Create a Fairy Garden

If you read this week’s article, , you know that I’m rediscovering my inner child these days. Like too many busy mothers, I forgot about her around the same time they placed my own infant child in my arms and life as a parent began.

Being a mom continues to be the greatest blessing of my life. But it is easy to lose ourselves to the role, to forsake the pleasures we once found in the little things. We forget how to be girls.

And that’s what led me to learn about fairy gardens.

My friend Kathy recently mentioned a fairy garden and I was immediately intrigued. I learned that it is a miniature garden containing living plants and small, ornamental structures. These whimsical small-scapes are made with love and a lot of imagination by girls of all ages.

You start with a small container, such as a wooden box or the bowl of a birdbath. A shallow pottery piece or terra cotta pot at least twelve inches wide would work well. You fill your container with soil and then use your creativity to design a mini garden.

Before you select plants for your garden, decide on a theme. Are you creating a wooded area for fairies to relax? An herb garden to be tended by little sprites? What season does your garden represent?

Once you decide on your theme, you select the plants and layout your “scene.” You may want to use small pebbles to create a cobblestone path through a section of the garden. Or lay out shiny blue marbles to represent a little brook. Add a seating area with miniature furniture for visiting fairies. Lots of other accessories can be included in your garden, such as a small ceramic cottage, a walking bridge or a little arbor.

Pick your plants according to the season and your theme. Small patches of moss, creeping thyme and other miniature leaf plants that vine are perfect. Dwarf mondo grass is also nice. You might want to incorporate some small succulents for height and color.

Remember: You’re creating a tiny world and you are only limited by your imagination!

Did you know that you can learn to create your own fairy garden at , in Downtown Woodstock? Laurie schedules classes each month and will help you design a unique garden in about an hour.

The class costs $40 and includes a wooden planting box, soil, seasonal plants and a wee toadstool table and chair for your fairy. Laurie helps you select a garden fairy figurine, and shares with you important details regarding your particular fairy’s purpose and preferences. Using pea gravel, moss and other treasures from nature, your garden quickly comes to life.

The more I learned about fairy gardens from Laurie, the more fascinated I became. Linden borrows from the flower fairy characters and legends created in the early part of the 20th century by English illustrator Cicely Mary Barker.  This imaginative woman published flower fairy books with seasonal themes. Each of her magical characters is unique in appearance and personality.

You can create an indoor/outdoor fairy garden in a container, or set up a scene in any nook of your yard. Plantings can be rotated according to the seasons. And definitely use your imagination to add to your garden over time. Pieces of a broken cup or mirror, seashells and small oddities you find around your house will add to the ongoing story of your garden and its guardian.

Escape your adult life one afternoon this fall and go visit Laurie at Linden. See her multiple fairy gardens and then sign up for a class. Be sure to tell her Dee sent you! And enjoy some time with that inner girl.