My Fairy Folks: Gifts for the Garden

This gnome was gifted to me by a follower from Yucaipa, CA. It's no secret to readers that I enjoy mushrooms and keeping gnomes in my garden, so it is a great gift! Believe it or not, I already know what scene he'll be perfect in and it's pretty exciting to me.

These rocks were brought to me by my granddaughter. Her and her boyfriend traveled to Arizona recently and saw many beautiful rocks and shells and thought I might like to use them in my garden.

I recently rinsed them off to show off their beauty better. The array of colors is amazing.

The rocks have such unique shapes! The large, dark stone strongly resembles a heart. I also think the red stone to the right of it looks like a heart, but my other granddaughter thinks it looks like a chicken.

The stones arrived a few weeks short of being featured in this Valentine's Day garden. Isn't it amazing how much these violas have grown since then?

Here's a close up of the smaller, red heart stone. Or is it a chicken? What do you think this stone looks like? Let us know in the comments below. 

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New Purchases from Jo-Ann

Here's an overview of my recent Jo-Ann haul. I didn't have much intention to purchase anything, but my grand daughter discovered there were fairy items in the clearance section and had to partake.

This small building looks to be a small grocery store. It was originally $20 but marked down to $4.97.

In the background is a large bag of decorative rocks (which were not on sale, priced at $7.99, but reduced to $4.76 with a coupon) for upcoming updates to Fairy Shores. This seaside rock and coral cluster, also for Fairy Shores, was $2.47. The good sized set of a stone table and seats was $15 originally, priced down to $3.97.

This cute greenhouse was originally $29.99, a price I would not have splurged for, but at the clearance price of  $7.47, it was a bargain!

This tiny tin bucket was $1.47 after being marked down from $5.99.

This is such a cute decoration, but at $8.99, a little pricey. I was able to snatch it up at the clearance price of  $2.47.

I wouldn't pay $6.99 for these tiny things, but I would, and did, pay $1.47 (and regret not purchasing more at that deeply discounted price).

I have been keeping an eye out for fairy babies, especially when they're on sale. This piece was normally  $9.99, but all regular priced fairy items were 40% off so I was able to have him join the family for only $5.99.

These adoreably tiny garden tools were originally priced at $8.99 but clearance to $2.47. I can imagine such cute scenes of my tiny fairies digging up my food garden.

Finally, I felt this unique and colorful piece would look great in the update of Fairy Shores. He was also in the clearance section. Originally $12.99, a price I'd pass on quickly, was reduced to $3.47 - much more reasonable.

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Calla Lily For Spring

Spring brings new greens to my garden. I've put these Calla Lily, asparagus fern and viola together for a container garden.

This arch has pretty flowers on it.

This particular Calla Lily has an attractive feature in it's variegated leaves, giving them a speckled look and the reason for purchasing these plants.

Asparagus fern and violas.

This close up shows some extra coloring in the petal which was also a unique factor that pushed me to this purchase.

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Getting Ready For Spring

Radella, left, and Diana have been absent from the garden for a few months on official business. Alvina, the third council member, has not yet returned. These two have set out to relax after their journey but realized their area needed to be spruced up.

The area is cleared of dead leaves. Flowers are added around the inner and outer perimeter.

Moss is added to cover the soil and create a lively landscape.

Phew! Now that that's done, Radella and Diana can relax comfortably.

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Forest Flame Lily of the Valley

Forest Flame Lily of the Valley

On the first of January I welcomed the new year and a new plant into my garden. I've had Lily of the Valley in my yard before but have not had luck with keeping it alive. I saw this plant during a trip to Home Depot and because it's meant to be a hearty bush, I wanted to give Lily of the Valley and second try. This particular flora is known as a year-round interest which means it's meant to live a long time and constantly change color and appearance. This will grow to be a large bush but I decided to put it in a container first. It will soon be too large to create a fairy container garden, but it will be put in the ground to make a lovely background for a section of my garden (I haven't decided fully where I want to put it yet). Unlike most container gardens that I start in a terra cotta pot, I purchased a self-watering plastic pot to try out. I've had one other experience with a self-watering container in the past, but the flowers I placed in it wound up getting root rot and I never used it again. I saw this pot at Home Depot and figured I'd give it another try, if only for a few months while the Forest Flame gets comfortable. 

