Garden A Day Challenge - Day 27, Caged

I purchased this bird cage at the 99 Cents Only store for $2. The moss and ribbon came from my stock, and Poppy the fairy was from a recent subscription box. There are no living plants in this garden so to bring a natural look to it, I stuck it amidst existing foliage. There are many possibilities with this decoration which I hope to explore in the future.

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Sweet Pea Teepee - Origins

I've been working on this project for half a year and am finally ready to introduce it to My Fairy Folks. I was inspired by a YouTube video from Away With The Fairy channel where she formed a teepee shape out of garden canes in a container and transplanted sweet peas that would climb up. With that inspiration, I decided to go bigger and start from seeds.

I cleared out a large area in Rosemary Park to start my project. This was September 28, 2017.

I brought out this wicker basket as a guideline to the base of the teepee.

These sticks were gathered from my yard and plucked of all their leaves. They will serve as the height guideline and support for the growing sweet peas that came in this seed packet.

With the area and height set in place (and tied with a pretty purple ribbon), I watered the area and waited.

This photo was taken in October, 2017. There's life!

Also from October, a few more sweet peas sprout from the base of the teepee.

This photo was taken in December 2017. Three months of growth, each of the stakes have sweet peas ready to climb. On the stick in the rear left, you can see the sweet pea is very eager to be first to the top.

In February, 2018, I added some string between the sticks to help the sweet peas fill in the empty spaces. In retrospect, I think I should have added more sticks to help fill in the base of the teepee, but I think this alteration has helped to aid their growth.

From this angle you can see where I plan to have the opening of the teepee. I've also planted some ferns to the left and right of the entrance to make it stand out more. Once this teepee is complete, I'll clean out the center for some great photo opportunities for my fairies. We had some heavy winds during the last six months so I'm very surprised this teepee withstood the elements!

I plan to have some more updated photos of this area by April. This project has made some wonderful progress in the last month and I'm so excited to share! Do you have any projects you're currently working on that you'd like to share with us? Feel free to email me your story and some photos so we can add them to the blog.

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Fairy Garden Class - Fern Fit For Fairies

This month's Fairy Garden Class is taking a step away from the winter theme and utilizing a variety of Fern, including the adventurous asparagus fern.

For this project I've used a 12" diameter Terra-cotta pot with drainage holes, lined with coffee filters. Coffee filters are a cheaper alternative and still biodegradable which keeps the potting soil from escaping the drainage holes while still allowing the water to drain. You can use any type of container you wish but make sure it's not shallow because ferns like to stretch their roots. I know that in a few months I will need to transplant these ferns elsewhere to give them more growth. The purpose of this particular container garden is to be entered into a garden show. And here's an extra safety note: don't fill your pot with soil until it's in the location it will remain for the next few months or you have a muscular helper (these pots can get very heavy)! 

For this particular project, I needed the smallest ferns I could find so that I could fit a variety in one pot. I found what I was looking for at Lowe's Home Improvement for under $20. It can sometimes be difficult to find small enough plants for a miniature garden at large stores, but I was lucky enough to find what I needed in this trip. 

I decided a layout and planted each one around the outside, allowing space for a central focus piece.

I was able to take some thin branches from a nearby tree to create an eye-catching arch to frame the focus of this garden. I was so excited to find asparagus fern during my trip and knew I needed to use it on the arch. Asparagus fern is unique because unlike most other fern that are bushy, it likes to travel, growing up and out to anything it can reach! I gently wrapped the tendrils around my makeshift arch and used zip ties to secure it. In a few weeks the fern will gain some girth and be stable enough to hold the arch without the ties.

After adding finishing touches that include colorful rocks, gravel and driftwood, I made Bridget the focal point. It looks like she has been traveling for some time and found a nice place to rest and take in the lovely scenery.

I hope this tutorial has been helpful. If you have any questions or would like to share your container garden photos with us, please leave a comment or email me - I love reading from My Fairy Folks.

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