Thursday, May 21, 2020

A Fairy in the Garden




I have always loved whimsy.

I have always loved fanciful.... not fancy, per se, but fanciful enough to make every chipped-cup tea party seem like Buckingham Palace and every walk in the park to be a tread lightly on another planet.



I love that an overturned flowerpot becomes a fairy haven or a toad's shady home.  And because there isn't a lot of time, I've had to learn to develop gardens that need minimal work.... Using clever spacing, perennials and thick mulch has helped keep me from constant weeding... Oh, and hiring my friend Christina to come and do the spring spruce up because her freshman year at college folded in March.... and she's been home, working remotely with professors ever since. So I did cheat a little! :)



But she is totally worth it.

I love getting dirty. It doesn't bother me a bit. I love gardening, creating water ponds, funny stone sidewalks, cozy corners. And that love transfers itself into a wonderful backdrop for our September and October fall extravaganza or Pumpkinpalooza, whatever you want to call it!



But it all starts now, in the spring (that has finally arrived on 5/20/2020, and I'm not going to say what I thought about that, I'll just "huff" really loud!) :) The front mulch on this side of the sidewalk looks like a simple yard trim but it's really the base beneath one of our Orange Pumpkin displays each September as $3 and $4 pumpkins are stocked on pallets over the mulch. And in the far back left of this picture you can see the monster-sized wood rounds Dave cut.... how pretty will they be in someone's garden? Gorgeous!


And our fair Amanda has created little swinging bridges and staircases to aid and abet the fairies in their quest for cozy living.... With cozy homes provided by the efforts of palliated woodpeckers, who often have been known to give fairies a ride.




And there is always Lampost Lane if you're looking for a quiet well-lit street for a lovers' stroll....


Or stop by the Stars Hollow Hotel for your choice of rooms overlooking the gardens! :)

Now we need a sign: Fairies Welcome Here! :)

There are 255 tomatoes planted.... we'll see how they do... and yesterday a hundred bell peppers and classic eggplant joined that area where I can hand water mums, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and summer squashes..... It feels so good to be out there working, but I won't pretend there isn't some bone-achin' goin' on, LOL!

This is Dan and Zach..... we need some heavy lifters around here, too!



So that's what's going on here.... We're throwing together sandwiches a lot of the time, and the guys installed some new donkey fencing yesterday to give the donkeys more space.... and those donkeys are going to eat themselves silly....

It feels good to be springing ahead... to have something to do and get out of the house.

And to have folks stopping by and coming to work on this, that and the other thing!

That's it from WNY right now!

Ruth Logan Herne is busily writing and working in Western New York and so glad to hear birds singing, frogs croaking and peeping and to have this chance to live this thing called life! Visit her website ruthloganherne.com friend her on facebook, or email Ruthy at loganherne@gmail.com!

9 comments:

  1. Eeep! Gardening talk!!! I love these fairy houses! I'm doing my mulching and planting now -- I used red mulch in the perennial beds and I love the contrast with black mulch paths! I've been creating an inexpensive container gardening area for my veggies. Just picked up the plants this week -- 8 tomatoes, 8 peppers and 4 celery plants...very modest compared to you! Plus I've salad greens and beans and peas planted. I'm so excited. Now, if only I could convince the squirrels not to dig around in my nicely planted pots. :-)

    Oh -- and I just rescued an old bird bath from the curb. I'm going to try my hand at fairy garden design too! Might steal that swinging brides and ladders idea.

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    1. Kav, I love the idea of the bird bath for fairy housing! SO COOL!!!!! And I love that you're able to garden now, that makes me so happy! Happy dancing for my across-the-pond friend!!!!!!

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  2. I love the idea of fairy gardens, and would love to visit yours!

    In my new perennial garden (inherited from the former owners of our place) I'm just beginning to identify what's been planted. So far, the only plants I've identified for certain are which ones the deer love to browse on. *eyeroll*

    But as I plan for new plants and rearranged rocks, I'll have to put a few whimsical things in among the flowers.

    Fairies and deer get along well, don't they?

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    1. Fairies and deer get along quite well, and fairies have often used fawns as a means of transportation. The problem arises when the fawn needs a nap halfway to the destination.... :) The gals have also been making "forever flowers" to sell this year, I'll post pics for next week.... we salvaged a ton of old fencing on the next road and the guys pulled it apart.... and we've put it back together for a bunch of fun projects. It's been a long quarantine!

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  3. I love all of this! You're so creative, Ruthy. And so good at gathering helpers. Here's wishing you lots of warm weather in the days ahead.

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    1. I feed them.

      And I remind them that the busier we are, the more we can eat. :)

      I didn't think of half of this stuff so I can't even take credit (but I will) I just pay the taxes. :)

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  4. Aww A little of Heaven on Earth!

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  5. Ruthy, I'm convinced we are sisters separated at birth. I love, love your gardens. And oh, those wee fairy dwellings! Whimsy is my middle name!

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