Forest Flame Lily of the Valley, Viola and Alyssum were all purchased at Home Depot.

Because of my previous experience with the self-watering container, I decided to put some rocks in a coffee filter and place it at the bottom of the container in hopes of preventing my past mistake. My goal is to prevent the roots from resting at the bottom of the container, soaking up an excess amount of water (it's my assumption that the last container didn't drain properly). Also, because this is a heartier plant than the flowers that were placed in the first self-watering container, I assume it will have a better chance at survival. I also picked up Viola and Alyssum during my visit to Home Depot and decided to include them in the container. I'm hoping this arrangement will remain vibrant as I plan to enter it into a flower show in April (I'll keep you updated). 

The fuchsia stem and dainty bulbs were what caught my eye on this Forest Flame.

Jump forward 5 weeks to this morning when I took the following pictures. Can you believe this is the same plant!? Well, it is, I promise you (I made sure none of the fairies or gnomes were playing tricks on me).

The soft, pink bulbs have outgrown their color and many have begun to blossom. The stems are no longer fuchsia and blend better. The most alarming change is the protrusion of red leaves, standing out amongst the cluster of green leaves. The coloration is this Lily's name sake and in time more will spring up. I'm amazed by how quickly the changes happened. 

This fresh growth of red leaves are a deeper color and resembles a small flame.

These flowers are small and beautiful and perfect for a miniature fairy garden.

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Very Special Valentine

Caspian, left, seen chatting with Tink.

It's been quite a while since I've sat and talked with Grace but just this morning she came to me, asking for my help. It turns out that she's been quite busy with The Fairy Bugle which is a newsletter she's been in charge of that helps keep all the fairies in the know, especially busy fairies like the Queen and distant friends like Buddy the Elf. Grace asked if I could bring my camera to the garden to capture a special moment she was tipped off on. I was eager to help and followed her, being sure to be discrete. Before hiding amidst the greenery, Grace pointed in the direction she wanted me to focus on. I looked toward a red tin container with some colorful flowers and also noticed two fairies, Caspian and Tink. I assumed this was what Grace wanted me to capture so I kept my distance and took some pictures.

It turns out that Caspian had informed Grace ahead of time that he planned to ask Tink a very important question and wanted to capture the moment in photo and story. 

Caspian pulled out a bouquet of flowers and offered them to Tink.

"These are for you," Caspian said. "I realize I get you flowers every Valentine's Day but these are a special kind of flower."

"Oh?" Tink questioned. "How so?"

"This bouquet is actually not your Valentine's gift. I admit, I didn't get you a Valentine gift this year but it was because I was planning something much better. This, Tink, is an engagement bouquet and I am offering it to you in hopes that you'll accept it, and me as your mate."

Tink immediately jumped up and down excitedly. "Of course I do! Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely, one hundred times yes!" Her wings took her up into the air and head over feet into a few aerial tumbles before she flew back down and wrapped her arms around Caspian who was laughing.

Tink took the bouquet in her arms and smiled wide, finding it hard to keep from giggling with glee. Grace came out of hiding to congratulate the two and let Tink know that this would be in the newsletter and that photos had been taken to preserve the moment. Grace and I left the two to enjoy each other's company and talk about all the possibilities the future has.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and yours. Did anything great happen to any of My Fairy Folks this Valentine's Day?

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Lonesome Love

This week many of the fairies are fluttering around being extra friendly, helpful and romantic. I did however notice one fairy secluded in one area of the garden. This is Alaina.

This cozy camper is a perfect home for lovers, a cobblestone path leading right to the door. But there is no one inside.

