This is basically a tour of the Armstrong Garden Center in Claremont (735 E Foothill Blvd, Claremont, CA 91711). I made a trip here last month and also created a video of the items I purchased.
I picked up some small fairy garden accessories, including a new baby, and some new colorful flowers and foliage. I spent more than I would have liked to, but it's hard to contain myself when surrounded by such beautiful things!
Another year, another Green Scene Expo trip with my best friend! Last year my blog post focused more on the vendors and items being sold, so this year, while I did purchase items and enjoyed the vendor section, I decided to focus more on the natural beauty of the Fullerton Arboretum.
This walkway is lined with seating and covered with beautiful flowers, making it a great spot to relax, take in the beauty and enjoy the company of your friends and nature.
The Fullerton Arboretum boasts over 26-acres of botanical gardens. I was able to manage walking the paths for at least 1.5hrs and still didn't walk them all.
The array of colors this time of year is fabulous! There are so many different plants, over 4,000 plants, making it the largest botanical garden in Orange County.
While walking near the lake, people were pointing at the water with 'ooh's and 'ahh's. At first I wasn't sure what they were seeing, until I stood still and looked hard. There were itty bitty baby turtles swimming around! There was a whole bunch of life under the surface that I may have missed if there weren't others pointing. I also saw that there was a collection of turtles on a log which I initially thought were a pile of rocks. In the photo above, there is also a family of ducks. What a great photo opportunity!
I saw these flowers and have decided this is a plant I want in my yard. Can any of My Fairy Folks help me to identify it?
Unfortunately, while I was at this event, I did learn that the future of the Fullerton Arboretum may be in danger. I was hoping to tour the Clark House but had run out of time, and now I hope it will still be there next year (if they continue to do this event, of course). I found a news article about the situation online. If you'd like to read it, click here.
I've decided this Spring I'll be planting some bulbs. I've started with two types of Lillies in this unique lamp post planter. I've also added an update to my strawberry container garden at the end.
I'm absolutely loving the beauty I get to look at every day when I come out to my garden. Since Spring is officially here, I thought I'd tour a bit of the best and brightest in my yard with this video.
My most recent haul from Jo-Ann came out to around $40 total. I used a 20% off entire purchase coupon to add to my savings. Don't be ashamed to work those coupons!
All of this Fall harvest decor was on sale at 50% off.
This decorative yet simple pumpkin was on sale at 40% off.
A home for a gnome. This was the only item I purchased at regular price which allowed me to use a 50% off coupon.
This is my most recent Lowe's haul. Three strawberry plants were $3 each and the reason for this shopping trip. The rest of the haul was an impulse buy. I don't always know what I want to purchase prior to entering the doors - most of my decision is based on deals and sales (and the colors).
I picked up some yellow and red snapdragons for $1.38 each.
This Marigold came in a 4 pack at $2.49.
This is an Evening glow mirror plant, originally $16, purchased on super sale for $5. I plan to use it as a tree in one of my fairy gardens.
King Richard Leek - Depending on how much you love leeks, or how impatient you are, these leeks can be harvested at 3-4 inches or you can wait until they reach their full length of 1ft. Whenever you choose to harvest, they suggest trying your new leek in mashed potatoes, soup or even roasted. Walla Walla Onion - Mild and extra sweet, these are not your typical onion! People have been known to eat them "like an apple" but I'm not sure how I feel about that. These along with the leeks will be the first time I've ever attempted growing onions (if you can believe it)! Touchstone Gold Beets - Have you shied away from cooking with beets because they are known for staining kitchen ware that you do not want stained? Unlike other beets, the Touchstone Gold Beet is notorious for just the opposite - NOT staining things! This fact coupled with their mild flavor makes me more likely to attempt this root vegetable in my garden and hopefully have my mind changed on my dislike of beets. Green Zebra Tomatoes - If this light green fruit with dark green stripes doesn't catch your attention, the bold, sweet taste surely will! This unique addition to the garden will have visitors requesting to take a few home to try and you'll be able to oblige because this plant is a heavy producer! Jewel Mix Nasturtium - This edible flower blooms in beautiful clusters of red, orange and yellow and I'm very excited to plant these in my garden since they are one of my favorite flowers. Royal Burgundy Bean - I was just getting ready to plant some beans the week this box arrived so this is pretty exciting. After I'm done with that I'll need to sweep my house for cameras and microphones because I don't know how this company keeps knowing exactly what I'm planning to plant! White Gold Mighty Mustard - To add to my list of "I've never grown this," this particular mustard plant is a jack of all trades! The plant serves as ground cover and suppresses weeds, attracts beneficial insects, the leaves are edible and its deep roots enrich the soil. What a power plant! Surry Arugula - This fast-growing plant has a spicy kick to it which will be a punchy surprise to add to a salad. Potassium, Calcium, vitamins C, B, K - what a great addition to my garden and with great timing, I'm preparing an area to grow a salad mix already. Seed Bank Box continues to impress me with their unique plants and vast variety. Like I always say, if I won't eat it, someone I know will (although of course I am willing to give every plant a fair chance). If you'd like to subscribe to the Seed Bank Box and have a mystery box of edible future food delivered to your door, please follow THIS LINK and let me know how you feel about what you receive. If you send me some pictures of your Seed Bank Box garden, I'd love to spotlight it here on my blog.
