Elizab e th Pe t e rs n

Small worlds curt kipp curt

Garden railroads combine a passion for miniature with the intrigue of model trains

“close enough,” railroads are good fun for grown-ups and grandkids alike. Families and couples involved in By Elizabeth Petersen the cooperative hobby enjoy the wide G is for “garden” … and for G-scale appeal of the activity. (also called large-scale) trains used “Trains evoke the kid in all of us,” in the fast-growing hobby of outdoor said Jeff Pera, assistant manager of model railroading. (The “G” actually horticulture for The Oregon Garden in stands for “gross,” which means “big” in Silverton, Ore. German.) A G-scale railroad recently added to Garden railroads can inspire awe in the young as Garden railroads combine the the Children’s Garden is so popular that well as the young at heart. The Baker and Grande intrigue of trains with the fun and chal- it has contributed to a “massive turn- Ronde Railroad (above) is owned by Gary Lee of Corbett, Ore., filling a huge swath of his backyard. lenge of creating miniature worlds with around in the number of families” visit- Meanwhile, The Oregon Garden in Silverton, Ore., small, slow-growing plants. ing The Oregon Garden, Pera said. has its own model railroad in the children's area.

Whether participants seek exact ▲ scale replication or are satisfied with 24

SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER 23 ▲ Garden railroads curt kipp curt Growers and garden centers are supplying dwarf and miniature plants, especially conifers and groundcovers, to emulate natural worlds in the scale of garden railroads. The two-year-old, 1:20 scale garden railroad mimics the natural settings of the Northwest, where Great Northern and Southern Pacific lines actually ran. Two regional train clubs — the Pacific Crossings Model Railway Club of Salem and the Rose City Garden Railway Society of Portland — designed, built and maintain it. “Clubs take the details seriously,” Pera said. Powered by a low-voltage, elec- tric track, replica diesel-style engines Dave and Margaret Kooken of Vancouver, Wash., put together this impressive model railroad. The Trout pull cars and a caboose on a track that Lake and Cumberland Railroad takes up about 40 percent of their backyard and often attracts admiring visitors, who include seniors in care residences as well as groups of children. Dave is the engineer, while loops around a and through Margaret has taken responsibility for the groundcovers and dwarf conifers comprising the landscape. to the delight of visitors. Dwarf and miniature plants selected for the garden require minimal , the layout too, while dwarf Alberta if any, Pera said. The scenes are heav- spruce and Lawson cypress trees fill the ily planted with conifers, Corsican mint, need for “tall” evergreen trees. thyme and brass buttons. Gary designed and built the layout Garden railroads from scratch, including the buildings, The Baker and Grand Ronde Railroad locomotives and even rail lines. Three Gary Lee, like many others, got combine the intrigue features help re-create the actual hooked on model railroading with a Sumpter Valley Railway that ran along childhood train set. Seeking a more of trains with the the Powder River in 1897. social, outdoor hobby, Lee took up At a recent “operating session” for G-scale railroading with his wife fun and challenge of the Rose City Garden Railway Society at Jonette. The result is an extensive, real- the Lee layout, engineers put the bat- istic-scale layout in Corbett, Ore. tery operated, remote controlled trains Jonette, the person of the creating miniature to work. Just as actual trains haul and pair, approximated an accurate scale deliver loads, the G-scale trains had using many types of thyme, including worlds with small, realistic tasks to accomplish. elfin, wooly, red creeping, white creep- Mimicking the contours of eastern ing, Pink Chintz, Lemon Frost, Archer’s slow-growing plants. Oregon, Gary’s eight-year-old layout has Gold, Spicy Orange and Argentea, all grade changes, a big trestle, a water- of which can take foot traffic. Low- wheel, watering stations and a tunnel. growing sedums, mosses and tiny ▲ perennials cover banks and bends in 26 ▲ Garden railroads

Running the trains here requires prob- th p e t rs n e lizab th lem solving: if a load proves too heavy to haul up a hill, for instance, the engi- neer sends for help and another engine goes to assist. Garden railway hobbyists con- stitute a growing subculture, Lee said. Especially popular in the upper Midwest, the family-oriented activity appeals to many people. The popularity of Garden Railways magazine — circu- lation 250,000 — proves the point.

