Grammy on the Go
By Karen Shadrach
It’s gardening time! It’s time to think about what flowers we want to plant to enjoy throughout the summer months. The grandkids would probably like to assist you with your planning process and would especially love to help you design a special fairy garden. A fairy garden is a miniature garden that contains a container, soil, plants and fairy accessories. This mini-garden offers us and the grandkids a magical, “small-world” play space to develop their imagination and creativity. Creating the fairy garden together with your grandchildren will also expose them to the basics of plant care and gardening.
To create your own fairy garden, first plan your location and container, and then add your soil. Using 
unique containers can create a special fairy environment. Examples include a wheelbarrow, an old stump, wicker basket, dresser drawer or teacups! Pick your plants and then add your fairy accessories. It is a simple, fun and inexpensive project. You can choose a theme, such as “fairies at the beach,” “camping fairies” or ”fairies having a garden party,” but you don’t necessarily need one. If you prefer, just scatter fairy toys and furniture around in different spaces!
Fairy gardens can be created inside or outside, but I prefer to make them outside, within my pre-existing flower pots. Seed or set your flowers into pots or planters, leaving sufficient spaces for your fairies to play! If you make a special flower pot with the indoor/outdoor plants for your mini garden, you can then bring it indoors to enjoy over the winter months.
I have many little fairy figurines that I have collected throughout the years, along with furniture and bridges and fun little items, such as cakes, guitars and fountains. These can be purchased at garden or craft stores and it makes for a fun little trip to take the grandkids shopping for a few of these items that they particularly like.
Fairy items can also be handmade with sticks or other things found in the woods or around your yard. Stones can be painted, either small ones for fairy stepping stones or larger ones for houses. You can make a fairy house with the grandkids by gluing together Popsicle sticks, then painting or covering with tiny twigs, moss or dry leaves. (Garden fairies especially love natural houses). A stone house can be formed by stacking small flat stones and use pebbles for pathways. Pinecones and acorns can also be utilized for building houses.
I also have bought inexpensive small fairy lights, which are solar-powered and light up at night. These can be made to stay constantly lit, or twinkle on and off.
Follow the Fairies to these Festivals
If the grandkids really adore fairies, take them to a fairy festival! Heritage Farms in Peninsula will hold their Fairy Days on June 11 and 12. It will be a magical weekend of fairies, gnomes, unicorns and more for children and fairy lovers of all ages. They are encouraging guests to come in a fairy costume. Activities include building a fairy house, a hidden fairy trail, a parade with fairy dancing and much more. There will also be a Magical Meadow Market, where you can find some unique things for your own fairy garden.
In addition, the Ohio Fairy Gardening Festival will be held June 18 in Jefferson. Many fairies will be here, including a pony dressed up as a unicorn and many different fairy houses set up for you to view and purchase.
Try to set up a special fairy garden this year, it will make a lovely addition to your deck or garden space and will be a fun memory to enjoy with the grandkids.
Photos by Karen Shardrach
