One of the joys of miniature gardening is that you really don’t have to know a lot to start. And, this can work the other way around, it is a great way to begin learning about gardening.

Baby steps, as they say.

Here is a brief primer on the difference between indoor and outdoor plants. This is a popular question that every beginner eventually asks.

Indoor plants are, for the most part, tropical plants that want to stay 60 degree F or above all year round.

In general, if you bring an outdoor plant inside, it will think it is the summer growing season all the time, and grow itself to death. The dry air from our forced, indoor heating, plus the 16 odd hours of supposed “daylight” from the indoors, will put unwanted stress on the outdoor plant that would normally prefer a cool, humid, winter-like environment.

When a plant doesn’t get the rest it needs (like going dormant in winter) it will get stressed out - just like us. When the plant’s defense system is compromised and weakened, it leaves the plant open to pest and diseases.

However, we have ways around this, if you would like to decorate your outdoor miniature garden, and use it as a centerpiece for Halloween or the holidays.

Here are some pointers for using your outdoor mini garden inside:

- It can be brought inside for a day, up to three days maximum.
- After the three days, the garden should be placed outside to rest, and watered thoroughly until it drains out of the bottom.
- The time spent outside should be greater than the time the garden spends inside.
- The soil should remain at least damp, moist is better (while inside to keep it’s roots cool) and the plants should be misted almost daily when inside too (think about all that hot air from the furnace drying out the leaves).
- Avoid direct sunlight when it is inside, as it may scorch the plants. Use a sheer curtain or move it out the way for the hours that sun beams sideways into the windows.
- Never move a miniature garden from a warm room to the frosty outdoors, or from a shaded room to full, hot sun without first staging it.
- Stage your miniature garden in the garage, or on a covered porch for a least a couple of days, to help it adapt and avoid extreme climate changes – especially in November and December. (Like you would stage your living Christmas tree.)
- And use this graduation method for bringing your garden inside or outside. Remember to avoid the extreme climate changes.

For more indoor mini garden ideas, please see my other blogs: http://minigardener.wordpress.com/category/indoor-mini-gardens/.