I love to break plates

Today a local Convent will be having their yearly fund raiser, a rummage sale. I am going to take Molly, my 6 year old grand daughter to find plates we can break. I of course will be looking for other treasures.

I like to make signs for the fairy gardens. I will be teaching a class on making fairy gardens and I like to encourage leaving a small of original art as a gift to the fairies. If you take something from the fairies like a bottle of fairy dust off of the wishing tree, you need to leave a gift. My gifts range from broken jewelry (bling and sparkle), flowers or berries (food and beauty), and sometimes pieces of fairy furniture I have made for the garden. Lately I am really into making hammocks. I can't stop. I love tying knots and creating places to lounge in the garden.

The Fairy Garden is Finished!

The biggest fairy garden to date is now finished in my garden. It is about 4 feet deep and goes the length of almost 20 feet. It has a kitchen, a powder room, 7 home sites, a water feature, meandering path, fenced in garden, a wishing tree and a meeting hall. Some of the pieces will not be outside all the time because the birds and squirrels are having fun playing in the fairy garden too. The birds are little thieves when it comes to Spanish moss. If you are going to stop by to visit the fairy camp, best to call ahead.

Living Wreath

I have wanted to make a living wreath using succulents for a long time. I think years? This week I did it. I used a wire floral ring (mine is 14"), two black nylon knee high, potting soil, floral pins (these look like large staples), moss, fishing line type string and of course a variety of succulents.

Here is what I did.
1. Fill both knee highs with potting soil. Knot them together once they are filled.
2. Place the filled knee highs on the floral ring and attach using fishing line.

*Do the next steps on a flat surface that can get wet!
3. Make small holes in the stocking. I used a tooth pick for the really small holes for stems and scissors to cut a small hole for plants with roots. Stick the stems or roots of the succulents into the holes.
    Make sure to message or press gently on the knee high to get soil around the newly planted stems.
4. Randomly place succulents around the knee high.
5. Add moss in places to cover the parts of the knee high that is still visible. Attach the moss with floral pins.
6. Leave the living wreath laying flat and water.

You will need to leave the wreath on a flat surface for at least 2-3 weeks before hanging. You have to wait until the succulents root in before hanging. Water as needed.

When it grows and the plants make it difficult to water with a sprayer, you can place the wreath in a large container and submerge it part way in water. Remove after it's wet. Don't leave it in the water or it will die. **Succulents do not like to be over watered. This is why they make a great plant for a wreath.

Finished the Stone Fairy House

Its taken me a while and a few obstacles get over along the way. The stone fairy house is finally done! One obstacle was breaking the drill bit on the drill press. No! You do not need to have a drill press to make a fairy house but, it is nice to have. I am lucky to have my husband's in my shop. It is extremely easy to use.

I of course had a zillion, yes a zillion other tasks going on but, I finally finished the house. It will be elevated on a large stump from a shrub we had removed. It will be a part of the new fairy camp (where the Seven Gypsy Fairies of Garden Harmony live) or fairy garden.

I drilled holes for twigs to create gables.

Everywhere a Sign

I paint silver trays with chalk board paint for leaving messages with chalk around the house. This time I used white paint so it could sit near one of the fairy gardens outdoors.

Garden Chic

Years of collecting treasures are now showing up in the garden and around the deck and patio.

  

Landscape Renovation Nearing the End

I am very pleased with the renovations to the front landscaping. We replaced the colonial blue color on the window boxes, shutters and garage door to black. The new blue on the front door made a nice finishing touch. The color is called Raindrop from Sherwin Williams.

As of 5/20/14 we have filled 101 paper yard waste bags with landscape debris. The city has been here numerous times with the chipper shredder to pick up limbs and branches.

We removed the grass under the large Honey Locust  and added a small stone wall to create a Hosta garden. The roots of the tree where getting hit by the lawn mover and there was damage the base of the tree from continued weed whacking. The ivy is gone and grass seed is starting to grow.

July 2013 before renovation

My book is back!

Fairy Furniture you can make - Revised edition
available at Amazon

My book is all about learning to make fairy furniture from natural items found in your own yard. You will learn how twigs, dried flowers, acorns and broken jewelry can become enchanting furniture for the fairies that live in your garden. You will also see many photos of other fairy accessories to inspire your creativity.
(When searching, you have to include "- Revised edition" after the title or you will be taken to the "out of print" version.)

Spring Landscaping Project

The first project we are about to undertake is a total renovation to the front landscape. This is the before picture. The plan is to create a bed around the Honey Locust tree with native stone from the stone wall in the back yard. We are going to add a french drain to help with water the collects.  Removal of all old bushes and replace them with some that remain small. I want a few Hemlocks near the deck for privacy and winter green as well as height on the corner of the house. We will be removing ivy and putting grass seed down.  Large river rock around the foundation. Last will be changing the blue to black on the house and painting the door a sea glass blue. Sounds like a busy weekend or weekends for a while.

Pansy Time

If you have ever lost someone you love, you know what I mean when I say "at times, there are memories." There are certain days that they fill your thoughts. Holidays, Birthdays and other Special Occasions. For me the first Pansy I see each Spring remind me of MOM. She loved them. She grew them and carefully picked and pressed them.  She took a calligraphy class just to make framed works of art with

pressed pansies. Each spring I am out looking for pansies as early as possible. Yesterday I found these. I brought a little bit of Mom home again!