The Lady Pearl

A pearl is a unique gift from another living thing. The Oyster, while living in the bottom of the ocean takes a grain of sand and creates something very beautiful. I think pearls are enchanting.

Pearl is the name of the enchanting fairy who takes great bride and joy from planning all of the entertaining in the garden. I call her "Lady Pearl" because she is graceful and she has the etiquette of a fine English Lady. She organizes and hosts the "Garden Tea Party". She plans picnics and other outdoor events. She will let me know a long ways in advance "mark my calendar, company is coming"!

Pearl loves company or out of town guests. I think she secretly would like to own and operate a Bed and Breakfast some day. When guests arrive Pearl likes to have the everything ready. She wants the silver polished and the china sparkling clean. The cloth napkins are all folded to her liking and waiting in a basket. She will have me wash and iron numerous table cloths. Flowers, flowers, flowers! Everywhere there are vases of flowers gathered from the gardens. She has a trick of used wide bottomed containers like vintage cookie jars. This allows for very large flower arrangements that will not tip over.

Pearl likes to "WOW" her guest with food too. She will carefully plan a menu ahead of time. Everything is taken care down to the last detail. The day before guests arrive the kitchen is busy making many delicious baked goods. "Make the plan, work the plan" she says with a smile. Pearl will keep things running smoothly and she looks elegant doing it too!

The Fairy Camp is a Busy Place

   

Entrance to the Camp of the Seven Fairies 

      Take a peek inside Camp Seven Fairies. There is so much to see. The pictures are only small bits and pieces of the camp site. This is my biggest fairy garden and certainly the most fun to build.


DIY Sign - Break a plate. Use a Dremel tool with a sanding bit and sand off the sharp edges. Place the plate in a plastic bag when breaking to avoid small pieces flying. Use a diamond bit to drill holes. Marking pens for ceramics are used to write with. A bent twig and string and you have created an entrance sign to your fairy garden!

The Council Ring for the 

Sisterhood of the Seven Gypsy Fairies of Garden Harmony

. 

Meetings every new moon.

Camp view of the "Wishing Tree". The fairies hang bottles of fairy dust on it and nap in the tea cup swings.

One of seven home sites at the camp.

    

A bench to rest on.

The camp garden.

If you find the path near the fenced camp garden,  it leads to the fairy kitchen.

The camp kitchen.

The hidden powder room.

Fairy Garden Number "3"

This was a perfect day! The weather was delightful. Our stately large Oak tree kept the yard very comfortable.  I began working on the fairy camp or fairy garden #3 in my landscape.

Back in early April we removed many large older shrubs. We have learned not to cut the shrubs to the ground before digging up the stumps. Leaving 2' or 3' from the base allows for leverage when trying to move and remove stumps during the digging.  As usual, I saw potential! I quickly dragged the stumps off and hid them.

Last week I tried to remove as much of the soil as possible with my trowel. I used the hose sprayer to remove the rest of the dirt that remained.

The clean stumps sat for a few days and dried nicely. I thought they were perfect for the fairy garden. I planted them in a 4' by 15' garden along the side fence line toward the back of the garden. Some I planted upside down. This will allow me to elevate fairy houses and also give me places to hang the hammocks I am building. One of the shrubs will be filled with tea cup swings.

Cricket Makes Compost Cakes

Before                                           Our wonderful Cricket now.

One of the smaller fairies to join my garden community is named Cricket. She keeps the garden tidy. Cricket likes to fly around the garden gathering plant debris. She makes neat little piles by layering dead plant material and soil. When I see a pile, I dig a hole next to it about 10 inches deep by 10 inches wide. Cricket returns to fill the hole and create a small hill of plant waste. When I see a the little mound encircled with sticks and stones, fresh flowers petals and a bit of fairy dust on the top, I know she has moved on to the next one.  I call these fancy compost piles "Cricket Cakes." Over the next few weeks the piles slowly decay and become sweet compost. Cricket thinks of herself as a self taught chef of plant food.

Cricket Cakes can be found around the garden.

Cricket and I have been working many longs hours to tidy up the garden. The gardener that lived here before me had a more natural and untouched style of gardening. I love that gardening is such an individual thing. No two gardeners are completely on the same page. We each have our own style and that's the way it should be! The gardener before me had a large compost bin in the corner of the garden. Thank you! I used this to fill my new raised garden beds that Twigs and I just completed.

As I strive to make this MY garden, the fairies are working along side me. I am a very blessed woman!

A New Fairy Arrives

Tomma Tillo

I was resting quietly after a long day of working in the garden, ( I refer to my entire yard as "the garden"). My chaise lounge was even more comfortable than I remember. My eyes were closed and the stillness of the evening was very relaxing. I began to hear a fairy near me. I did not give it much thought since the fairies are always buzzing here and there in the garden. I started to realize it was not going away and it seemed to be very close. Then the sound stopped and at the same time I felt something land on my chest. I slowly opened one eye. Looking  back at me was a tiny little man fairy? I have only met gal fairies. With both eyes opened I said "Hello, I'm Linda and you are in my garden."

