Our Fairy Garden

After a year of just talking about making a fairy garden, it only took a half hour to do it.  I'm beginning to figure out that the hardest part about any project is just getting it started.

Last week, I noticed that my favorite local nursery and gardening center, Meadow View, was having a free workshop called "Mini Magical Gardens" with a couple ladies from the UT Botanical Gardens coming out to give a talk and demonstration on how to do it.

About 20 to 25 people showed up and I was happy to see the various and unlikely types that were so interested in this just like me.  They talked about what you can use for containers, themes, accessories, plant types...herbs, mini florals, succulents.

Afterwards, I knew exactly what I needed so I got a wooden box, the pinecone roof house and four herbs that require the same light and water...rosemary, orange scented thyme, sweet basil and purple sage.  We already had our Tinker Bell "M" rock for our theme.  I stole some blue glass rocks from a vase in our entryway and a shell from a jar in Molly's bathroom and a few miniatures from a shelf in our hall.  For the "grass" I cut out a square from our backyard and rolled in onto the soil just like carpet. 

Here is a very happy girl prepared to help with all our supplies ready to go.

I filled the box with a coffee filters so the soil wouldn't seep out and there is still drainage.  The kiddo put on her princess gardening gloves and pink shovel and we added the soil we already had in the shed.

Once we decided upon the placement of plants and accessories, she got her watering can and lightly watered everything.

The plants perked up after an hour or so.

Very happy with the results.

It's important to remember that it is a very organic thing that changes from day to day and it's easy to change out a plant that doesn't work out or to trim back the ones that do very well.

I trim the grass with scissors and frankly, I'm surprised the moss is still green and thriving.  I thought it would yellow and die off after a week.

I put it on the deck a couple times a week so we can water and tend to it....and play our imaginary fairy games.

I need to find some tiny waterproof fairy figurines.

Our tiny bottle with onion grass and our shell pond.

A red chair near a twig and twine fence.  The twigs were found in the yard.  It's an unwanted upward branch from the holly tree that needed to be trimmed.

I love the colors in the glass rock path.

Sometimes, I let Molly play with it.

;)