October 30, 2015 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Halloween

Fairy Garden at Dusk

The wall is silence, the grass is sleep,
Tall trees of peace their vigil keep,
And the Fairy of Dreams with moth-wings furled
Plays soft on her flute to the drowsy world.

~Ida Rentoul Outhwaite

Welcome

Please have a seat

We call them faerie. We don’t believe in them. Our loss.

~Charles de Lint

We’re over here. Please come join us.

And as the seasons come and go, here’s something you might like to know.
There are fairies everywhere: under bushes, in the air,
playing games just like you play, singing through their busy day.
So listen, touch, and look around – in the air and on the ground. And if you watch
all nature’s things, you might just see a fairy’s wing

~Author Unknown

We’re playing hide and seek

Is anybody home?

A rustle in the wind reminds us a fairy is near.

~Author Unknown

Do you hear the rustle in the wind?

Happy Halloween

Special thanks to Everything Fairyland for the wonderful compilation of quotes.

July 1, 2014 by Born To Organize

Fairy Garden Additions: A Little Little Free Library

Mary Elizabeth planted the seed. In her sincerest voice she asked “when will you be building a Little Free Library for your fairy garden?”

Well.

I picked up the fairy-dusted gauntlet and came up with this:

The shell for the library illustrates a classic case of the box being more interesting than the contents. Setting aside three tiny jars of purple glitter, I got to work on the structure. I finished it in no time. Fairy structures are like that. If you’ve been putting off building one, today’s the day. Working in miniature is rewarding and relaxing. If you use items on hand, it’s also affordable if not free.

Miniature Library Materials

Old matchboxes infused with special memories served as the basis for the larger books. Toothpicks covered with vintage stickers made slender chapter books. Miniature titles are at the ready for diminutive passersby.

The roof signage came from the bottom of one of the LFL brochures. It’s the perfect size. Serendipity.

The mini LFL sits at the curb of the fairy garden

Like its bigger cousin, this L(L)FL sits near the curb. It was my son’s idea to support it with a clothes pin. Garden builders under 18 often have the best ideas.

My fairy gardening style is ever-evolving. Check out my Page, above, Fairy Garden Frivolity for a look back.

The Little Free Library movement encourages ‘reading for children, literacy for adults, and libraries around the world.’ Little Free Library.org

October 7, 2013 by Born To Organize

Halloween in the Fairy Garden

We’re ‘Halloween people.’ We love everything about the season, and find ways to enjoy it throughout the month of October.

While my 13-year-old son occupies his time setting up larger-than-life inflatable spiders on the front lawn, I work in reverse, decking out the fairy garden in pint-sized Halloween decor. As in the past, I spruce up the miniature garden with found objects from around the house and garden. I admire the beautifully furnished fairy gardens I see around the web, but it is so much fun working with what I’ve got.

So, blink once, twice and imagine you’re a visiting fairy.

Once the type on this page appears to turn orange, you’ll know you’re the perfect size for a visit.

To enter the Halloween garden, please climb the rocky stairs…

…then cross Battery Bridge.

Don’t look down! Eyeball river is flowing fast and furious.

Now meander down pistachio-shell walkway (don’t worry, the squirrels already took the spoils).

You’ll see a slinky black cat frolicking in the woods, with glossy pumpkins nearby.

There’s another one! She looks just like Blossum!

Soothing water flows down the waterfall. You can catch a few drops before your journey home.

Did you hear a ghost? She’s shouting “that was the best lavender I’ve ever tasted!!!”

Be sure to breathe deeply as you meander through lavender forest. Lavender soothes the senses, preparing you for your journey home. Thanks for stopping by. Please come again soon.

Fairy Goddess Stands Watch

Halloween Countdown: Boomdee Pumpkins

April 6, 2013 by Born To Organize

It Was a Dark and Stormy Garden…

After Dark

I’ve gardened in the rain and cold until my fingers were numb. I’ve gardened at dusk till feasting mosquitoes drove me indoors. I’ve even gardened in the mid-day heat, keeping the tormenting sun at bay with hats and sunscreens and moveable umbrellas. But I’ve never gardened after dark.