He responded "Hello to you too! I know who you are. Fairies everywhere are talking about the lady who moved into this old house and has made a fairy welcome garden." He had my undivided attention now. I started to sit up and I said "Really? Do tell me what you have heard about Linda Lu." He explained news travels fast in the fairy realm when a human is fairy friendly. Everyone is talking about the Sisterhood of the Seven Gypsy Fairies and wondering if there is room for more fairies in your garden.

My mind started to race. I should think about this. If I say yes, will my garden turn into a Fairy Woodstock? If I say no, will I regret turning them away? The truth is, I adore the sisterhood of the seven fairies living here. Building a fairy safe community would be wonderful for all us.

"There could possibly be room for more fairies" I said. The little fairy spun up in the air, landed back on my chest, removed his acorn cap and bowed. "Allow me to introduce myself" he said "I am Tomma Tillo and I am pleased to make your acquaintance!" He made me smile. He was quite dramatic. "I can help you" he said. "Do I need help?" I responded. "There is a rumor going on that you are growing poison ivy" said Tomma. "Oh, that" I said. I also explained its not that I am growing it, it came with the house. I am trying to banish it and for now, stay away from it. "Yes, yes, yes, I need help with that evil weed."

We chatted for a while. I really started to like spending time with Tomma. I think he will fit in nicely. I told him he was welcome to search the garden for a spot to make his home. I also asked him to be respectful of the area in and around the camp where the sisterhood lived. He assured me that there was no need to be concerned since he stopped at the camp before finding me. He wanted to make sure all of the ladies of the garden would welcome him.

I have come to learn when the fairies want something, the air is filled with determination and perseverance. You can feel a tingle or charge in the air. The fairies are up to something!

The Star Opal

Yes! There is harmony in my garden. When the fairies are busy planning and working together, there is a feeling of complete harmony in the garden. One of the fairies contributes to this by sharing her bubbly personality to keep everyone motivated. She is that friend everyone likes to be around. She lifts your spirits and makes you smile. She glows with "positivity"! In fact she sings with it. Opal flutters around the garden, dances down tree branches and spreads inspiration dust. This little fairy sings all the time. She adores show tunes and dreams of being on Broadway. For now she is happy being the Star Opal of the garden. She knows, to get the energy moving in the garden, you just have to dance and sing! It helps the plants grow too.

Create a Fairy Tale

Imagine walking around an antique store. Not the fancy, everything is shined and polished on glass shelves kind of store but the kind of antique store you really have to look! You have to look behind things to see what is hiding kind of store. These are my favorite type of antique stores. I love the dusty flea market type. This is the store you leave with "a find."

While rummaging at a store I stumbled onto a small basket under a shelf filled with tiny vintage dolls. Some had the original clothing on the doll. Others had hand made crocheted dresses and under garments. The dolls were in need of a bath. They looked like they had traveled much. They appeared as Gypsies. Later I found out they are actually called Travel Dolls.

The faces are so beautiful. They look like old Hollywood. They needed a new home and an Eliza Doolittle make over. I picked seven. When I got home I started with an internet search for cleaning old doll hair. Conditioner was recommended to use. All but one did OK with this. The hair fell off as soon as it got wet.

I went down into my studio found scraps of fabric and open up my sewing machine. I started sewing small dresses and skirts. Later I made some head pieces. I use fabric glue and Velcro to attach the cloths. I picked up a few holiday flowers on clearance. I used the petals of the holiday floral to make wings. The wings are attached with wire.

This was the beginning of The Seven Gypsy Fairies of Garden Harmony.

Fairy Bed

When the fairies wake from their winter nap I will have some new furniture for them. I have completed a bed and a few more chairs. I am excited to start working on the new location for the fairies to call home. It will be in the back of the garden and on a knoll.

The Bug Fairy

Ruthie is named after my Grandmother. My Grandmother only grew one thing in her garden. Mint! It was a very small area next to her kitchen door. She lived in a small bungalow on a city lot. Grandma Ruth had mint in her tea pot at every meal.  She also made the best Sweet Tea.  She took the left over tea and added it to a pitcher along with the juice of two freshly squeezed lemons and 1 cup of sugar.

Mint can get out of control if you let it grow in your garden. But I don't care. My sisters and my daughters all have a spot for mint at their homes. It is a must for us to grow. The scent reminds me of my younger days of time spent with Grandma. I always volunteered to cut the mint for the tea.

Ruthie is kind and gracious, just like my Grandmother. Ruthie makes friends easily. She calls every insect and animal who live in our garden her friends. I expect by the end of summer they will all have names. As long as they all play nice together, they are welcome in our garden.

