Diana Leblanc
A couple of years ago I was at Enchanted Gardens in Richmond and I fell in love with the fairy gardens they had on display. Of course, they had a complete room full of fairy garden accessories to get my creative juices flowing and it did. It was Spring and I was in the yard a lot, so working on my “adult doll hose” seemed to be a natural. My first large item I purchased was a travel trailer birdhouse and, from that one purchase, my Fairy RV Park was developed. My kids and grandkids thought I was a little crazy, but they watched me having fun with this project. I would find myself trimming plants or rearranging the fairy garden late at night on the patio and realized it had a way of relaxing me.
We still visit Enchanted Gardens for a fun afternoon of inspiration and I believe our last visit inspired my 18 year old granddaughter to create her own garden designs. On Sunday she brought me a couple of new items for my gardens and I could tell she had the “bug.” She helped me build another small table top garden and it was a great opportunity for me to teach her a few of my helpful hints. Here are a few tips to help you create your own miniature garden world.
Find a container big enough for your ideas but not so big you cannot move it around.
Design your garden around one featured structure…a birdhouse, cottage house or whatever excites you.
Buy some small plants – Keep in mind the location (sun or shade) and the water requirements. Also make sure you remember that plants grow and you want to create a fairy garden not a fairy lost in the forest.
Gather some supplies (many you may find around the house). Small rocks, broken flower pot, Styrofoam packing peanuts, sand, glass marbles to create a water feature look…let your imagination run wild.
Fill the bottom of your container with Styrofoam (this helps drainage and keeps the weight of the container manageable)
Before you plant, lay out your design. It’s fun to use broken flower pots to create an elevated area giving a tiered effect.
Just start planting. Remember change is part of our lives and part of the fairy garden world. If you don’t like where the house is, move it.
If you are trying to create the look of a river or stream, I would suggest you take foil, crumple it and lay it out on top of your soil to create the shape of your water feature. Then put the blue marbles on top of the foil and it gives a reflective water look. A friend of mine has also used blue aquarium stones to create a water feature.
Once you have your design in place, water each plant lightly. Do not over-water. I use a spray bottle to spritz my plants in between waterings.
One more helpful hint – most of the fairy garden accessories are metal or ceramic. To keep them looking good and their color bright, I spray each one with clear Krylon spray before I add them to the garden.
If I can do this, anyone can. Creating my granddaughter’s Moose Lodge resort with her was so much fun. She took pictures and has shared it with all of her friends. This is one of those perfect memory making opportunities.
Be creative and have fun!