Fairy Garden Class - Teacups in the Garden

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!

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Gifts for the Garden

Recently I decided to create a new collection with some older things (I only spent money on the moss for this one). I went ahead and took a variety of clippings from my succulents to dress up a few pots I already had, including this one with a cherub on it. The statue of the cherub helps to carry the theme to a different style pot.

Continuing the angel theme, I brought out these two figures that were gifted to me by one of My Fairy Folks. The lighter ground cover surrounding the angels helps to accentuate them, almost acting as a spotlight.

These musical angels are accompanied by a few varieties of succulents that vary in color.

This is an angel after my own heart, holding a bundle of sunflowers in a sunflower dress, with a few in her hair and at her feet! What a great gift for Grandma; thank you, follower!

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Celebrating the Holidays

This season, Grandma suggested that the Fall and winter holidays be stretched longer and share decorations, so here is a fairy garden container that is decorated to represent Halloween and Christmas.

Snowmen only visit during the winter. This one is dressed in a hat and scarf.

At the first sight of snow, Jezelle pushed some snow together, grabbed a sled and tried her best.

This snowman prides himself on his fashion sense.

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Fairy Garden Class - Herbs Anytime of Year

In the Fall, I noticed a new fragrance in the air of my Fairy Garden. I followed the scent which led to a small container full of herbs which are great year round for cooking. After a little snooping, I discovered it was the work of Brianna who arrived short of two years ago. I sat down to talk with her and found out that she has been working with the children to learn about herbs and grow them. "That's right," I said "I remember when you were offered the job, you were so excited to teach!" We planned to meet again soon so I could take pictures of her work and possibly sit in on a class.

Start with a container.
I used a typical terra cotta pot.

Find some herbs you are likely to use in your
cooking. I found this at a local Stater Bros.
Market which includes Rosemary, Thyme
and Sage.

This German Thyme was found at Home Depot.

This Lemon Thyme is also from Home Depot.

By placing your herbs around the edges and rear of the pot, you allow yourself room to place decor of your choice to make this a decorative yet functional container garden!

If you have any questions about herbs, container gardens, or anything else we share here on the blog (including questions about a fairy in particular), please feel free to contact Grandma Sandy in the comment or via email.

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My Fairy Folks: Refurbished Gate

I was over at my best friend's house this week. She follows my blog and wanted to show me the things that she had repurposed in her yard. Shown above is an old gate that she discovered over at her son's house. He was going to get rid of it but she said "son, put it in the backseat of my car." As you can see, she has turned it into a decorative planter with air plants. Now this is a work of art and also one-of-a-kind so if you see an old gate, here's one way to repurpose it.

Here is BlueBell with her magic wand. She was working her magic in the yard and overheard me discussing with my friend the upcoming wedding. When I mentioned I was worried about my yard not looking its best for the occasion, BlueBell sweetly offered her services so she is currently working with the rest of my Fairy community to come up with beautiful arrangements and suggestions to present to the happy couple.

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Hawaii Inspires New Addition to Fairy Shores

I've finally done it! The plan and promise I made over a year ago to incorporate my worldly travel into my Fairy Garden has finally come to fruition. This is the first installation and represents my time in the Hawaiian Islands. I particularly enjoyed my time in O'ahu, specifically at the Polynesian Cultural Center. If I ever get a chance to return, I'd love to experience their evening luau.

The container was only $5 due to some damage. Damaged containers are a great way to save money on your fairy garden. In the picture above, you can barely notice the damage thanks to plant placement. I made sure to use tropical plants and took a lot of time finding a pineapple plant. Of course, drainage was put in before I began to fill it, as shown in the picture on the right.

This seahorse was a yard decoration my friend had. When I spotted it, I made sure to let her know that if she ever decided to get rid of it, I'd take it off her hands. A year later she remembered my infatuation with it and called me to say she was ready to part with it. 

Here is the illusive pineapple plant. I couldn't begin my Hawaii garden without it and I finally found it after a year of searching! I have a friend who has been trying to grow one and is having trouble so I knew I needed to buy one with fruit already on it. These plants get pretty big and the leaves are pretty sharp so you should give it 4 to 6 feet to grow and not crowd other plants.

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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. 

Fairies come as soon as a garden is finished.  Ivy and Simone enjoy the new scene.

Julip plucks at a rose and enjoys the afternoon.

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Fairy Garden Class - Garden Under $10, Part 1

This month I'll be doing something a little different with the fairy garden class. Not only is the theme "Garden Under $10" (which is a loose definition because they're made with items I already have from previous fairy gardens that simply need a spruce up), but I'm also going to spread them out to four different posts so I can focus on one garden each week. My granddaughter thinks this is just a ploy to allow me to post more pictures of each fairy garden. I neither confirm or deny this.

This is what I started with; a container garden that I used as a Winter scene.  I redo most of my fairy gardens once or twice a year to try and stay in season and, if the scene calls for it, to replace dead plants or ones that have become "too big for their britches." Since it's not Winter anymore and the spider plants are getting too big to be managed, I am going to relocate them and remove the white "snow" pebbles to start.

I took out the mushroom house as well and put an overturned saucer that will offer a flat, raised platform.

I nestled in a cluster of white and lavender alyssum in place of the spider plant here to add some more color that the Winter scene was lacking.

Irish Moss is a much better option for ground coverage than "snow" pebbles for a lively Spring or Summer scene.

The Dollar Tree is a great store and if there isn't one in your area, try thrift stores. I found these three fairies for a total of $1 and the house was $1 (the gate was something I got at a yard sale years ago which I ended up using behind the house to prop up the plant behind it). The Irish moss was $4.95 and the alyssum was .80, bringing the total spruce up cost to $7.75.

I borrowed pebbles and small rocks from other fairy gardens around my yard to fill in the space the moss does not cover and I think it turned out very cute. It only takes a few dollars to liven up an out-of-season fairy garden.

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Celebrating Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year is May 8th. To all the mothers, grandmothers, godmothers and anyone else who has had a hand in raising a child; here's to recognizing your efforts in supporting our futures. Pictured above is my most recent picture of Princess Jezelle and Queen AmberLynn.

Happy Mother's Day.

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Greenery and Growth in Poppy Lane

Here is a never before seen picture of the area we now refer to as Poppy Lane. Back in early 2014, before I even started this blog, it boasted an array of succulents and other life. Hiding under the soil are the beginnings of my experience with Sunflowers.

The video above shows how Poppy Lane started back in March, 2015. Unfortunately, at that time, there weren't any poppies in bloom and coverage was minimal.

Just a few months ago in January, I posted about our beloved Poppy Lane's renovation in progress. I added a cinder block border that allowed a natural spacing for poppy planting as well as a variety of succulents. It was the beginning of a new hope for my yard which I was very excited about. In the short amount of time from then to now, look at the growth in Poppy Lane!

January 2016

March 2016

Not only has Poppy Lane grown out, my lawn is so much more green and I've gotten so many compliments from my neighbors!

January 2016

March 2016

It's so wonderful to have a plethora of poppies in Poppy Lane for a change! The fairies took notice to the attention I gave this area of the community in the last few months and took it upon themselves to do some upgrades of their own!

Beautifully accented by the array of flora and succulents, this home is great for a fairy that loves sunshine. There is also an even smaller house nearby for a small animal companion or child's playhouse.

A closer look inside suggests that whoever was here last night had a fun celebration with Elderberry Wine.

Surrounded by vibrant poppies, another sunflower is well on it's way to it's journey toward the sun.

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