The phyllosphere comprises all above ground surfaces of plants. Leaves are dominating this habitat. Leaf surfaces feature diverse microenvironments for microbial colonizers, among which bacteria are the most prominent. The spatial and temporal variability of leaves heavily impacts its colonizers, modulating plant-microbe and microbe-microbe interactions. To study individual factors shaping this environment, it is considered advantageous to deconstruct plant leaf surfaces into their individual aspects with surrogate surfaces proposed to aid in this. The aim of this thesis was thus to develop biomimetic leaf replicas of Arabidopsis thaliana incorporating properties such as leaf topography or hydrophobicity, while allowing for survival of microbial colonizers on the surface in the absence of a living plant host. As a first step to create a biomimetic leaf surface, relevant properties of a selection of polymers - agarose, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and gelatin were characterized. The chosen parameters aimed towards replicating key features of the leaf surface - topography, hydrophobicity, establishing a timeframe for potential experimentation and assessment of materials influence on bacterial colonizers. Based on this analysis, PDMS was determined to be the most suitable material for the fabrication of biomimetic leaf replicas for use in phyllosphere microbiology. Next, PDMS-based membranes were optimized to enable the diffusion of water and nutrients to the surface in order to sustain microbial life. The decrease of material thickness and addition of filler polymers to produce hybrid PDMS membranes (Carbopol, Pemulen, cellulose or polyvinylpyrrolidone) increased water permeability of PDMS, mostly without affecting the ability of PDMS to mimic leaf surface topography and its hydrophobicity. Furthermore, (hybrid-)PDMS membranes were found to be permeable to fructose. This demonstrates the possibility of delivering nutrients to biomimetic leaf surfaces in comparable degrees as to live leaf surfaces. Fructose delivered through the membranes also affected divisions of bacteria on the surface of flat PDMS and their distribution over time. Finally, all the characteristics investigated and developed were combined to fabricate PDMS leaf replica membranes. These biomimetic surfaces constitute the first reported example of surrogates which allow for survival of bacteria on topographically heterogenous and hydrophobic substrates mimicking plant leaves. Additionally, 3D models of leaf topography were developed to enable fabrication of PDMS leaf replica membranes with identical surface features. Such leaf replicas would enable higher comparability and transferability of experimental work. In conclusion, the biomimetic surfaces developed as part of this thesis represent an important platform technology for the phyllosphere microbiology toolbox.