A few years ago, I created a tranquil evergreen garden with moss, rocks, bamboo, azaleas and rhododendrons. I photographed the Easter Egg Hunt in the garden in 2007 (gosh doesn’t time fly past very quickly).
Since then, it has become a little wilder as the ivy works hard to take over. A couple of the decorative grasses outgrew their space and were moved to another part of the garden.
At that time, I had divided the raised vegetable bed (where the Sasha garden has its home) into two sections and intended to create a different kind of garden next to the apple tree trained against the garden wall.
I had the ‘two’ gardens separated by a low fence (which had started to fall apart) so I decided to join the two spaces by a small pebble path which Mark and Sandy kindly volunteered to do.
I did all of the groundwork, clearing grass and weeds. Initially, I had thought of a lawn but it would be difficult to keep neat and short enough for the Sasha dolls to be able to stand easily.
When it came to the planting, sometimes I was able to find a miniature version of a plant that I wanted, such as the bamboo which grows to 1 m tall. I searched for ‘miniature’ plants that would give the impression of being something larger. I wanted a Hebe but as they grow too large, I pretended that a bushy Common Thyme was a Hebe shrub. They have similar leaf shapes.
The gravel
I bought two bags of fine gravel one pink pebbles and the other solent gold in the local DIY store – the type used for rockeries and alpine gardens. I would have liked it all to be solent gold in gorgeous natural stone colours.
Of course, while photographing the A Day Gardening storyboard, both my camera batteries ran out of charge and by the end, I had switched to the camera on my mobile phone as I wanted the same “light” throughout the story.
I love the Sasha-sized accessories that can be found while wandering around shops, online and on auction sites. It just takes keeping an open mind for the possible uses in a setting. The great outdoor patio clay Chimenea is made for burning a citronella tea light (so they shouldn’t be bothered by midges!) Its plinth is a miniature paving slab set into the ground.
The wood and cast iron bench was a wonderful online auction purchase about 5 years ago. It came ready-made and not as a flatpack, so is solid.
The red wheelbarrow is a Radio Flyer one that I bought online.
Some of the wonderful garden tools were a gift from my friend Robyn when she came to visit Belfast a few years ago, and others I bought online.
It always amazes me how long it can take to collect what I need to be able to create a miniature setting. I usually have ideas noted for the setting and then spend a few years collecting all the props together. I also try to reuse items bought for previous settings where ever possible.
Of course, the garden is a more permanent addition. Since the Sasha garden took up residence in the raised vegetable bed, the bed on one side has given way to a greenhouse, and on the other is the salad and herb bed.
Miniature Roses
I was looking for miniature roses and found them in a florist shop. There were 4 in each little pot and I carefully divided them up. I always loved the fairy story Snow-White and Rose-Red, so chose red and white roses for my Sasha garden.
A few years ago, my mum planted out miniature roses she had received for Mother’s Day. She described them after a few years in the ground as “insignificant and weedy”… this to my purpose sounded perfect. So I do hope they will grow for me in a similar ‘weedy’ fashion. I have trained the Rosa Ballerina as a climbing rose against the miniature trellis. Rosa “Ballerina” which flowers in Summer has beautiful pink and white clusters of blossom in the summer.
I love how different the garden can be made to look, depending upon the camera angle when composing the photograph. It can be used to give a sense of width, depth and perspective.
Beautiful as the rose garden is, it only comes to life when the Gregor dolls are included in the shot.
Mark’s Outfit
Mark (the brunette Gregor) is wearing a polo neck sweater. I knit the sweater from a lovely striped Italian sock yarn which was discontinued about 5 years ago. He also has brown pinwale corduroy trousers with pockets at the front. He has matching socks which you cannot see because he is wearing brown laced boots.
Sandy’s Outfit
Sandy is wearing a hand-knit striped sweater. I used a printed (small repeat) self-striping sock yarn (also used for the crew neck, cuffs and welt) contrasting with a denim blue 4-ply wool. His socks match the stripes in the sweater. His pompom hat is all knit using denim blue wool, apart from two stripes of the sock yarn. I also used the sock yarn for the tiny pompom. I love the oversized dungarees, which work well in this scenario. The dungarees are made for one of the American Girl dolls. He also has brown laced boots.