Foliage for the In-ko-pah Railroad will consist of a mix of live plants and artificial plants. Only a small percentage of the area has had plants installed so far -- adding the rest is an ongoing project.

Live plants include several types of miniature cacti; and a couple varieties of miniature succulents which roughly mimic the look of full-scale agaves found in the desert southwest. There are also some “volunteers” -- tiny weeds or shrubs which have sprung up on their own, and look close enough to scale that I’ve allowed them to remain.

I first started experimenting with artificial plants in early 2006, and have been pleased with the result. There are two advantages to using artificial plants: They don’t need watering or other maintenance; and they much more accurately depict scaled down versions of real desert shrubs.

Most of the artificial plants are made from certain types of plastic flowers. Some are bits of fake pine boughs. Later on I will post more information and photos.