A miniature dinosaur garden - tutorial

Here's the low-down, my son loves dinosaurs.

Seriously.

Five minutes with him and you'll not only learn something new but tie your tongue in knots attempting to repeated the bloody names.

He's such a show-off :)

So what do you do for your dinosaur-obsessed kid? Make him his own dino garden, of course! This would be a wonderful gift for any adventurous young soul and can be customised for jungle animals, dogs, fairies, you name it.

Materials:

• Large shallow tray with holes in the bottom (you can buy from a garden stockist but mine came from the recycling centre)
• Old newspapers or junk mail
• Potting mix
• A selection of small plants
• Plastic animals (or figurines made from an outdoor-friendly material)
• Rocks, twigs, nuts, sand etc

1. Grab your tray and line it with newspaper/junk mail
2. Fill the tray 3/4 full with potting mix
3. Lay out your plants (still in the pots), figurines and ornaments until it looks just right
4. Plant your plants and mould the potting mix to achieve hills and valleys for your other adornments
5. We added a rock path, scattered some sand over the top and sprinkled in some flower and lettuce seeds (to feed the dinosaurs of course!)
6. Find a good place for your miniature garden, keep in mind the preferences of your plants. The idea is that the kids can play with their garden, but it would be best not to keep moving it about

Then let them get grubby!

To make this an ultimate gift how about:

• Package all the materials into a DIY garden
• Include a gift basket with a completed garden. With little garden gloves, a packet of seeds, mini watering can, extra animals and a little vial of fairy dust for fairy gardens
• Make a custom sign for the garden with the recipient's name on it