miniature garden on a paper plate - need creative ideas

[sphil]

DS1 (8) has been set this as homework. It can be collage, drawing etc, or intriguely 'a real garden'. This (of course!) is the option he favours. It has to be in next Wed. and we are allowed to help.

I was wondering about cress seeds (and possibly other sprouting seeds) on damp kitchen roll (would probably have to line the plate in some way). Would they germinate in time? Or has anyone got any other ideas?

Cress should grow in time. What about a 'pond' (tin foil) and grass (a bit of turf from your garden. If you can get hold of dolls house chairs/table you could make it look like al fresco dining!

Cocktail umbrella parasol. Put some moss in as well? A few small stones for a rockery?

A paper plate would be hard, why not a foil dish so you have sides to fill it up a bit more.

Small twigs in bluetac/plastercine?

Peagravel/sand rather than soil

Daisies/other small flowers

Mirror or foil for water (or mini apple pie foil tin = pool)

If you look on The Cath Kidston website they are running a comp for mini gardens and have some ideas. Look under 'competitions'

Moss is better than grass for a lawn on this scale. Find some but don't move it till the night before.

You can get really tiny plant pots - maybe fill one or two of those with some clumps of to scale flowers (roots, soil and all)- daisies would be about right I think, if you don't mind a small hole in your lawn.

grow some cress on compost. Glass mosaic tiles for a patio. Small twig stuck down (blutack) with paper leaves. Gravel path. Mirror card for a pond.

Ds did this at holiday club last year and they used a shoe box lid lined with plastic. Lasted ages.

They have to use a paper plate, unfortunately. Doesn't give much depth, I agree. These are GREAT ideas - will run them past DS1 tomorrow. It is supposed to be his design after all (Sphil elbows DS1 out of the way in her desire to make perfect miniature garden )

How about an allotment at one side?

Allotment is a fab idea - you could make teeny-weeny tomatoes and cucumbers out of plasticine and have them growing in a greenhouse! And a little veg patch with dolls house trug filled with freshly dug carrots and potatoes!

Rows of cabbages would look fab, and runner bean canes made out of cocktail sticks, with green wool wound round them to look like bean stalks.

Well, despite all these fantastic ideas, DS1 has decided to go for a growing garden. Jam jar lid in middle with blue cellophane, goldfish and fountain (!) Sprouting clover, alfalfa, cress and rocket in four sections around, on damp kitchen roll. I've put a foil plate under the paper one. Around the edge we'll have dolls house seats and cocktail parasols.

And hopefully not a great big soggy mess .

Probably the best move actually - DS1 not good at fiddly stuff, so although I'd love to mould tiny veg, it's not his idea of fun!