Lovely roses: These are made from the silk roses sold in bunches at fabric and craft shows that are too big for our use. First of all, only buy when they are on sale. Cut off the stem right at the base of the rose, unwind to proper size, and cut off. Then unwind to center and lay a narrow glue line along the bottom, and reroll, inserting a piece of the wire which is covered in fine paper. Set to one side, and do a bunch. Then cut standard floral tape in fourths, winding up close to the rose. Then follow Ruth Hanke's instructions for the leaves by laying on another piece with a bit (about 1/4 inch) extending out, and wind toward the bottom. Add more leaves until you are happy. You can trim the ends to a curve that is more realistic looking. The idea for cutting down the roses is thanks to Sally Miller of New Albany who taught a workshop in Muncie about a century ago to apply to hats. Can make roses from scratch, but why do it when this is so much quicker. Just be sure that you get realistic floral colors.

Alice W

Quick Landscaping: I'm working on a huge yard and wanted to get quick effects so here's what I did. I took copy paper, sponged two shades of pink on one end, two shades of lavender/purple on the other and let it dry. I also did yellow/orange and red/pink. When it's dry, do the same thing on the other side and let dry. I used the small 5 petal punch and punched madly. I used a meat tray and stabbed the center of each flower with a regular straight pin and then toothpicked a dab of glue to hold the flower on. I stabbed a tiny star to make the green bud thingie under a flower and dabbed more glue to hold. I painted the head of the pin with either black or yellow paint. Some of the yellow centers I dipped in yellow flocking. I also discovered that you can paint the heads with black or yellow, hang upside down on Styrofoam, give each head several coats of paint, and you end up with a great stamen effect. Some of the yellow centers, I dipped in yellow flocking while wet.

To make the leaves I took several 12" or so lengths of green florist tape, sponged 2 shades of green on each side. Let dry and cut about 1/4" off at an angle: ///////, like that. Speared one with the end of the pin, pushed up about half way, secured with a dab of glue and gave the florist tape a twist. Instant leaves. Also made the same type of thing with tissue paper circles, wadded up and hit with a small damp brush here and there after drying on the pin. Also found some tiny pins and did the same thing for shorter flowers. Must say it was fast and easy. I called the flowers "Nonesuch" but they sure helped fill up my garden quickly. The pins also made it a cinch to embed into the flower beds I'd made with Styrofoam, brown paint and coffee grounds.

I have also made bushes out of silica gel dried rosemary, thyme and a variety of dusty miller plant that runs rampant in my garden. It may not be authentic but was a great and fast beginning for flower beds.

Sharon in Watsonville

REALISTIC SHRUBS: Real shrub type plants generally have all the foliage over the outside surface with the interior being a maze of sticks. Mini shrubs built with leaves over a solid base, such as foam, may tend to lack authentic depth. Form a base of unrolled steel wool: heavy textured steel wool near the center, a finer grade toward the surface. Use a natural stick or formed wire for the basic trunk and building armature. Deeply spray paint black, brown, or as appropriate. Overspray the outer periphery in an appropriate shade of green. Add foliage leaves direct or with a single layer of Woodland Scenics mesh (model railroad stuff.) Majority of leaves should be darkest and first. Finish with a very modest sprinkling of lighter shade (new growth) leaves. Do not put foliage on the bottom of your plants. Down to the bottom edge of the sides, yes, but not underneath. As a finishing touch, a few bottom branches of painted wire, radiating out from the trunk, may be called for if display presents a clear view from a low perspective.

Mel Koplin, Las Vegas

Grass: Others will have suggestions for lawns of grass. Here is one for very realistic patches of grass or weeds but WARNING this could get you hooked on yet another hobby. I like to put little clumps of straggling weeds (grass) along foundations, mixed into planters, and even in the gutter eves of my more "rustic" houses. Find an avid fly fisherman (fisherperson) and ask them to teach you the tricks of wrapping and trimming "hackle". For fishermen, hackle represents the standup wings of a bug. Oversize hackle is generally cheap as it has little value for flies, died a variety of greens and yellows it becomes wonderful weeds.