“Dark” is subjective of course. It’s that time of day when I reluctantly turn my garden over to the other side. If I’m outside too late, Dark reveals opossums, meandering along the fence. Frankly, they give me the creeps. I once encountered one on my pathway late at night, walking straight for me. I froze in place, but it ignored me and meandered on.

Raccoons also visit the yard. They like to play in the fountain and on one occasion, tapped on the cat door. The rats don’t always wait for Dark. They rustle around in the orange tree reminding me to pack up my tools and head on in. Dark is just around the corner.

Spiders, a gardeners friend, have cousins that prefer to wait for Dark. They live under the BBQ and below the eaves. They don’t make a sound, adding to the creepiness factor, but I know they’re there.

I’ve found myself racing the setting sun, trying to pull one more weed before night fall, trying to prune one last vine. I become a little obsessed with the work at hand and I’m reluctant to stop. In the summer months it’s usually too hot to garden by day. My fair skin prefers the damp mists of Avalon to the sunny climate of San Jose. Since I live in the suburbs and not a mystical novel I’m forced to make do. So I race that setting sun while acknowledging the inevitable. My garden is harmless by day, but, like the closet of my youth, with the flip of the light switch, all bets are off.

December 31, 2012 by Born To Organize

Sailing into the New Year: Party in the Fairy Garden

I’ve been sprucing up the fairy garden today. Word has it there will be a party going on. I cleared away the furniture to make room on the dance floor. It’s freshly swept and covered with fairy dust. You haven’t really danced till you’ve danced atop some fairy dust.

Aerial View

I was fresh out of fairy-sized disco balls, so I improvised using a glass bauble from an old flower arrangement. I squeezed out the last drops of Stickles™ glitter, brushed it on all the surfaces, then rolled it in sparkles for that extra-special glow. What do you think? Won’t those fairies have fun!

Please have a seat

I tucked the table inside the garden yurt, decorated with pink candles (their favorite). The party theme is “Sailing into the New Year.” Will you look at that fancy ice sculpture? It almost looks like…glass.

Candles and Sculpture

I draped some glittery blue ribbon flown in all the way from Canada to create a small, flowing walkway. Fairies have wings, but they enjoy slippery ramps as well. The invitations read: B.Y.O.B. or bring your own bauble, so I’ll be anxious to see what they bring.

Entrance to the Fairy Garden. Won’t you please come in?

Blue Ribbon Ramp

As for you, my dear reader, wishing you all things wonderful in the coming year. Thanks for your love and support, your likes, votes and comments. I’ve learned so much this year and I’ve had a great time along the way.

Happy New Year!!!

Looking for more blogging fun, inspiration, and joy? Here are a few of my favorites (in alphabetical order):

July 2, 2012 by Born To Organize

Having Fun with the Magnoliaceae

Taking a Page From Queen Elizabeth II’s Book

I like to get silly from time to time, and what better place to do that than my garden. A couple of years ago, I put a Magnolia ‘tepal’ on my noise and had my son snap a couple of pictures. When I started Gardening Nirvana I picked that photo for my Gravatar. The photo embodied my love of gardening, the beauty of the fuchsias behind me and the silliness of wearing a flowering appendage on my nose. These were qualities I also wanted to embody in my blog. Unfortunately, that photo also travels with my organizing blog. I was recently referred by a client whose friend saw the photo and voiced alarm that something was seriously wrong with my nose. I got quite the chuckle out of that, but have since replaced it with a more professional photo.

Today I learned a few things about Magnolias from a Wikipedia entry, excerpted below. My English teachers would be proud to see me correctly using my new terminology in a sentence. If you need me, I’ll be dancing on the lawn, casting tepals to the wind.

Magnolia Branch

Magnolia is a large genus of about 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol.

Magnolia is an ancient genus. Having evolved before bees appeared, the flowers developed to encourage pollination by beetles. To avoid damage from pollinating beetles, the carpels of Magnolia flowers are extremely tough. Fossilized specimens of Magnolia acuminata have been found dating to 20 million years ago, and of plants identifiably belonging to the Magnoliaceae dating to 95 million years ago. Another primitive aspect of Magnolias is their lack of distinct sepals or petals: Magnolias possess undifferentiated flower parts for which the term “tepals” was coined. – Wikipedia