The Faerie Garden!!!

Hands down the most fun the kids and I have had on an art project! We found a small space in the backyard that is dappled sunlight for most of the day. We decided it was perfect for a faerie garden. We spent weeks painting houses (faeries have wings, makes sense they would like living in bird houses) and discussing what to plant. Zooey was the forman and creative director of the whole area - she chose what went where, and what our general color palette would be, but we all had freedom to paint as we chose. Ike was the fastest painter of all of us, Zooey was careful and diliberate, I spent the bulk of my time on just one thing, and Meagan handcrafted the "stained glass" window for the chapel (although its really fused glass). Finally, this past weekend, Jon got to contribute by doing some of the planting... Zooey has also sprinkled the area with native wildflower seeds and thyme... we already have some sprouts. Fingers crossed that it will grow in, and the kids will no doubt keep finding things to contribute - they have noted that the fairy tree-house for the crepe myrtle is not finished... Let's walk through the Faerie Garden now:




We start with the fairy door at the far right - it is the gateway between the magical world and our backyard - from right to left, you see the crepe myrtle (with our brass snail guarding the unfinished tree house), chapel, and dance hall. In the back, you see the bunnies marking the space where the watchtower will go (it is in production).




This is a close up of the chapel. Isn't it lovely? Meagan was responsible for this project, and hand made the window at her fused glass studio. Zooey chose this fancier pot for the chapel to sit on, knowing it would add to the grandure of it. On the crepe, you can see the base of the treehouse, and below - next to the daffodil, you can see a wishing well - painted by the cutest 4-year-old in the neighborhood, a friend who helped us out.




Here we see a few residences - Zooey's yellow house really shines here. You can see Ike's Fairy Prince castle - and really get a feel for what the garden will be when the thyme and flowers grow in. Behind the red house, we've got a "hens and chicks" succulent, and you can see some ruby grass and lavender here. You can also see that the Fairys are quite green - choosing solar power to help them with their wee electricity needs.



Meagan's gazebo is worth showing because it was our first completed structure for the garden. It will be the home for fairy tea parties, and summer concerts.



This was my main project - the hippy caravan. I really had fun, although at one point it was in danger of looking like the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo. You can see Zooey's park benches and fairy fences (to keep the mosquitos out), and her little blue house. The windmill was an ensemble piece involving Ike, myself, and Savannah, another neighborhood friend who helped out. You can see Zooey's favorite plant, the purple Pincushion flower, and Ike's Lambs Ear he chose for the garden. I forgot what that scrubby little plant behind the caravan is called, but I liked it because it looked kinda like a little mesquite bush (they will be Texan Fairys after all, right).

You can see the work we put in and the fun we had. Zooey still plans to add a few small chipped upside down pots, for frog houses. We get quite a few toads in the Spring and Fall, so she's hoping they will move into the garden. Stay tuned - I plan on updating this post when the plants grow in - perhaps mid-Summer? Anyway... thanks for reading!