Background
One day, when I was a little girl, my Dad mowed around a daisy circle in the middle of the lawn. He whispered to me that he’d left it there because fairies dance around daisy circles at sunrise. He added that I’d have to be very quiet while watching out for them or they wouldn’t appear.
For weeks I sat silently at sunrise looking for the dancing fairies and was almost, maybe, possibly certain that I glimpsed the flutter of gossamer wings a few times. Ever since then I’ve wanted a fairy village in my garden.
Now that Ferny Hill Retreat is almost up and running – and it’s quite a magical spot – I’ve decided to add even more enchantment by creating a fairy garden. It’s going to be a large village set beneath a huge gum tree, with everything that mystical folk need for a happy life.
A home for all
I’m also going to make sure that the fairy garden is inclusive. Many current examples limit themselves to the cute and the sweet, like fairies. This is fine I guess, but we all know that that the opposite of cute and sweet exist in the ‘real’ tiny-folk realm.
So this fairy garden will not discriminate. It will be a place for trolls, witches, ghosts, dragons and other beings typically considered ‘dark’, along with Tinkerbell and her friends.
Why am I taking this stand?
Frankly, I feel sorry for the Dark. Many are shunned by their fairy counterparts, forced to wander the earth homeless and destitute. They’ve have a bad wrap over the years and I firmly believe they deserve a home as much as the others.
Even though the fairies are likely to be concerned, I’m forging ahead. This is one small step I can take to lend these much maligned folk a helping hand. .
What’s next?
Now that you have a good idea of what I plan to create. I’ll be adding more info as the Fairy Village progresses. The posts that are coming up will focus on how the village is built.
I’ve never created a Fairy Garden before but will be fully transparent. I’ll be sharing:
- what works and how it was done, as well as
- the inevitable things that don’t work and what is done to fix them.
The posts will be practical and include any tips I uncover so, if interested, you can follow along and learn.
Part 2 in the series covers Planning:
- How to choose the right spot
- Fairy Garden styles and accessories, and
- Sketching a Fairy Garden Plan
Planning is a step Nathan, my fabulous gardener and I were tempted to skip but we’re so glad we didn’t. It saved us a lot of time and effort in the long run!
