Grandma's Enchanted Fairy Garden: July 2016

Monday, July 25, 2016

An Enchantier Anniversary

Last year around this time we did a fairy garden recap and goal outline in celebration of our first anniversary. Now that July is coming to a close, it's time again to reflect on the past year and celebrate the blog's second anniversary. Wikipedia suggests the second anniversary gift, in terms of flowers, is Lily of the Valley. Although I was unable to grow this plant, I would like to introduce you to a new fairy who's been seen around my garden the last few months. This is Lily (how apropos, right?).

I attribute my great health to the five years of gardening under my belt and we are that much closer to the same amount of years for the blog which is very exciting. This time last year I had 316 followers which has now increased to 515; a growth just shy of 200 followers!

My Google+ views last year were 136,380. Unfortunately I have discovered I can no longer access that information (at least in the way I used to) but I know the last time I was able to check, the number was upwards of 250,000 which is an increase of over 110,000! I used to find joy in checking the number steadily rise, so if any of you know of a way I can access that information, I would love to update this post (and regain my daily habit).

One year ago I was so proud of my 11 videos on YouTube now at whopping 47 videos which have expanded to slideshows and audio commentary. I have 19 YouTube subscribers and 1,147 views. The number of fairies in my garden have also grown but we have yet to take a census to document an actual number.

So, in the realm of goals achieved, my yard has gained the wonderful addition of a sprinkler system and I have added repainting to my list of skills. We set out to bring my worldly travels into my garden but have yet to produce results on that, however, let it be known that I do have many items I need to get them finished, including *spoiler alert* a pineapple plant!

I feel like we've achieved a lot and am so happy to have all you Fairy Folks with me on this journey. For the third year of this venture, I feel my goals might be getting too big, too fast, but I'm not afraid to try and impress myself and the rest of you! First priority is to have at least one fairy vacation garden done before the end of the year which should give me plenty of time (and not have to disappoint anyone in next year's recap). Second priority is a special event that was announced in March; the Gnome wedding. Planning has been in progress and in the next few months we will fill you in on that. As of now, we are aiming for a November wedding.

There are also some special treats planned, but we'll just make them a surprise. Thank you all so much for your continued support. Please keep commenting and sending me photos of your own fairy garden so that I can feature them in my blog.

PLEASE COME VISIT MY FAIRY PAGE

www.facebook.com/GrandmasEFG

Grandma'sEFG YouTube Channel

grandmasefg@gmail.com

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Fairy Garden Class - Wheelbarrow Garden

Wheelbarrows are a necessary tool for gardeners. I bought one quite a few years ago when I began gardening so it had become a bit weathered and run down, causing me to buy a new one recently. Instead of throwing out the old one, I decided to turn it into a fairy garden. Home Depot is where I bought this one for $20 so they're not too expensive and because it's plastic, my husband was able to easily drill holes in the bottom for drainage. As you know, drainage is very important. Also, while I was at Home Depot I noticed they have different colored wheelbarrows now to help bring color to your yard.

Of course you want to fill your wheelbarrow with rocks, wood chips (this is basically for filler to cut down on the amount of potting mix needed) and potting mix. The wood chips will decompose causing the soil level to lower over the season, but I will add more potting mix at that point (since most of these plants are seasonal and I'll be redoing this garden).

I planted a few different plants here and kept them on the outskirts of the wheelbarrow, allowing a lot of room in the middle for fairy related decor. The tallest plant is placed in the rear which will accent the fairy house once it's placed.

Once the plants are all in place, I decided to put a few different rock sizes and colors.

I placed this house in the middle of the scene on top of a saucer (as we know, they provide a level foundation) and a cluster of moss. I also made a rock path leading to it.