The Fairy Who Builds

Twigs is the fairy who builds.  She is happiest when she is making some sort of physical structure. My current garden has a long list of future building projects. I am looking forward to getting the input from Twigs on all of these projects. I also look forward to the moments I can verbalize to my husband "Twigs and I do not agree with you." Not all projects go smoothly at our house. If fact when it comes to most projects, I have to decide at what point I say "win some loose some."

Before and after picture of Twigs. Her hair completely fell off when I was
cleaning her. She has new hair.

Adopt a Fairy

Available for adoption.

The Seven Gypsy Fairies are not just part of the garden, they have become a part of the family. We will be happy when other gardeners foster or adopt a fairy thru The Sisterhood of the Seven Gypsy Garden Fairy rescue program.
I am still finding vintage dolls aka garden fairies to save. I will be bringing them with me when I make appearances. Hopefully others will find it in their hearts to help put them into the "fairy protection program" by assisting to create a new fairy identity.

Where are the Fairies?

This is little known secret about how the fairies spend the winter.

Some fairies choose to fly south for the winter. Just as some people like to enjoy warm sunshine all year, so do some fairies. Other fairies are so busy throughout the growing season they choose to rest for the winter.

In late summer or early fall the garden fairies search for places to sleep through the winter months.  I am fortunate to have a very large very old Oak tree in my garden. There are many nooks and crannies in this tree. There is also an old stone wall with many holes that appear as teeny tiny caves.

As autumn approaches, the fairies look for these hidden spots and start to gather things that can be used for a warm and comfy bedding. If you find a nook with dried grass, soft leaves of Lambs Ear and scented herbs like Lavender, you may have stumbled onto a winter fairy nest.

Just about the time that the last leaves fall from the trees, the fairies disappear. As a fairy falls into their deep winter sleep something magical happens. The fairy becomes a reflection of the winter fairy nest they have created. This is the reason you can’t find them in the garden.

The fairies will begin to wake when the Forsythias are finished blooming and the leaves start to show on many of the trees, shrubs and other plants in

the garden.

The Seven Gypsy Fairies of Garden Harmony

Each of the fairies has a special talent in the garden. I will be sharing the stories of these talents in future posts.

These vintage treasures represent what I think the fairies in my garden look like. I have not seen my fairies but, I know they are there.

 "I don't need to see a million dollars to know it exists!"
        (Some form of this phrase is from a movie I saw.)

The vintage dolls before they became my seven fairies.

Naming a Fairy

Before

When I met the seven fairies last Fall I never imagined it would be so difficult to name them. Yes, I gave them each a name but then some of the names seemed to be to .... vanilla? I am now happy with all but one. Originally named her Rosa Lynn. She was the first of the seven fairies to get a makeover.

 I wanted to welcome a few fairies to my garden. I did not want a version of the same fairy that is mass produced and has no story. The fairies in my garden would be one of a kind. In November I was browsing an antique store and a basket of old worn looking dolls caught my attention. I have never been attracted to old dolls. In fact I thought they are usually creepy, but this was different. These old dolls had these beautiful vintage faces. They cried out for a new home. They reminded me of Gypsies because they must have traveled to many places before we met. Thus, the tale began.

After fairy makeover

Folkloric Headdress

Designing the look of the Seven Gypsy Garden Fairies has taken great thought. It is evolving. I felt that some of the cloths where falling short of the way I wanted them to be.  I really like the headdress that I put on Cricket. Cricket is one of the smaller fairies.  Her look is so fun that I am working on headdresses for all of the fairies. It has also inspired me to a create Folkloric Headdress for myself.

Lavender

Yesterday we planted Lavender seeds. One of the flower beds in the garden gets full sun most of the day.  It currently has a mix of perennials that remind me of a last plant collection garden. You know what I mean, "it was the last plant at the garden center and it was a real bargain." This garden also has a few invasive plants that need to go, one being poison oak. Ouch! I found that out the hard way.
If all goes according to plan it will be a mix of Lavender and Pink Rose bushes.

Fairies in My Garden

Yep! There are fairies in my garden. In fact there are seven fairies in my garden. Each one has a unique gardening talent when shared together, they create garden harmony.

Over the next few weeks you will get to know each of them. I am working with the seven garden fairies to rejuvenate the older mature gardens of my new home. Its not really a new house, in fact it is a much older house. It is new to me. I moved to this location during the summer of 2013.


This is not the first time I have gardened with fairies. My last home had a fairy named Petal living in the garden. She made her home in a Crab Apple tree near our small pond.  Petal was my gardening muse. Together we took a blank canvas at a newly constructed house and built a charming secluded tiny forest and perennial garden. Petal stayed with the garden to welcome and assist the new homeowners.