What is a Fairy Garden?
Here are some tricks and tips to help you create your own fairy garden. First, you’re going to want to enlist your kids. It is a magical project that will inspire them to be more creative and dream big. It also teaches them how to be responsible by giving them the responsibility of maintaining garden plants. Now, there are two ways to go about this project.
The Traditional Fairy Garden
The traditional fairy garden is a habitat built to lure fairies in. You can start by providing a house for your fairies. This could be hand-built or bought; I’m confident the fairies won’t know the difference. Then you just start expanding by building things like fences, miniature gardens, maybe a moat or a mailbox. You can do a little each day and watch it grow. I recommend you take before and after photos and share them with your friends and family on Facebook. You can also buy little fairy sized items online or at your local garden store. Feel free to add your own personal touch to these and be creative. It’s a great way to spend quality time with your kids this summer.
Non-traditional Fairy Garden
Second, you can take the more non-traditional route. If your kids are young enough, or they really love the elf on the shelf they might really enjoy this version. You start by providing them with a fairy, or other woodland creature. Then tell your kids to leave something behind for them to eat so they have enough energy to begin building, and just like the elf on a shelf, the magic will happen while your child is sleeping. The fairies will start creating their home, with parental help of course, but your kids don’t have to know that. Every morning when your kids wake up tell them to go check on their new, little friends. As you build more homes for the fairies more fairies will move in.
My Fairy Garden
I’ll tell you the story of our own fairy garden. We started our village with a fairy for the ten-year old, Hope, and a gnome for the six-year, Shane. They chose a spot in our landscaping and fed them a hearty meal of jelly beans. That night it rained; which was an unexpected blessing in disguise. It bleached the jelly beans of color and the Shane rushed inside, yelling, “Come look! The gnomes turned the jelly beans into eggs!” His excitement was infectious, and we all started to become more invested in this little garden. As the village continued to grow, so did the population of gnomes and fairies. Every day the kids rushed home from school to see what their new friends had done.
One day Shane was having a one-sided conversation with the gnomes, completely unaware that we were eavesdropping. He asked the gnomes to please send him a message to let him know that they were real and not just toys. Needless to say, the next day there was a tiny letter in the miniature gnome mailbox. Now he talks to the gnomes everyday, and they continue to leave behind little messages for him. Soon, the gnomes decided the village needed some protection. They started digging a moat and the fairies added a bridge for everyone’s convenience. Unfortunately this new structure attracted some mischievous trolls. (You know how trolls are with bridges). The conflict between the trolls and the village escalated, and the trolls kidnapped a fairy. The gnomes were devastated and begged the kids to help them save their friend. It was an adventure like no other with daring heroes and treasure maps. Fortunately, the fairy was rescued and returned home. The next day I was surprised to find the trolls with their heads buried in the ground. Apparently, they needed to be punished for their misdeeds. The fairy garden has become a hilarious, fun, and creative way for us to interact with the kids. These are memories they will carry with them forever, and when they are all grown up, I hope they will create similar memories for their children.
At Mr. Roof we are proud to be a part of the community, so if you are looking for more fun things to do this summer, with or without your kids, check out our Facebook and Twitter. We will keep you posted on what events we are involved in this summer, and we will continue to post interesting blogs about home improvement, gardening, roofing, and more.
