Evergreen or Winter Plants

[Timotheos]

I'm creating a medieval winter scene and trying to choose flora rationally.

Any thoughts on whether the following would be reasonable for a winter display?

See attachments.

The fern isn't a plant I've seen in the US.  This dies in winter?
The flower could double as a winter flower, like poinsettia
Fungus doesn't go away in winter
The leaves could be leaves such as mistletoe or poinsettia leaves
The berries (not pictured) could double as a number of different types of winter berries

[playmofire]

One question you need to consider if you're aiming for accuracy is where the scene is set as many plants we are familiar with are not native ones.  The poinsettia, for example, is native to Mexico and Guatemala.

[Bill Blackhurst]

One question you need to consider if you're aiming for accuracy is where the scene is set as many plants we are familiar with are not native ones.  The poinsettia, for example, is native to Mexico and Guatemala.

This is a very good point Gordon  . If you are going to use a winter scene with snow, pine trees are usually the most common tree in those types of snow regions. You can use a roll of white paper to make a white base, then sprinkle white snow powder from a hobby shop on the trees, & white paper that can be easily removed after the photo shoot to give it a textured surface snow scene. The paper can be made to look uneven with snow drifts etc., & the powder will cover up any unwanted defects.

[Rasputin]

Yes we would need to know what region you plan on being in . For example ferns are in an active growing cycle in our area right now . We were at the coast in the town of Mendocino last week and it was snowing in the Pacific ocean and there were ferns very actively growing under the giant redwoods with lots of mushrooms as well .

[Timotheos]

Hey Guys

Medieval + Playmobil + Winter Scene narrows down my options a lot.

Hint: Not in Mexico. 

I'm taking the leaves off my trees.

Are there flowers or fruit that grow in Germany or England in Winter that match Playmobil flora?

[Timotheos]

We were at the coast in the town of Mendocino last week and it was snowing in the Pacific ocean and there were ferns very actively growing under the giant redwoods with lots of mushrooms as well .

That sounds very attractive!

I'll look ferns up in an encyclopedia.  It sounds like you're saying in a German forest they could survive the winter.

[Bill Blackhurst]

That is looking really good! If you get some artificial loose snow to dust on the trees, & dead limbs etc., I think it would look awesome!

[Timotheos]

That is looking really good! If you get some artificial loose snow to dust on the trees, & dead limbs etc., I think it would look awesome!

Thanks Bill for the great idea.

I'll definitely look into this--I aspire to mutate this into a spring scene after winter, so my only restraint with the artificial snow is that I need to be able to dispose of it without too much work.

I bought spray snow from Walmart that I'm going to test out on one of my steck roofs.  It claims that it wipes off easily.

Which means one of two things:
1) It doesn't
2) It dissipates like water when it hits the plastic

[Bill Blackhurst]

Thanks Bill for the great idea.
I'll definitely look into this--I aspire to mutate this into a spring scene after winter, so my only restraint with the artificial snow is that I need to be able to dispose of it without too much work.
I bought spray snow from Walmart that I'm going to test out on one of my steck roofs.  It claims that it wipes off easily.
Which means one of two things:
1) It doesn't
2) It dissipates like water when it hits the plastic

You are so right about claims  ! I would be a little scared to spray anything on Steck parts being so rare now  !
Sometimes the additives in spray cans will soften or discolor items. What do you think about cotton being pulled apart, & distributed on the roofs? I have used the loose hobby snow previously for a Christmas train display. It worked well. It looks, & acts like confetti. When I was finished with it, I used a shop vac with a new dust particle filter bag, & vacuumed it up, then opened the filter, & put the "recycled" snow in large zip loc bags until I used it again. Only 1 investment, I reused it for 3 Christmas seasons before not having the space to display the train  .

[Bill Blackhurst]

I need to give you a little advise about the loose artificial hobby snow. What I found to work well applying it, was I used my wife's vegetable drain bowl with holes. As I applied it, I poured the snow into the draining bowl using a smaller container to pour the snow in, & gently shook the sifting bowl over the display. It actually made it look like real snow had fallen!