Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Mini Gardens

A dear friend and old neighbor reminded me the other day of a mini garden I created circa 2003.        I had seen some very simple garden pots planted up in this manner, but they were lacking something. I wanted to make a Fairy Garden... a place where a little garden fairy might like to sit and relax, or a gnome might take up residence. Of course, any good garden gnome has his/her garden tools always at the ready!



In my case, I used a "toad" house as the gnome's abode, and miniature dollhouse accessories from Michaels.


There are now many websites devoted to the creation of fairy gardens, and provide some truly amazing props! Check it out!



From www.fairygardenstore.com    EEEEK... how adorable is this??





From www.miniaturegardenshoppe.com     How sweet is this tiny hummingbird and feeder?



And look at this DARLING potting shed!




From the self-proclaimed originator of Fairy Gardens, we have www.fairygardenexpert.net
Apparently they started it all way, way... WAY back in 2001. That's quite a bold statement to make.
Of course, it seems to me that miniature gardens had been created for a long time before that (think bonsai and later, English trough gardens). One of my all-time favorites was in the Moby Dick ride at Disneyland! You'd float past little villages and farms with windmills, tiny streams and waterfalls... who's to say that a fairy didn't take up residence there?



And finally, check out  www.twogreenthumbs.com



A book completely devoted to the subject!  It's due out June 25th, available on Amazon.com.
oooooh.I SO want this!



Oh, and just so I don't get into trouble here, I must add: "Fairy Gardening" is now trademarked by Fairy Gardening Inc.  Seriously??   They sell kits that include a box for planting, soil, pebbles, an arbor and bench, birdbath and wheelbarrow. Conveniently, they also sell a whole line of plants that stay small "with proper pruning and care".

Guess I missed my calling to create a business out of fairy gardening. Never considered there could be money made from creating something so sweet, innocent, and appealing... and that it could become so...so... commercial. But I do love them.  Just too darn cute.

2 comments:

  1. Wow, this is really cool....I've seen or heard of miniature gardens before - my daughters would love these!

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  2. Great Article. it is really interesting, I hope everybody lick this Post.

    ReplyDelete