Look at all the wonderful fairy garden decor I picked up at Michael's at their 50% off sale! The fairy tale gate complete with crowned frogs, Strawberry house, and two magical castle's are all $7.50 each. The tiered container in the rear was only $20! I purchased a similar one in the past and love how easy it is to create a unique scene. The cobblestone and brick steps came out to $5.50. The princess was $4.00 (sorry for the bad angle, you'll see her in a future post soon). The gold banner says "happily every after" and goes perfect with all these fairy tale items, for the low price of $3.00. The wooden arbor comes complete with vines and mushrooms for only $5.00!
I'm especially thrilled about this find. This strawberry fairy home was originally $15, which is already a great price, but at 50% off it was a steal! With the addition of a few batteries, the windows will illuminate and be a warm addition to an evening scene.
This post is a two-in-one haul review! I spent around $25 at Home Depot for these new additions.
I purchased two beautiful mums, less than $2 each.
This Celosia 'Intenz' is drought tolerant. I purchased two for just under $4 each.
These two yellow Tickseed plants cost just under $8.
This six pack of sedum ground cover was under $3 total. This particular growth is nicknamed 'Tokyo Sun'.
From left to right, Gomphrena's vibrant purple flowers were priced at $2.50. "Angelface" Angelonia Hybrid in blue and pink were $3.99 each. Pentas' bushy pink flower was also $3.99 and the blue dwarf cup flower was $2.50. I've only planted the Gomphrena so far, so the other flowers will be placed in my August fairy gardens.
Today's garden is a tribute to Flag Day. This patriotic mouse has made an appearance on my blog in the past alongside the decorative sticks and American flag. White Petunias were purchased from Home Depot. The blue and red Salvia round out the American color trio. $7 was the total cost for this container garden, including gravel. All of these are sun-loving plants which is great considering Summer is heating up.
The month of May is typically very busy for me but this one was particularly special.
The first event was Mother's Day. I received some wonderful gifts from all three of my children. Above is the gift from my daughter; flowers, chocolate covered strawberries, a card and a reversible pillow. Below is the opposite side of the pillow.
This decorative light post with a planter at the base was given to me by my eldest son and is actually a solar light! I'm very excited to put it in my yard and plan to make a fairy garden at the base.
This plant was gifted to me by my youngest son. I've had this plant in the past and it didn't do too well which was disappointing so I'm glad I get this second chance at it. Below is the flower bloom after a few weeks.
The second big event in May was the anniversary of marriage to my husband. This year we celebrated 50 years together and were surrounded by friends and family at a lovely surprise brunch. Above is a photo from left to right of my niece and her first son, my husband, my granddaughter, my son and myself.
Finally, to round out May, I celebrated my birthday! I received some wonderful gifts that I plan to put in my garden soon; some fairy accessories from my daughter and a fairy house from one of my granddaughters. I also received a few gift cards for local restaurants. It was an absolutely wonderful month!
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.
By this time, all of my family knows about my dedication to this blog and to my fairy garden so when it comes to buying me gifts, there's no doubt on what to get me. This year I received some wonderful gifts for my birthday and I decided to use them for a class opportunity. From my daughter and daughter-in-law I was gifted these large, beautiful teacups that were made specifically for gardening (they came with drainage holes). It's amazing to learn of all the creative things that are out there in the world!
I went ahead and cleared out this area right next to Teapot Glen to expand on my porcelain theme gardens. This new area has been named Teacup Nook.
After clearing it out, I filled it back up - this time with silk flowers that will stand up to the Summer heat here in California and add a unique background.
I went to my local Home Depot and purchased a few small plants to fill my teacups with. The teacups have drainage holes in them under a layer of pebbles, topped with potting soil. I sought out new fairy dwellings that would be tall enough and narrow enough for this space.
Adding the fairy treehouse and some decorative rocks, the teacup container combined with the background I previously set up shows off bold pops of color!
This colorful mushroom house blends in with the surrounding foliage, looking natural - as a good fairy house does. A small table is set up for tea time.
Have you ever used teacups or teapots in your fairy garden? If you would like to share pictures of your tea-themed garden, or any fairy garden you created, please contact me. I love to see what My Fairy Folks create!
Above are some of the wonderful gifts I received from my children this past Mother's Day weekend. My daughter gave me some beautiful flowers in a vase and plans to take me to the beach for brunch. Also pictured is a "Create Your Own Fairy Garden" by Creative Roots gifted to me by youngest son which includes a handful of accessories and includes a wooden planter. And finally, not pictured, my eldest son and husband came together to fund the purchase of a Fairy Treehouse I've had my eye on for quite some time. It is about 5ft tall and... well, I won't spoil it. You'll have to wait until June to see it. I hope the rest of my readers had an enjoyable Mother's Day as well.
Myleene poses with Polly the Parrot and Carolina, her old friend and new addition to the community, for a photo opportunity at the Spring Festival.
Carolina and Myleene have been best friends for a long time. Myleene has been bragging about living in Grandma's Fairy Garden in the letters she sends to Carolina and invited her to move in. Carolina arrived just in time to celebrate with her friend, and make new ones, at the Spring Festival.
Myleene is very happy to see her friend again.
Carolina poses for her very first portrait for Grandma.
Carolina and Myleene spent most of the Spring Festival separated from the crowds, catching up.
Grandma is so happy to have another fairy in her garden, especially one who has such a good friend already.
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. 
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. 
