The only live plants on the In-ko-pah Railroad are some patches of moss that “volunteered”. They look good so I kept them. All of the other plants on the layout are artificial plants, individually modeled by hand.

I first started experimenting with artificial plants in early 2006, and have been pleased with the result. Over the years I have learned what works, and what doesn’t. So my materials and methods have changed several times. 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. Below are some photos of plants on the layout, and information about how the various types of plants were made.

Email Ray: raydunakin@aol.com

Last updated August 2022

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