Trout Lake and Cumberland Railroad Dave Kooken has always been a railroad buff, and Margaret Kooken has always been a gardener. Their eight- year-old garden railroad in Vancouver, Wash., named for Trout Lake, Wash. and Cumberland, Md. (hometowns for both) started when Dave started sharing Garden Railway magazine plant articles with Margaret. According to Dave, the Kooken lay- out is built for effect, rather than exact th p e t rs n e lizab th scale reproduction. First came the gar- den, then Dave laid out two tracks. One is electric; the other is battery operated by remote control. “There is really no standard for gar- den railroads,” he said. “Members of the clubs do whatever they like.” The Kookens enjoy bringing home interesting plants from places they visit, but they run the trains for the enjoyment of others, including grandkids. They have found that cer- tain plants don’t work well in railroad . For example, brass buttons can run beneath tracks and become a problem; Blue Star creeper is invasive and can take over the whole layout. What are Margaret’s favorite rail- road garden plants? “Trees with crazy shapes,” she said. Reflecting this passion,

Gary Lee's Baker and Grande Ronde Railroad includes this spectacular trestle which crosses over a the Trout Lake and Cumberland is deco- canyon filled with rugged rocks and low-growing plants. rated with interesting conifers, includ- ing Chamacyparis obtusa ‘Rainbow,’ an extremely dwarf, very slow growing, golden Hinoki false cypress.

28 ▲

26 SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER ADDED TO FERTILIZING – HEALTHIER, NORMALIZED, Potential-MAXIMIZED UNIVERSAL PLANT ACHIEVEMENT OF ALL TIME

UNCHALLENGED SINCE 1940;

WORLD’S FAIR ® TM TM Gold Medal VI TM ®

CELEBRATE WITH DR. JOHN A. A. THOMSON’S VITAMIN INSTITUTE – GUARANTEED FAR BEST SINCE 1940 SUPERthrive’s® creator, “great legendary genius” biochemist Dr. Thomson is in 35 different Who’s Who directories, some with SUPERthrive’s® unique efficacies unchallenged guarantee-proof. In 2006, Dr. Thomson became the first chemist to win the Lifetime Achievement Award from the and Garden Marketing and Distribution Association. VITAMIN INSTITUTE 12610 Saticoy Street South North Hollywood, CA 91605 Phone (800) 441-VITA (8482) FAX (818) 766-VITA (8482) www.superthrive.com ▲ Garden railroads Elizab e th Pe t e rs n

