Garden Craft Tutorial: Woodland Fairy Garden in a hollow log!
Girls may grow up, but rarely lose their fascination with creating tiny worlds that let their imaginations run wild. Remember the fashion to create elaborate and detailed dollhouses? Now, our thoughts turn to fairy gardens! Here, Jeanie describes how she made a woodland garden as a fairy habitat.
One day Jeanie Merritt, of London, Ohio took several fairy gardens she made to the Farmer’s Market to sell. A retired restaurant owner, Jeanie had sold her baked goods at several Markets, and this time planned to share her mini gardens. Jeanie has made a specialty of creating miniature gardens suitable for fairies! Now she has future plans to create an entire neighborhood of mini gardens around her patio.
One of Jeanie’s Fairy gardens for her booth at London’s Rib and Jazz Fest one weekend
“I visited some friends one day and while there I noticed some old pieces of wood stumps in their garden… they had chopped down some trees on their property. I asked her what she was going to do with them… and she said, “Give you all you want!” I only took one.”
Making a miniature garden from a hollow log.
“My friends had these pieces of log…They kindly told me to help myself…” Jeanie tells us.
“I took it to a friend who has a woodworking shop and he cut a hole in center for me to add dirt and make another fairy garden. He said his initial plan was to use a router but he came up with some better idea…He never did tell me how in the end, just gave it to me with a wonderful hollow for soil…!” Jeanie says.
“The materials I used, the hollowed out log, potting soil and plants”
Jeanie’s finished woodsy fairy garden
Jeanie says, “The mushroom ‘house’ is the very first thing I ever bought two years ago when I started my interest in fairy gardening…I put a door on it and the handle is off of an old flea market piece of jewelry. The white gazing ball, partly hidden in this picture by the variegated oregano, is a golf tee with a white marble glued on top.. I’m calling this garden, 267 Woodland Home Drive, Fairyville, Ohio.
More fairy tips from Jeanie:
You never know what you’ll find and when
“Yesterday I did not go yard sale-ing, Flea Marketing, or dumpster diving….on purpose. However, I had an errand to run in an adjoining town and while I was there I stopped for breakfast. The owner of the restaurant, whom I knew, told me about a yard sale just a “little ways” out of town…and wrote down directions. That “little ways” turned out to be 10 miles of unfamiliar back roads! But oh so worth it! I found several birdhouses,… small ones for my mini-gardens, and this gem for my mini garden.”
Fairy garden miniatures are easy to find at ‘After Christmas’ sales.
After Christmas sales
Scavenge the after Christmas sales at craft and department stores for ornaments and toys, dolls and dollhouse furniture, miniatures, that can be used for fairy gardens and miniature gardens. Use your imagination,…it’s fun!
Jeanie’s found treasure!
Jeanie’s Fairy land
“I am developing in a secret place in my own gardens for a collection of fairy gardens… How perfect is this old white metal, slightly rusty, steepled church? I think I scored..what do you think? This is getting addictive!”
Fairies are found on Amazon:
Miniature Fairy Garden Forget-Me-Not Fairy
Get more great ideas for creative gardening year-round at http://www.fleamarketgardening.org/
