Nancy Norris Common name: Black-leaved clover Latin name: Trifolium repens ‘Atropurpureum’ Plant type: Groundcover USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-10 Cultural needs: Well drained, moist soil; sun to shade Plant size: 3-6″ high by 12″ wide White clover is native to every US State and almost all Canadian provinces. This portrait shows a selection of the common […]
To elevate or not to elevate? That is the question we address while deciding on a style for our garden railway. Proponents of the “box” style like to raise the trains closer to view and say they don’t have to bend over so much, but it may surprise you to know that plenty of folks […]
Our little scale trees really make or break the scale quality of our railway gardens. Did you know you could choose from several methods of keeping trees in scale? Here are three practices, but we’ll focus on the third. One approach, planting genetically miniature* plants, ensures almost no pruning for quite a long time but […]
Nancy Norris Common name: Elfin thyme Latin name: Thymus serpyllum ‘Elfin’ Plant type: Groundcover Plant size: 2″ x 6″ and spreading USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9 Cultural needs: Poor, well-drained soil, moderate to low moisture, sun to partial shade Elfin thyme deserves its status as practically everyone’s favorite scale lawn or meadow. It’s about “thyme” this […]
Nancy Norris Common name: Silver carpet, Dymondia Latin name: Dymondia margaretae Plant type: Groundcover USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11 Cultural needs: Full sun to part shade; well drained, sandy soil Plant size: 1-2″ high, spreading slowly Dymondia margaretae is usually just called dymondia, because it’s the only species of a genus from South Africa. As a […]
Common name: Sweet woodruff Latin name: Galium odoratum, syn. Asperula odorata Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9 (sheltered or near the house in Zone 3) Cultural needs: Shade or partial shade, moist (even wet) soil Plant size: 6-12″ high, spreading quickly to 9-12″ wide Do you have a rather large shady spot in need […]
1. A Southern Pacific 2-8-4 Berkshire with a Vanderbilt tender takes a freight train over the bridge. Nothing in the picture suggests that this garden line is actually built up on benchwork. Bill Hook 2. Full-size trees and the lake in the background can be seen in this dramatic view from behind the railroad. The […]
A gallery of miniature conifers: Nothing gives a sense of scale and believability to a garden railway quite as well as miniature trees. When it comes to really small trees that translate well to our railroad landscapes, conifers (cone bearing, needled evergreens) seem to have the most representatives in the miniature woody-plant kingdom. I will […]
In the center foreground is low-growing blue angel pilea; on the left is zinfandel oxalis in its green phase; the bluish, spiny thing at the top is cushion bush (Calocephelus brownii). Mark Langan The bushy “evergreen” tree in the center is a Boughton Dome hebe. This tough little customer will grow where true conifers fail. […]
Common name: Thyme-leaf fuchsia, Encliandra fuchsia Latin name: Fuchsia thymifolia Plant size: 2-4′ high x 2′ wide Plant type: Perennial USDA Hardiness Zones: 8-11 Cultural needs: Rich, moist, drained soil; sun or light shade Planting Fuchsia thymifolia in your garden railway will surely attract hummingbirds, which love the profusion of magenta tubular flowers from spring […]
Over 2000′ of track runs through the relatively lowmaintenance Sunset Valley Railroad of Ted Sharpe in Issaquah, Washington. Dwarf Alberta spruce (Pirea glauca ‘Conica’) and low groundcovers predominantly thymes and sedums) are repeated throughout each section of the line. Joel Hayward Gary and Norma Agard of Augusta, Kansas, are building a beautiful garden in which […]
Dozens of Alberta spruce trees help create a mixed-conifer forest setting at the Little Vista Garden Railway of Larry and Pam Webb in Vista, California. Some of the trees are over 20 years old. Pat Hayward A newly planted area of the South Pacific Coast Garden Railway of Jose and Jean Picazo, Los Gatos, California, […]
