Miniature gardens for fairies and other little folk
ture. We get a thrill out of creating a home outside our home. This probably stems from some atavistic memory of the days when we lived in caves – or maybe it’s an urge to return to our childhood when fantasizing about living as grownups held so much allure. When I was a girl of about eight, my
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sister and I made a fairy garden in an old horse trough on our uncle’s farm. We used bits of moss for beds and lawns. We used sand for walkways and stone for chairs and tables. Odd pieces of wood made other furniture. Every evening, when it was time to go inside, we would set traps for the fairies and every morning we would run down to the garden to see if the fairies had been to visit. Alas, we were never able to attract these little people but we never lost hope, either, until at last winter came and destroyed our handiwork.
14 SPRING 2013
alf the fun of gardening is playing — not just with plants but with landscapes and accessories and furni-
Today, a lot of people are revisit-
ing those magical times. You can buy miniature furniture for miniature gardens (or fairy gardens, if you prefer). You can buy the furniture and figurines at most garden centres. Look for tiny patio sets, swings, arbours, even bird- baths, little benches and bridges. There are miniature pagodas, birdhouses and garden sheds, too. As the popularity of the pastime grows, so does the number of accessories you can find. There are probably lots of found
materials in your garden and tickle boxes, too. A broken piece of mirror could make a lovely pond. A bit of driftwood, an oddly shaped rock; these items will give your garden personal- ity. A flat stone or a mosaic of broken crockery could be a patio. Make your own lattice with a few twigs or an arbour from a bent branch. What is the theme of your garden?
Is it a woodland, a desert, a back yard, a day at the beach – what tickles your sense of whimsy? Maybe your garden
is to attract little boys, so you might want a jungle with a dinosaur or two lurking in the greenery. Or maybe it’s a fairyland for little girls. Maybe it’s a place where trolls hide out under the bridge, or a ranch where cowpokes mosey along through the cactus and sand. The theme may help you decide
where you are going to create this little world. An old birdbath is perfect, but any container will do: an old tin tub, a tufa or cement trough, a terra cotta bowl, an unused basket:
just about
anything will work. For the cottage, a hollowed out log would do very well. You can create a miniature garden in a glass globe, maybe an old brandy snifter or simply a kitchen bowl that you don’t use any more. An aluminum cake pan would work. If you’re handy with a hammer and nails, you could make a miniature garden box. Hey, it’s your dream world. Whatever you use, though, having some drainage is a good idea.
www.localgardener.net
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