Producing the plants wholesale Wholesale grower Youngblood Nursery in Salem, Ore. produces plants for use in railroad and other small gar- dens. Plants in the Tiny Treasures and Premium Tiny Treasures categories are great for railroad hobbyists. “You can plop ‘em in the ground to achieve the look you want,” sales man- ager Chris Steinke said. Dwarf and miniature pines, spruces and other conifers are a favorite of garden railroad designers. Tiny Treasures meet the need for Although dwarf Alberta spruces are popular, they can outgrow a garden railroad in less than a decade. Alternative spruce cultivars such as ‘Gnome‘ and ‘Pixie’ are more suitable because they grow more slowly. accurate scale. Small plants that look like mature specimens are exactly what Miniature Conifers the railroad gardeners want, Steinke said. Many dwarf and miniature coni- Mature Sun/shade fers need little pruning and can be Name USDA size Description/ Zones (H x W) comment used for a long time before needing replacement. Dwarf balsam fir sun mound or trim Youngblood started Tiny Treasures (Abies balsamea nana) 12”x12” for a tree, fragrant 3-8 to meet increasing demand for small Kosteri dwarf cypress sun/part shade fanned (Chamaecyparis obtusa ‘Kosteri’) 3’x 2’ foliage, green cone 3-8 plants and to “get product to consum- Tsukumo sawara cypress sun/part shade low, green ers faster and at a lower price point in (Chamaecyparis pisifera ‘Tsukumo’) 8”x12” mound of fine foliage 3-8 smaller sizes,” Steinke said. Dwarf red cedar sun/part shade The niche market for small plants (Chamaecyparis thyoides ‘Meth’s Dwarf’) 2’x1’ classic forest tree 3-8 also includes container and Tansu dwarf Japanese cedar sun/part shade broadly bonsai. The Tiny Treasures line lets (Cryptomeria japonica ‘Tansu’) 2’x2’ upright forest tree 6-10 garden centers to test sales of rare and Blue Star singleseed juniper sun/part shade (Juniperus squamata ‘Blue Star’) 1’x2’ blue-green, starry foliage 4-10 unusual plants before they commit to Little Gem dwarf spruce sun/part shade buying more or larger sizes, Steinke said. (Picea abies ‘Little Gem’) 10”x12” flat birdsnest 2-8 Youngblood can fit 30 Tiny Jean’s Dilly dwarf spruce sun/part shade slender, Treasure into one box. “It is easy to (Picea glauca ‘Jean’s Dilly’) 2’x 1’ conical forest tree 2-8 ship these plants through UPS, and Dwarf black spruce sun/part shade blue-green, freight is not out of control,” he said. (Picea mariana ‘Nana’) 10”x10” compact shrub or tree 2-8 Retailers like to get creative with Blue Pearl dwarf Colorado spruce sun silvery blue (Picea pungens ‘Blue Pearl’) 3’x3’ dense foliage 2-8 the merchandising of these plants. Bosnian pine sun slow-growing, “I have seen them displayed in (Pinus leucodermis ‘Compact Gem’) 2’x2’ conical shrub or tree 6-8 bonsai sections of nurseries and as Mops dwarf mountain pine sun/part shade spherical impulse buys close to the check out (Pinus mugo ‘Mops’) 2’x2’ shrub, long needles 3-8 counter,” Steinke said. Sea Urchin dwarf pine sun/part shade low mound The possibilities are only limited by (Pinus strobus ‘Sea Urchin’) 2’x2’ or prune as a tree 3-9 the imagination. The inventory of Tiny Tasmanian podocarp sun/shade low mound (Podocarpus alpinus ‘Red Tip’) 3’x3’ or prune as a tree 7-10 Treasures changes often. Aurea Low Boy dwarf yew “We are always looking for new, (Taxus cuspidata ‘Aurea Low Boy’) 2’x4’ sun yellow ground hugger 5-7 rare, slow-growing, unusual, or just Everlow dwarf yew sun/shade dark green downright weird plants to add to the (Taxus x media ‘Everlow’) 18”x4’ spreading mound 4-7 product line,” Steinke said. Caespitosa dwarf arborvitae (Thuya occidentalis ‘Caespitosa’) 12”x15” sun fluffy green mound 2-7 Selling the plants retail Jervis dwarf Canadian hemlock sun/shade gnarled (Tsuga canadensis ‘Jervis’) 14”x 7” clusters of needles 4-9 Mini Forests by Sky, a mail order Minuta dwarf Canadian hemlock sun/shade dark green nursery in Mulino, Ore. specializes in (Tsuga canadensis ‘Minuta’) 6”x6” globe or prune as tree 4-8 miniature plants that have been tested in the nursery’s own garden railroads. Table 1: Excerpt from Miniature Garden Guidebook: For Beautiful Rock Gardens, Container Plantings, Bonsai, Garden Railways by Nancy Norris. Owner Sharon Yankee started her

28 SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER first garden railroad in 1989. Featured in Garden Railway magazine, it had a , two mini-streams and three “mountain ranges,” each two to four feet high. “They divided the railroad visually and set an inviting palette for tree and plant placement,” Yankee said. The second garden railroad started eleven years ago when Yankee moved to a smaller house on the same prop- erty with a creekside view. This one, mimicking 1930’s backwoods logging in Oregon, has 4- and 6-foot and wraps around the house on two sides. Many more conifers are featured and have been tested there. Mini Forests sells LiveScale© plants and helps garden railroaders be as pre- cise as possible creating realistic scenes with plants that won’t grow too quickly or get too large. Plants in the LiveScale© line must have small-scale visual appeal with small needles or leaves, a projected small stature, and preferably the ability to grow in a wide range of zones. Mini Forests tests plants for four to six years for growth rate and ease of care. Dwarf Alberta spruce has long been the mainstay of garden railroad trees, since it is relatively inexpensive, very “in scale” at a young age and easy to find and grow. It can outgrow the scale of garden railroads in four to six years, though, so Yankee recommends culti- vars such as ‘Gnome’ and ‘Pixie’ that grow much more slowly. “Best of all” for forest trees that stay small is ‘Jean’s Dilly,’ she said. For a deciduous look, Acer palma- tum ‘Sharp’s Pygmy’ is a good choice, Yankee said. The red leaf mini-maple, A.p. ‘Beni Hime’ is “the most popular Japanese maple for garden railroads,” she said. “We cannot get enough of it for customer demand.” The miniature Hokkaido elm (Ulmus parviflora ‘Hokkaido’) is another good choice. “We cannot get enough of it to meet demand, as is very slow

30 ▲

SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER 29 ▲ Garden railroads th p e t rs n e lizab th

