The General Store
Dear Faerie Garden Friends,
Sad admission — I have seriously neglected my indoor faerie gardens over the summer! And they seriously needed revitalization!! I finally had the time yesterday to begin working on them. This one still needs a few accessories, but overall I am very satisfied with it. The “little people” who own this General Store live upstairs–and they have the welcome mat out for you. 🙂
The basket is a good size and it has handles, which makes it easy to move. As you can see in the following photo, I removed all foliage from a previous incarnation except for little ficus trees, but I left in place the wrought iron railing and the stone and brick patio. I decided to move both trees to the same side, and add a Norfolk pine on the other side. Then I began to experiment with other plants to see what I liked. The plants in the front in the next photo are cheery little yellow violas. They are really outdoor plants, but I love them and will keep them as long as I can! The plants right behind them are little button ferns; another plant that I like and use a lot.
I tried a few other plants before I decided what would “work” for me. These plants are beautiful light green ferns; aren’t they pretty?? I liked them but thought they added too much bulk to the front of the basket, and way too much to the back of the basket. When I placed the violas in front and wire vines under the trees that is what I thought finally made the basket come together.
When I was satisfied with the plant placement, it was time to start with the accessories. This is a “basic” basket; many accessories would work with it, as I will show in future posts. I really like the park-like atmosphere created by the beautiful bench, don’t you?? And, while I love the little house (next photo), it is too small in scale for the basket.
The General Store and the little bunnies suited me and, while I love the hound dog with little birds on his back, it wasn’t exactly what this scene needed. Then I added the Welcome mat, the potted plants, the bird bath with the yellow butterfly, and the Adirondack chairs, and it finally all came together!!
Final thoughts:
I will redo this basket for Christmas, and post more “how-to” photos then. I hope I have encouraged you to experiment with your own faerie gardens—and to try something new!