A fairy garden (Smithsonian Gardens)
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Gilded-Age gardeners indulged in their fancies to create whimsical, small-scaled enchanted worlds designed to lure fairy visitors. Though miniature gardening has existed for centuries, it took root in America when visitors became taken by the bonsai dish gardens displayed in the Japanese pavilion at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
These pocket-sized landscapes have bloomed again as a gardening trend. A style with infinite creative possibilities—and one ideal for adding “magic” of all kinds to small spaces—miniature landscapes work wonderfully both indoors and out. In this workshop, Smithsonian Gardens horticulturists Alexandra Thompson and Shannon Hill spark your imagination by providing guidance and containers, plants, props, and accessories to create your own mini-landscape to take home. They also lead a tour of a Smithsonian Gardens exhibit in the Ripley Center’s concourse, a collection of miniature landscapes inspired by images in the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Gardens.
All supplies are included.
One 2.5-hour session