Dr. Bob

Grass: For dune grass in my dock scene, I used simple green thread in the shade that I felt was right. To make it more like flat blades of grass, I did the following;
1;I cut a number of 4, 5, and 6 " lengths of green thread, (cotton) longer than required. Knotted them together at one end. I wet them and then tapped them gently with a hammer on a wood block. Do not hit too hard or the "grass" comes apart and separates. By gently tapping, I flatten out the round thread and they look more like grass.
2; Cut the "grass" to the length you want, measuring from the knotted end.
3; Make a small hole into the surface that you want the "grass" to "grow" place a wee drop of glue at the orifice and poke the instant "grass" into place.
4; If you want a measure of yellowing, gently brush the "grass" with a mild bleach solution. I tried using yellow water coloring and found out how to make "blue grass" (yellow and green = Kentucky blue grass;-)

Dr. Bob

Instant-Gardening: I have been gardening half my life and the first thing you learn about gardening is how to prepare the soil so I did the same in my miniature garden. First, I cut a piece of cardboard in the size I wanted for a border. Then I cut a same sized piece of the green foam which is used to make dried flower arrangements. The green foam can also be used wet. Caution! Wash your hands after cutting the green foam and please don't rub your eyes, as it is crumbly stuff and rather sharp. I put Tacky glue or just simple white hobby glue on the foam and spread out the "topsoil", not too much at the same time as glue dries quickly. I use the dust of dried tea bags for this, mixed with green stuff from the model railways. If you don't have that, just grind Deco-moss (comes in different shades of green) in a cheese-grater and spread it all out. If wanted, put the rocks in place. Place a shrub or a topiary-shrub in the border. Now starts the fun bit - the planting!! In advance, you have already collected tiny dried flowers, tiny silk flowers and the very talented folks have made their own! Plant all this in your border like you would do it in real life: matching colors, putting the high plants in the back of the border. There is no other rule other than your own taste! For more green, use little pieces of moss here and there, or make some green plants such as hostas (the easiest ones)or use the little green plastic leafed stuff you see at delicatessen-shops! Forgot to mention something important: the cardboard and the green foam must be glued together. The cardboard gives support to the foam! Of course a piece of trilex/balsa can also be used, but I realized that everybody has cardboard at home and it is cheap and easy to cut.

Atie Jonker

Flower Kits: Judy's Little Gems is still in business. She has her sister putting the kits together now and the address can be found in the back of any of the Dollhouse Miniatures magazines--Judy's Little Gems, P.O. Box 501, Brazil, Indiana 47834. You will like them, I'm sure. I carry the full line, too.

Dottie in Tucson

Ponds: One of the things you requested was info for making ponds. I've been following some great instructions over at About.com. Here is the site:http://www.miniatures.about.com/hobbies/miniatures/. Just click on "Water Garden Project Concludes" and you will see a link to the full project from start to finish. We're even shown how to make a water fall, and water lilies. I loved it so much.I copied all the text and pictures and printed it out. It's a GREAT step by step tutorial.

Garnette in Lewisburg, PA

Dryer lint: I washed my electric blanket to get dark brown lint for making Cat Tails for a scene. They look so authentic!!! We aren't crazy, just imaginative recyclers.

Helen from San Diego

Plants in Bordello: How about lipstick plant
Passion flower?
Blanket flower?>br> Prickly pear?
Pussy willow?
Honeysuckle?
Torch lily?
Venus fly trap?
Johnny-jump-up?

Wanna in El Paso

BORDELLO GREENERY: Gee, we just can't let go of this topic, can we? Mary, these scenes are usually Victorian, so the decorator can wallow in all that fun gaudy gilt and red plush. Victorians were the first to go for house plants on a grand scale, but they were limited by poor or nonexistent central heating. Plants too close to the stove or fireplace got too hot, plants too close to the windows could freeze -- and all those drapes and swags cut down on the available light. So, only the hardiest specimens survived. Which, on a bordello's grand scale, meant Boston ferns for the windows, big palms in between, and all the aspidistra you could find in that dark corner by the fire. (They didn't call it cast-iron plant for nothing -- one of my college professors rehabbed a Painted Lady that had been vacant for years; she found a tub of dirt in the basement, put it behind the garage, kept forgetting to drag it to the curb, and after a couple of months found it had sprouted a gorgeous big aspidistra.)

