New Plants

Last week I experimented with some soft plastic broad leaved plants and I decided to carry on with the work. The soft plastic took paint reasonably well and I liked the contrast to the overwhelmingly grassy growth on the layout. My layout is too small for 1/19 scale trees so variety in low growing vegetation is important.

Butterbur plants with an assortment of grass tufts, stones and ground cover on the small slope next to the fuel and lubrication shed.

Before fixing the plastic plants, I glued some grass tufts in place and also fixed a piece of scrap wood and some rusty scrap metal to the slope. Then I scattered some finely sieved brownish sand to the slope fixing it with thinned white glue. The holes for the plants were kept open with tooth picks that kep away sand and glue. Further holes for plants were made after the glue had dried. I simply punch holes through the top of the layout with a screwdriver.

Before the glue dried completely I added the first butterbur plants. While I was working a sign saw the staff somewhat baffled. 

With the plants in place I'm now wondering if I should fit some more in the same area and perhaps also add a little 'colony' of the plants near the lorry loading ramp. The most important development is however, that I've now begun to add ground cover and vegetation to the layout's right hand end. I hope to have the whole layout covered by Christmas.

A zoomed out view of the fuel shed (a resin kit from Kippo Models) showing the right hand end of the layout with the fence creating a minimum of a scenic break. I built the shed back in 2019.