Steps Which Need Taking At Design Stage
The design principles which apply to a full-sized Islamic garden also apply to a miniature garden
You need to follow the same guidance as given for a full-sized Islamic-style garden, like including a water-feature, geometric shapes, observing symmetry and taking note of the Chahar Bagh plan, the importance of conifers etc.
But for a miniature garden you must give exact dimensions for the area of whatever type of container you have chosen – be it a trough, raised flower bed or terrarium case. You must either already possess this or commit yourself to making one at least this size. If, later on, you have the opportunity to expand the garden, you could switch to a larger container to actually create the garden – but not to anything smaller.
Also you must know at least one good location where your miniature garden could be placed – no problem with more than one option, of course.
Just as for a full-sized garden, you need not know in advance how you would make every part of it. But you should have thought about it. You will probably gain confidence if you explore some of the practical issues a little. You could have a try at making miniature garden features. You could find out a little about people who might be able to help you and resources you could call on - like local people who make hypertufa troughs or Alpine plant societies or commercial suppliers. Even at design stage, it could help you to know how you might take the next step.
Resources
As mentioned, many resources can be found on the internet.
There is an excellent resource book, which regrettably is out of print:
Anne Ashberry ‘Miniature Gardens’, David and Charles (Publishers) Ltd, 1977. ISBN 0 7153
7289 0
Several recent editions of ‘The Dolls House Magazine’ contain instructions for making model plants.