Resources for railroad gardeners The Oregon Garden The Children’s Garden includes a model railroad with many examples of miniature conifers. Open to the public. Admission fee. www.oregongarden.org Rose City Garden Railway Society Garden railroad club based in Portland, Ore. www.rcgrs.com Pacific Crossings Model Railway Club Garden and model railroad club based in Salem, Ore. www.pcmrc.com Mini Forests by Sky Grower and mail-order retailer growing and not easy to propagate.” their passion for years,” company Vice of miniatures suitable for railroad Yankee suggests gardeners try to President Dean Snodgrass said. “We gardens, shipping from Labor Day find Cutie Pots from Buchholz and have a large collection of dwarf coni- through June 1. Buchholz, Fanciful Gardens from Iseli fers and broadleaf evergreens that fit www.miniforest.com Nursery, and Stanley and Sons Nursery, well with miniature gardens, and our Youngblood Nursery all of which have special selections for Planscaper service offers free landscape Diverse wholesale nursery grower garden railroads and small gardens. design for the do-it-yourselfer.” offering the Tiny Treasures line of The nursery also carries a selec- miniature plants. Garden centers meet the need tion of plants and dry goods, and the www.youngbloodnursery.com Al’s Garden Centers, located in design/build department can handle the Garden Railways magazine Woodburn, Sherwood and Gresham, Ore. entire project “for those who want to Popular magazine for garden are a good resource for railroad garden- spend their time with the trains rather railroad hobbyists, published six ers, spokeswoman Patty Howe said. than the gardening.” times a year. Howe recommends low-growing ® grw.trains.com groundcovers marketed as Stepables A new resource for plant selection that can take foot traffic near tracks Nancy Norris, horticultural edi- OAN Nursery Guide without showing damage. tor for Garden Railways magazine, is Online search tool for wholesale Bonsai plants are “perfect for creat- also a garden railway planning and plants, as well as nursery-related ser- ing a big look in miniature,” she said. construction consultant. Her business, vices and supplies. A print version is Al’s carries many tiny trees, both ever- Garden Lines, specializes in build- also available. green and deciduous varieties, grown to ing outdoor train layouts in the San www.nurseryguide.com look mature in small scale. Francisco Bay area. Dennis’ 7 Dees Landscaping and Having built garden railways for Garden Centers is a supporter and clients since 1997, Norris realized that resource for garden railroaders too. the hobby is still in the pioneering “We have promoted the associa- stages, especially in terms of appropri- tions’ railroad garden tour and admired ate plant material.

30 SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER It’s still Acers to Zelkova, plus new Elms & more! Value pricing on all our ornamental seedling & cutting liner varieties.

WE SPECIALIZE IN UNDERSTOCK FOR FLOWERING, FRUITING & SHADE.

Our customers come to us for our quality rootstock. They come back for our service and attention-to-detail.

see all of our new off erings, plus current availabilities at

WWW.WILLAMETTENURSERIES.COM canby, oregon

503-263-6405 T OLL FREE: 1-800-852-2018 E MAIL: [email protected]

SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER 31 ▲ Garden railroads th p e t rs n e lizab th

Marion Ag Service, Inc.

Plant Health Specialists Our team has the knowledge and experience to assist you in making sound decisions. “I enjoyed searching out small plants with small features to highlight COMPLETE LINE OF PLANT my miniature empires, but information NUTRITION & SOIL about plants was limited,” she said. AMENDMENT PRODUCTS “When it came to planting a whole railway, I had to think up which plants • Custom blending of fertilizers to choose.” • Dry fertilizers • Liquid fertilizers She has compiled her recommenda- Patrick • Complete line of organic amendments tions into a new book, Miniature Garden • Custom preplant fertilization programs Guidebook, with twelve plant charts showing over 300 plants for all categories • Pest management products of modeling the miniature world. • Testing & analysis services — plant tissue, “Both new and experienced gar- soil & water deners get perplexed when entering the wondrous world of miniature garden- Marion Ag stocks ing,” Norris said. “How to keep plants the largest and most low is the biggest question, and starting complete inventory in your garden with the slowest-growing David North America micro-plants may be the right answer. Specialty nurseries offer hundreds of varieties of little trees and woody Farm Store Main Offi ce shrubs that grow only an inch or so each year, which is slow enough for 20160 Main St 7746 St. Paul Hwy. any size railroad.” St. Paul, Oregon St. Paul, Oregon 503.633.4281 503.678.5932 Elizabeth Petersen writes for gardeners 1.888.814.5727 1.800.648.2718 and garden businesses, coaches stu- Home of the www.marionag.com dents and writers, and tends a one-acre St. Paul Rodeo garden in West Linn, Ore. She can be reached at [email protected].

32 SEPTEMBER 2011 ▲ DIGGER