn in areas so small you can’t move a mower around. Avoid fast-growing plants that need constant trimming and pruning. Don’t use plants that require a lot of protective spraying or dusting unless you have time to keep up with the job. A healthy dwarf barberry is more attractive than a neglected, sickly rose.
MINIATURE BEDS, BORDERS, AND ISLANDS
There are a number of ways to use small-scale versions of the familiar mixed-flower border. Annuals and perennials can be selected for continuity or succession of bloom, and arranged so that colors harmonize, textures contrast, and carefully placed taller spikes or spires provide accent and relieve monotony. In the background there may be dwarf evergreens or flowering shrubs, a low fence or wall, the side of a tool house or other small building.
Use miniature flower borders to add interest to tiresome areas such as long, narrow strips between the house and boundary line of the lot, or along a service walk. Use them at the edge or in corners of small lawn areas—never scattered through it—or at the base of low foundation plantings. Use them as visual space dividers between driveway and front yard or entrance to the house.
Miniature beds are also effective at one side of a breezeway, at the edge of a terrace or patio, or beside the back door. If they are raised slightly, perhaps the height of just one brick, the small plants are nearer to eye-level and their full beauty is more clearly revealed. I’ve also seen a tiny cutting garden, by the back fence, that was as colorful and pretty as any border.
Whenever there are walks, there are spots for miniature beds—in the diamond-shaped points where two walks join; as little islands along the curves; in the angles where corners turn. Or use small formal beds for dooryard plantings.
The intimate dooryard garden, by the way, is enjoying a revival. Instead of advice to keep flowering plants away from the front of the house, we’re encouraged to plant little gardens that can be seen from the picture window and also will make the house more attractive to passers-by. These don’t replace foundation plantings and front-yard landscaping, but supplement them in a small way. And the small gardens help relieve the monotonous sameness of many modern house fronts.