A Fairy Garden Buying Guide

It seems that somewhere along the line, I became a Fairy Garden hipster. I can tell you for an absolute fact that there were only a handful of photos of them online back when I first posted about ours, but now there are hundreds. And hundreds. And hundreds.

Get off my fairy garden lawn, you whippersnappers.

Or ... join in on the fun. Whichever you prefer.

The thing is that I've been asked a bunch of times for a list of places to find fairy garden supplies. Rather than continuing to answer each person individually, I figured it was time to put together a handy dandy list.

If you do make a fairy garden (or have already), please to be sharing a photo? Just email it to me or share a link to a photo or blog post with it in the comments and I'll add it to my fairy garden Pinterest board.

Fairy Garden Furniture/Accessories/Houses

Fairy Garden Kits: The lazy way to go is to buy a fairy garden kit from Alexis. She's restocking her store this weekend (seriously -- she's WAY excited about this whole thing now that she only owes me $150 for cheerleading), but there are a few kits left right now.

Pat Catan's: There is a decent selection of items at Pat Catan's. Check the seasonal aisle, the dollhouse aisle, and the miniatures aisle.

Michael's: The only thing they have is the unfinished birdhouses that can be decorated to be fairy houses, but they have the best ones for the price (under $10). Note: When decorating, look for the paint that says it's good for outdoor use. It will hold up better. Sealing the finished product is a really good idea as well.

Plow and Hearth: The only thing they really have is a furniture kit. It's expensive, but better quality than any of the things I've found elsewhere.

Target: They also have a fairy garden kit. I've seen it in a few stores and it's available online.

Hobby Lobby: They have a few things that work in the dollhouse section, and there are a few fairy garden specific items in the seasonal/gardening aisle.

Amazon: Pretty much everything is available on Amazon at a great price. Here are a few of my favorite things. Just click the images to view them on Amazon.

Vine bench:

Garden tools:

Bird bath:

Patio table and chairs:

Arbor:

Wheelbarrow:

Birdhouse that would make a great fairy house:

And a bird feeder that makes a perfect fairy house:

Locally, I've found various items at two garden centers -- Reilly's Summer Seat Farm and Brenckle's.

Fairy Garden Trees/Shrubs

Anything that is super small and super slow-growing will work. Think bonsai. Locally, I've found Bedner's to be the best source, but there are some online stores that have a pretty solid selection.

Two Green Thumbs

Miniforest.com

Ascus Nursery

Fairy Garden Plants

The key to the plants is to think small. Walk through any garden center and you are bound to find things like alyssum, lobelia, etc. If you seek out the part of a garden center where they keep the "Stepables," you're guaranteed to find some good things. Some of my favorite plants for fairy gardens are:

Irish Moss (Lowe's and Home Depot usually have this) (perennial)

Sea Thrift (perennial)

Erodium Charm Alpine Geranium (perennial)

Dwarf Mondo Grass (perennial)

Rockcress (perennial)

Dianthus (annual)

Wooly Thyme (perennial)

Rosemary (Herb -- different varieties can be used in different ways. Some are perfect for training into a tree, others are dwarf and make good shrubs, others can be trained to go over an arbor.)

When all else fails, go to a really good garden center and ask for help. An employee will be able to show you some things that will do well and stay relatively small. Keep in mind, nearly every plant that is a perfect miniature will spread. You'll have to thin it out once per year or more. For example, I started with two little tiny pots of Irish Moss. I now have three fully stocked fairy gardens just from dividing the Irish Moss every spring.

Holler if you have any questions, and make sure you share your fairy gardens!

The Special People Need to be Reminded to Shut Up

They were there to see Mary. I know that because they said so. "Is Mary in this one?" "Is Mary coming up soon?" "Does Mary dance soon?" and on and on.

And on and on.

AND ON AND ON.

The nonstop chatter moved from Mary to retirement to walking dogs and back again. It meandered down a path of mayoral election debates followed by a pro Tea Party rant. There was talk of appropriate attire for walking the dog, how great Netflix is, and plenty of words that would make anyone look around and ask, "Did I seriously just hear that?"

You know how sometimes you stumble upon a Facebook update and you're like, "Why the hell did you put those words where others could see them?" THAT. EXACTLY THAT. All those things that make you flinch were said.

Every last one of them.

Out loud.

DURING the dance recital.

It's really very fortunate that the fates lined Alexis' performances up towards the end of the nearly four-hour long recital. The first half wasn't the time for paying attention because CLEARLY it wasn't the time for paying attention. They said so. With all of their words that were about everything and nothing, the two older women who were seated behind us at the recital made it well known that the show wasn't for watching. Rather, the loud music was a nuisance that they had to raise their voices to cover. They chatted and chatted and chatted.

I glared.

The didn't flinch.

I glared again.

Nothing.

I threw more dirty looks over my shoulder than would seem possible, but they just kept on talking.

Frustration mounted. I couldn't understand how they weren't shutting up and began to consider ways to force it to happen. One of the women had a cane, so I thought about ways it could be used to put an end to the talking. Then I considered how we all seem to think teens are so very rude these days, but no. NO. It's the older generation that thinks it's OK to go to a dance recital and talk loudly through the entire thing.

Only, they didn't.

Because at the intermission, I said something. I don't really know what exactly I said because I was flustered and annoyed and trying very hard not to say things that rhyme with duck as I told them to shut up.

Which, really? Why is it that *I* felt bad about even considering asking them to stop talking? Why do we do that? I can't possibly be the only person who falters doing something reasonable in the wake of something so very rude.

But, hey. I said something and the talking stopped. Apparently there are people who have to be told specifically that their behavior is rude. Once you tell them, they stop it.

Just like that.

Thank goodness. If it had gone on much longer, that cane would have been in big trouble.

Tappa, Tappa, Tappa

As the curtain parted and the lights dimmed, I realized that this one was different. There were no words that came from her or anyone else, I just knew.

An early performance by one of the graduating seniors laid it all on the line -- this is her. Alexis. Not yet, but it will be. There is still time for her to choose a different path and completely change her mind, but right now, at this moment, my bones are telling me this really is Her Thing.

Dance.

I think maybe she's going to stick with it. I think maybe she accidentally/on purpose stumbled on to Her Thing so very early in life.

The evolution of her love for dance was a long one, but there was a turning point. Clearly. She's no longer the kid who seemingly struggles to learn the choreography all year long and then suddenly pulls it out at the end. Now she's the kid who is placed front and center because she can nail that choreography. When I look through the photos from the recital this past weekend, I see the girls flanking Alexis watching her. Impersonating her. Following her.

She just stands there executing choreography and smiling.

We'll see what the future holds for certain, but for now, I'm pretty sure it holds many hours of rehearsals and sequins and tutus and expensive shoes and 4-hour long dance recitals. But, more than anything, it holds smiles.

Because, man, she loves to dance.