Adventures in Fairy Gardening

Messy Messy Fail - As I complained about in this earlier post, the glasses that get placed in the corners of the top rack in the dishwasher continue to have minuscule  specks of something all over them when the cycle is finished.  Upon inspection of the sprayer on top of and underneath the top rack, I found dried out grossness that I had to pry out with a steak knife stuck in several of the sprayer holes.  I think I got it all out and I just ran the dishwasher empty with a glass of vinegar.  We'll see.

Tidy Victory - So I finally got around to putting some Jams on my toes for the first time.  I won't lie - I was slightly nervous about how this was going to turn out.  After all, my toes are much further from my face than my hands.  I think they turned out pretty cute!  I was able to use quite a few scrap pieces remaining from previous uses for my toes, I just used a small pair of scissors to shape them as needed.

I have always, always, ALWAYS wanted to put a fairy garden somewhere in my own garden.  All those cute little accessories that you can buy are beyond charming.  

I had a little spot in a side garden that I thought would be prefect - it's surrounded by tall tiger lilies, irises and fox glove.  In the midst of all these tall flowers, I kept a small patch of bare dirt should I ever be afforded the opportunity to make my fairy garden dreams come true.

Low and behold, I was browsing at Joann's this past March when I saw an entire display of adorable fairy garden accessories at 50%!!!  Good thing my husband wasn't with me - there would have been a fairy garden brawl in the middle of the store. 

I purchased the following items that day (but of course aren't they 60% off now!):

fairy watering can house

fairy adirondack chairs

fairy campfire

fairy pond with frog

fairy wheelbarrow

fairy bronze shovel and rake

garden spade birdhouse

fairy stepping stones

fairy garden party sign

fairy rattan arch

I strategically hid them in the basement amongst my not-so-used kitchen gadgets on the shelf where I knew HE would never find them.

Fast forward to May, the garden is thriving and it's time to get our fairy garden going.

Since my items were going to be in the weather without cover (many people have their fairy gardens in a pot or container under cover), I made sure to apply several coats of indoor/outdoor shellac on all of the items.  

Or course they won't last forever, but the coating will certainly help.

Next I made sure my chosen space for the items was free of weeds and paint (my husband has been sanding and repainting the window casings all around the house).  

Finally, after everything was coated and dried, I arranged my items for the fairies.

I really wanted the toddler to help me, but I was rejected.  He'd rather pick up sticks in his red wagon around the yard.  Oh well.

It's so tiny!!!!!!!!

As you can see I kind of went for a fairy gardening/camping theme.  

I refer to this post as "Part I" because typically, a fairy garden also involves the planting of miniature looking plants.  In my part of town, you MUST wait until after Memorial day to do your outdoor planting - we had a frost two days before the holiday - so "Part II" will involve the selection and planting of fairy plants.  :)  

I'm a big fan of Irish moss, so I'll be looking for fairy-sized greenery like that to add for the enjoyment of my fairy guests.

Normally this is a GREAT activity for kids - they can help set up the fairy accessories and get their hands dirty with some gardening.  

The toddler DOES love running over to take a look to see if we have any fairy visitors when we are outside playing.  I tell him he has to be quick to see them!

What do you think about fairy gardens?  Do you have one in your garden?

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