I admit it. Originally I was skeptical about Fairy
Gardens, particularly for adults. With a
full-sized garden and landscape to care for, I could not wrap my head around
itty-bitty scenes and itty-bitty plants that might dry out too quickly. But
with millions of people puzzling and writing about weaning today’s children
away from their computer games and luring them into the great outdoors, I have
changed my tune.
To me, Fairy Gardens are the outdoor version of
Dollhouses. Fairy Gardens are furnished with miniature structures and
doll-sized accessories appealing to children: little fences, little birdbaths,
little garden tools. What’s more, they include Actual Living Plants! This gets
the idea of plants, soil, sunshine, photosynthesis, growing, dirty hands and
success into young hands. And even if it seems to be entering gardening through the back
door, if it works, it’s fine with me! When I saw a young girl standing
mesmerized by the array of Fairy Gardening accessories in my nearby independent
garden center, I was convinced!
Fairy Gardens can be laid out formally on table top,
with a $375 Primrose Cottage 27.25 inches tall, or less formally with homemade houses
and benches that are crafted by kids and incorporated into a dish garden or an in-ground garden niche.
On Pinterest, one Fairy Garden Board has 864 people following 153
pins (so far), all of imaginative Fairy Gardens.
In terms of Fairy Plants, tiny ground covers such as
Scotch and Irish Moss and Corsican Mint in the Stepables lineup come to mind.
Perfect as a small evergreen for a Fairy Landscape
is Garden Debut®’s Micron® Holly PP21168, a diminunitive little holly with very
small leaves reaching 20 inches in height at maturity.
If a Flowering Fairy Shrub is needed there is
Princess Lyla™ Crapemyrtle that reliably adds summer color at only about a foot
and a half tall, the littlest princess in the Princess Series
by Garden Debut®.
Do you know a child who might fall in love with
gardening if introduced through the world of Fairy Gardens? Let’s hear from
you.
top photo thank you to Liesel Allen Merkel
posting a few weeks later, after Halloween, a photo of Halloween in the Fairy Garden.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?bid=546864471995702&set=a.354274917921326.105388.236792266336259&type=1&theater
posting a few weeks later, after Halloween, a photo of Halloween in the Fairy Garden.
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| photo by Jeremie Corp |
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?bid=546864471995702&set=a.354274917921326.105388.236792266336259&type=1&theater
