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.