This is one of Alaina's favorite spots; her garden complete with a bench for two. Unfortunately, this Valentine's Day it will remain empty because her true love will not be home. He is out of town helping to build a home for his brother.

Alaina's love put together this swing for her so she will spend Valentine's Day with the memory of him and hope for a speedy return.

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Lovely New Purchases

I purchased some lovely decorations recently that are going to be perfect for Valentine-themed gardens. The trailer in the middle is from Hobby Lobby and is actually a birdhouse, but birdhouses make wonderful additions to fairy gardens.

Here is the back of the trailer, with a cute little flower box under the rear window.

I purchased this item at Jo-Ann's. This floral bench would help set the scene for a park or mini-garden and could even seat a fairy or two if you have the right size and flexibility.

This item was purchased at Michael's. I was pleasantly surprised when I got home and realized that the pink flowers here matched the bench I had also purchased that day. I'm always on the look out for new fairies.

Here is the rear view of the swinging fairy. Her wings are so colorful and there are pink mushrooms at the base, which is a bonus for me.

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Fairy Garden Class - Valentine-Themed Scene

It's February (wasn't it just New Year's Day, goodness how time flies!) and time for another Fairy Garden Class. This month's theme is, of course, Valentine's Day. These cherubs were found in my house and I thought they'd make a good addition to this month's container garden.

Alyssum, purchased at Home Depot. This 6 pack was under $3.00

Violas, purchased at Home Depot. This 6 pack was also under $3.00

Primrose, purchased at Home Depot. This flower was $1.50

I decided that the Primrose would make a bright, beautiful focal point in my small container garden. Based on that, I made sure to get supporting yellow and white flowers to surround it, settling on the alyssum and viola. 

This metal container is relatively new. I received it during the Christmas break full of candy and it is a beautiful, deep red that I felt would be perfect for this theme. The cherubs and alyssum are a bright white and the viola I used was a soft yellow which helped to make sure that the primrose would be the star of this garden. 

Because this will be a short-lived themed garden, I didn't feel the need to put drainage holes in this container. I don't plan to leave these plants in here for more than two months, and I made sure to keep the Primrose in it's original pot to prevent it's roots from reaching the bottom and risking root rot. If you ever plan to plant in a metal container, you'll need to drill in drainage holes yourself. If you are like me and feel you might want to repurpose the metal container for non-plant things in the future, make sure to re-home your plants within a month or two and not to over water. 

As always, place a good amount of small stones at the bottom of your container. This will help with drainage and is especially important if your container does not have drainage holes. Again, this is only meant to be a short-term home for these plants; any long-term container for plants need drainage holes at the base. These rocks will also prevent the soil from retaining all of the water and causing root rot. Since I kept the primrose in it's pot, I placed a layer of soil over the rocks, placed the primrose in the center and poured the remainder of the soil around that. This also will make extraction easier when I'm ready to move the flower to a more permanent location.

After placing all the flowers where I want them, it's now time to add decor. Here I have the cherubs to fit the theme as well as an 'iron' gate and pebbles for ground cover (purchased at Dollar Tree for $1.00). The pebbles would keep the container bright and cover up the dark soil. I then added the accenting gate and cherubs only to find that the cherubs were blocking the view of my planned main feature! I had to rethink this garden. It was obvious that I had to abandon my plan to have the cherubs and primrose in the same garden. I decided to use a different container and a taller plant so that it wouldn't be blocked by the cherubs. Since I recently brought ferns into my garden, I decided to use that, especially because I know ferns are a tall plant.

Yes, this is much better. The cherubs do not block the fern and this now looks like a quaint little park scene where two cherubs flirt on a park bench with a tall tree behind them. It was unfortunate that I didn't get to use the primrose with the cherubs, however, I'll find another use for them next week. If you have any photos of a container garden that didn't go according to plan, email them to me and a story about what happened and I may share it on the blog. 

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