Vegetation, plants, green stuff for dioramas

from left to right: Jungle Plants Set 2 (Reality in Scale), leftover of a door wreath, aquaristique-product; yes, you are right - I'd left the ruler ... 

homemade ground litter - a fortnight drinking tea (peppermint, anise, fennel, caraway seeds).
Drying the tea bags, then crumble the content.
 

My wife loves door wreaths. Me too ... Diameter is about 27 cm/10,6 inches: to take a scissor or to buy a new one, that's the question. I think there are some little plants which look more interesting in my next jungle diorama 🙂
 

Plastic fake plants - I've found it in the household goods store. Recoloured, used as a background plant for a jungle scene. 

Size, colour, form, prize/quality were a criterion. Tree or shrub?
An idea how to use, of course. 

... found again in my stash. Now waiting to get airbrushed. I think this is aka "Meerschaum" ("Seemoos"), "Seafoam" (lat. Teloxys aristata). Used for hedgerows, bushes and building trees (e.g. modelrailroading, nativity scene construction, architectural models).
If you like to raise your own plants (for drying) -> cf. buntbahn.de/viewtopic.php?t=13474 

Bamboo - part 1. Inspired by Rick Lawler - cf. his videos/my Project: Vegetation, plants, green stuff for dioramas ... 

Bamboo - part 2.
Doing the leaves. I’m using a scalpel or a special scissor for paper cut.
 

The alternative: Bamboo trees (RT-Diorama 35446, 1:35)
 

the leaves (= green paper) have to be coloured. 

Every tropical scene needs a palm tree ... 

Palmtrees are very popular for building dioramas, especially in the tropics and subtropics. There are 2.600 recent species worldwide. A palm tree = a good choice! Pacific scenes, Northern Africa, Vietnam. 

How to ... (a small selection)
Rick Lawler: Youtube Video (10.3.3035)
WorkshopWorlds: Youtube Video (10.2.2025)
Francesco Ventrice:
Youtube Video (18.3.2025)
Youtube Video (18.3.2025)
Pedro Amor: Youtube Video (18.3.2025)
 

DIY - pros and cons (only for me):
Pros: cheap materials (paper, wood, jute twine), suitable to my requirements (size, form), craftfun;
Cons: time consuming, not so detailed as professional products (e.g. photoetched, 3D printed or lasered plant parts); 

Palmtree with photoetched palm fronds:
Night Shift (Martin Kovac): "Monkey Business" - Saipan 1944 Diorama
Youtube Video (21.3.2025)
(palmtree tutorial from: 8‘34‘‘)

Palm fronds for camouflage: taken from Border Models # BT023 -
Camouflage with plants - the topic for next weekend

 

Camouflaged with photoetched palmbranches. 

... and the cheap variant of paper (120g/m², colour "honey"). Time requirement about 10'. Coloured with Japanese blue-green (ao midori iro, AK). 

Materials: paper, scissors for paper cutting, colour pen (AK). Now I'm experimenting with washes. The branch can be bend over a rounding (e.g. pen). 

Photoetched or paper? Hope to see you next weekend ... weeds! Sorry: Grasses! 

If you want a camouflage for your vehicles you can use colours, camouflage netting (hessian net), but also branches and twigs. Some people are looking in their garden or in the woods to find suitable plants.
But there are also very nice convenience products, very detailled branches. And there may be no problem with preservation.
If you are interested, please look for: e.g. Mantis Miniatures or RT-Diorama. 

Two tutorials can be helpful (only my choice):
-> Tree Branch Camouflage for Armor Models and Dioramas (Night shift): Youtube Video (28.3.2025)
-> How to make some extra foliage camouflage for military vehicles ((Hamilkar Barkas):
Youtube Video (dto)
 

There were never so much professional products as today, what means: there are a lot of excellent products: new e.g. Weeds II by Kamizukuri (#A-25-T). But the grasses in the photo are homemade from paper (80 g/m²) ... 

... time consuming, but craft fun and – I think very significant – individual solutions are easily possible . The suggestion comes from Thai modeller Kreangkrai Paojinda, cf. AK Interactive S.L. (Ed.): Japanese Armor in World War 2. 2022, p. 134f.
 

It’s an easy way to get a plant which may be located in the subtropics and tropics.
The plant may be a kind of grasses, but it may also be a sisal hemp or a bromeliad, growing on tropical trees as a parasitic plant. Also growing on dead wood.
 

My alternative: cut a round tounge and cut then zigzag. The paper (120 g/m²) is to thick. You have to cut the stem or to "dig" it in. 

How realistic should plants be?
What I will give a try: How to make easy tall grass bushes (TheTerrainTutor)
Youtube Video (2.4.2025)

 

Today was harvest time (Küchenlorbeer, bay laurel). We'll see in a few days what will happen. The plan: Cutting, drying, plastinating, colouring and modelling. Maybe it will be a failure ... learning by doing ... trial and error.
To the method cf. Vallejo, 2019, p. 70f -> Important indication: by using oleander (cf. p.70): all parts of the plant are toxic!!!
The same applies to Kirschlorbeer/ cherry laurel (prunus laurocerasus). The pictured (cf. p.70) ficus benjamini (Birkenfeige/weeping fig) may be problematic for allergy sufferers (latex, plant sap). Please, find out about the plant you will use. 

1st test: Küchenlorbeer, bay laurel (laurus nobilis) after 12 hrs; left: untreated; middle and right: two coats of matt varnish (acrylic);
Problem: leaf veins are not parallel to the cutting lines
Advantage: the coating should impede the scent of the essential oils
If not: Possible remedy – repeat the procedure
Next tests may be using ammo Plasticator (thin/ thick)
 

Above: Küchenlorbeer (bay laurel, laurier, laurel de bahía, alloro, laur laurowy)
Left to right: #1 matt varnish (2x) + acrylic colour (Revell) - #2 Acrylic Plasticator, thick (Ammo) -> glossy #3 Acrylic Plasticator, thin (Ammo) -> glossy
Tip: Cut the leaves (not drying them in the sun, please) - then drying them in an interior (about 12 hrs), before cutting the branches etc.
More to come …
 

Coloured with Revell #39 as a basic - next will be setting the accents: light green, yellow, brown tips of the branches ... washes, oils, filters ... as you like ...
May be the branches will be used for a "palma bottiglia".
 

The first result: the prototype of a barrel palm. Also known as bottle palm; described for the first time in 1942 

time requirement: about 2 1/2 - 3 hours 🙁
cost estimated: less than 1€ 🙂
craft fun: priceless 🙂

 

Prepairing a test area for scattering material to build groundwork on brown soil (raw siena).
more to come ...