miniature garden, unwanted

I've written about various small-plant gardens before, collections of different colors and textures hugging the ground. Perhaps different species of thymes, or a collection of sedums (or better yet, a mixture of the two). Even mosses or lichens can create a wonderful small-scale garden under the right conditions.

A while ago I discovered another small-scale garden that had everything I look for in an attractive garden. Sort of.

***

Colors? Check. Different textures? Check. Easy to care for? Check. I think.

You see, this "garden" wasn't discovered in some rarely-frequented corner of my yard.

It was found in a food storage container in my refrigerator. I believe the growing medium was some bread that my wife had baked and that we had forgotten. (Actually, it may have been left on the counter instead of being refrigerated, but I don't think that really matters.)

Wherever it was discovered, I found it to be quite fascinating and beautiful in its own way. I didn't know that bread molds could be so interesting and show such variety!

I'm serious about it satisfying my small-scale garden requirements, and I would have liked to watch it grow for a few more days at least -- but into the compost bin it went.

I guess that's the one difference that this "garden" had that would keep it from having a place in my yard: permanence. Where I measure other garden beds in years (first year sleeps, second year creeps, etc.), this one would be measured in days, and that's just not long enough for me to get emotionally connected to it, so why bother?

Mold gardening. I don't think it will be making anybody's "garden trends" lists anytime soon. Or ever.