Spring is in the air once again, and it’s the perfect time to get kids excited about things that grow. Here are some great project books to help encourage young gardeners—as well as any gardener who’s still young at heart! Note that the projects in these books are appropriate for adults and kids to do together, or for adults to tackle alone.
Miniature Gardens: Design & Create Miniature Fairy Gardens, Dish Gardens, Terrariums and More? Indoors and Out (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $11.99)
A revealing peek into the captivating world of gardening in miniature, complete with inspiring photos and practical step-by-step instructions.
A delightful, fun, and endlessly creative new trend is sweeping the gardening world: miniature gardening! With your imagination as the only limit to this infinitely customizable technique, miniature gardening showcases your individuality. Once you’ve learned how to design, create, and grow tiny plant combinations successfully, you’ll be able to let your creativity loose indoors and out.
In Miniature Gardens, gardening expert Katie Elzer-Peters demonstrates the latest in plant options and designs through her gorgeous color photography and laser-focused DIY advice. Plenty of good tips and idea-generating information on small-scale furnishings are included as well.
Instructions for the mini kitchen garden shown at right are included on the book’s Amazon product page.
Where other books on this popular subject offer run-of-the-mill images and only limited how-to information, Miniature Gardens gives you a thorough and beautiful window into this tiny world, from fairy gardening to dish gardening, terrariums, and even a miniature water garden project.
From cute home tabletop designs to elaborate mini-villages and everything in between, miniature gardening is a pastime that can be enjoyed by hobbyists and families of all ages and in all sizes of living space. With Miniature Gardens, you’re just a lightning strike of inspiration away from bringing to life the endless creations unique to your own imagination.
Fairy Gardening 101: How to Design, Plant, Grow, and Create Over 25 Miniature Gardens (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $10.99)
Release your inner child and step into the fairy world by creating your own enchanted garden, no matter how much space you have! Fairy gardens are increasing in popularity and Fairy Gardening 101 provides you with all the information necessary to design, plant, and care for your very own miniature garden oasis. Author, artist, and fairy gardener extraordinaire Fiona McDonald introduces readers to the history of fairy gardens and then provides step-by-step instructions, photographs, and illustrations for you to follow—or draw inspiration from—when starting your own project.
Learn which types of plants and containers are most successful for a fairy garden, as well as how to develop a focal point for your enchanted mini Eden. Fairy Gardening 101 also provides important information on caring for your garden, on designing gardens for both indoors and outside, on using artificial plants to make your garden last a lifetime, and much more! You’ll also find inspirational photos from fairy gardeners around the globe as well as a list of suppliers. You don’t need to be a master gardener or to have a particularly green thumb to successfully plant and maintain your tiny fairy garden. All you need is a few miniature plants, some thoughtfully placed accessories, a fairy or two, and a love of whimsy and imagination.
Gardening in Miniature: Create Your Own Tiny Living World (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $10.18)
Get ready to journey into the huge world of growing small!
The next garden trend combines the joy of gardening with the magic of miniatures. Gardening in Miniature is a complete guide to creating lush, living, small-scale gardens. It has everything you need to pick up this new hobby, including scaled down garden designs, techniques for creating tiny hardscapes, miniature garden care and maintenance, tips on choosing containers, how to buy the right plants, and where to find life-like accessories. Inspiring step-by-step projects feature basic skills that can be recreated in any number of designs, like a tiny patio, a trellis, a pond, and a secret garden.
Whether you want to build a miniature empire in your garden bed or design a private garden with a pebble patio for an indoor centerpiece, Gardening in Miniature is the primer for creating your own tiny, living world.
Terrarium Craft: Create 50 Magical, Miniature Worlds (4/5 stars, currently priced at $10.18)
A terrarium is nothing less than a miniature world — one that you can create yourself. It might be a tiny rainforest, with lush foliage and bright tropical flowers. Or a desert, with strange succulents planted among colorful stones. Or a Victorian fernery. Or a minimalist composition with a single, perfect plant.
Or it might not contain any plants at all. It might be made with crystals, feathers, bones, seashells, bits of wood, porcelain trinkets — anything that catches your fancy and helps create a mood or look. Whatever they contain, terrariums are the ultimate in modern, affordable, easy-care décor.
Terrarium Craft features fifty original designs that you can re-create or use as inspiration for your own design. Each entry comes with clear step-by-step directions on how to assemble and care for your terrarium. You’ll also find helpful information about selecting a container, using appropriate materials, choosing the right plants, and maintaining your terrarium. (Hint: It’s easy! In fact, many terrariums are self-sustaining, requiring no maintenance whatsoever!)
If you’ve always wanted to have a bit of nature in your own home, without the worry and labor of a garden, this book will show you exactly how to create your own unique, enchanting world.
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