Loretta Sniarowski

Bordello Plant names: This one occurred to me for reasons I will explain in a moment -- orchids! It would be an obscure joke, but someone, like me, who has taken medical terminology, would be able to explain. You see, orchid/o is a prefix, and it refers to a most specific portion of the male anatomy. Just a passing thought...

Kim from Canada

Good quality landscaping supplies: This is in reply to Sloan's question about landscaping supplies. It took a while to find it, but I finally did. Scenic Express has model landscaping supplies. Since my catalog is 5 years old, I called and asked them about the NOCH scenery supplies. A few weeks ago someone was asking about this company. SE says they still carry the line, which they advertise as "Europe's foremost leader in model scenery supplies.". In addition, they carry the product lines from Woodland Scenics, Evergreen Scale Models, PolyTerrain, Merten of Berlin, Northeastern Scale Models Scale Lumber Co., Plastruct and their Miniature Corner sells Preiser products.

The catalog is $2.00 and if you ask, they will include a miniatures supplement. The address is; 1001 Lowry Ave., Jeanette, Pa.,15644

Joanne from chilly, damp South Jersey

Green Foam (for Topiary) and Oriental Planters: The green foam stuff you want may be the blocks of florist foam, which you can pulverize easily, or shape the block with a knife. Try your local florist for blocks you may get for free or at a low price, or your local crafts shop. I wanted to share with everyone that I received my order from the Dolls House Emporium this morning. They are in Derbyshire, England. They have a website: www.dollshouse.co.uk. I couldn't seem to find any Chinese style (blue and white) fish bowl planters and pots here in the states, so ordered the Emporuim's free catalog, and what I found made me feel like I'd died and gone to heaven. Their selection of Oriental pots and planters is wonderful.

Sue

Green Foam Stuff (for Topiary): The green foam stuff you need for your topiary is model railroad turf. Woodland Scenics is a popular brand in the U.S. It comes in 3 grades: fine, coarse, and extra coarse. Apply adhesive and sprinkle it on. Check at a model railroad store in your area.

Allen

Green Stuff (for Topiaries): The green stuff is landscaping material. When making topiaries, I have used dried parsley flakes and ground them up finer using the palms of my hands. This works well for small projects but you really need the green stuff to cover larger areas.

Parisa

Ivy Leaves: Paper for ivy leaves--put a good thick coat of dk. green paint on both sides of a piece of typing paper and punch that. Slightly cup each one by running your stylus up and down the center to make it like a vein. You can then glue them on threads or on thinly stretched foliage net to make your vine.

Dottie

Ground Up Foam: I'm guessing it was Styrofoam you were trying to grind up. If that's the case, all you have to do is rub two pieces of it together, as though you were sanding them. In no time at all you'll have enough to cover an entire forest. One warning, though: this works only with the older type of Styrofoam. The new and "improved" stuff is denser and doesn't break up well.

Pam

Grass: I think I may have come upon a method of making grass. This trial is in the very early (initial) stages of development so I will just toss it out to all who wish to try. I have been reading on the lists about where, how, and what, of grass. Here is what I have done today, like 10 minutes ago. Using my razor saw and a piece of terry cloth rag, I cut a piece out to work on. I held the piece of terry cloth (with the terry side up) over a chunk of 2 x 4. The piece of wood was small enough to fit in my hand. I "combed" the terry with the business end of the razor saw and I saw that I was tearing apart the loops of the terry cloth weave and the threads were standing up. I took some handy (remember this is all experimental) green acrylic paint and daubed it onto the "raised terry.". I dipped the brush into water and daubed some more to get the green acrylic to run down to the base cloth of the terry. I then used the razor saw to "tease" the cut loops. By tease, I refer to the beauty shop or home method of teasing hair. This raises the nap after the paint has flattened it down.

Bob

Topiary: To make a topiary tree, you can use the seedpods of a plane tree (New Zealand). They are woody round pods with bits sticking out and holes in them. Glue on a stick and paint them green. When the paint is still wet,roll through dried parsley crumbs. When dry, you can glue some little red or orange beads on it for color. Plant in a nice pot or in your garden.

Dorothee