My Fairy Garden!

Ah, don't you just love Spring? I do, I love it, except for the ridiculous amount of pollen in the air (especially after our very snowy winter!). I always say I love fall and winter the most, but the truth is I love all seasons, and I get excited as we transition into each new one. I love the newness and change.

You know what else I love? Beautiful things. And tiny things. And nature things.

This love lead me to my new hobby, and one that I anxiously awaited all the winter long!

Fairy Gardens.

When I discovered this (I'm not exactly sure how), I assumed that everyone knew about it...turns out, only a few do! I'll explain to you what it is: A small garden, set up with tiny things, figurines, chairs, and houses, to create an enchanting world.

They truly are fantastical, and beautiful, and surprising. All things I love! Fairy gardens satisfy the seven year old Kaydee, who adored small and pretty things (and the twenty-one year old Kaydee who does too). They are in the same realm as doll houses, but cheaper, and in nature. I LOVE doll houses too, and my dream is to create a beautiful one some day. But not until I have children who are grown, and won't destroy it. Until that day, fairy gardens.

Essentially, you create an outdoor world, a miniature forest, where miniature things live. I wanted to share mine with you, because it is all too happy not to share with the world.

Let me talk about something else real quick, before I get into my tour.

The day that I finally went and bought all the supplies for this project was a day that I felt frustrated and overwhelmingly emotional. I had been waiting for consistently warm weather so that my plants actually survived, but this day I needed something. I craved something beautiful, and natural. I felt like the snow had left everything a barren ugliness. Going for a walk just didn't sound good, all the trees are dead and shrubs are dry. My friend Kelsey had told me this before, "God creates, so we should create too!" So I decided to create my own beautiful thing. This project was the perfect "therapy", a resolution to my frustration, and a fulfillment to my desire for something beautiful. This is the hard time of spring where I live. The weather is warming, the wind is blowing, and the pollen is flying, but everything is still brown, dead, and sad looking. It makes winter blues stick around. All you want is warm, pretty weather, and all you get is cold wind and dead plants. If you too are feeling this frustration, I suggest getting some plants and creating something natural and beautiful. It truly is a refreshment to the wintery, blue soul.

(My soul is now fading from a dark blue to a teal, soon it will be a lovely shade of green!).

Now! For the garden tour!

This was the beginning of my garden! I wanted my first garden to be a succulent garden, because they are fairly low maintenance (lots of sun, little water). I also love the way succulents look and the wide variety! I don't remember the names of these, but I just found the ones I thought looked the coolest, and tried to create a variety of green, red, and purple. Succulents are kind of expensive, so you may want to use a different plant for yours! I arranged them in a way that created depth, as if you walked deeper into the forest.

I got all of my little fairy stuff from my favorite store in the world: Hobby Lobby! My mom got me the big starter kit for Christmas, and I picked out a few cute accent items at the store. They have such a wide variety and I cannot wait to go back and get more (sorry Josh). I have some extras that didn't fit that will be added to my next garden.

My dream: to have a large, grassy back yard in which I can create an entire fairy village.

Here's an up close of all my hidden creatures!

The cutest signs were at Hobby Lobby. Maybe one day I'll go to water and admire my garden and find an actual lady bug.

Don't you love the surprise of the hedgehog? Sneaking out from the leafy wonderland to say hello!

A thoughtful fairy sits in nature as a blue snail joins her. I wonder what she's thinking about? Maybe want to plant in her own garden next?

I love the way this little snail looks out from his world! He's the cutest little critter!

In the garden, love grows. That sayings paints a wonderful picture in my mind. Working with your hands to nurture something small into something blooming and beautiful. How can love not thrive in that environment too?

Another fun sign I found!

An an "aerial" view of this little space.

What I love about this particular, beginning garden is that it isn't meant to stay the same. As I admire and think, I can rearrange as I please. A continuous space to create. As well as something to nurture and care for. That desire has been planted (ha, see what I did there) in my with a strong, heavy hand. My need to nurture has found it's rest (for now!) in plants.

My sweet husband even got into it and created his own pretty succulent garden with a few cute creatures! He found some really cool, unique succulents. He and I could spend hours and too much money shopping for plants. We don't even have the room for that many!

I hope this brings some beauty (and cuteness!) into your life and inspires you to do something fun and creative with your hands. It seriously brings a rush of good emotions and is a great fix for a bad day. If fairy gardens aren't your thing, find something else to do outside in the warming sun! You can create a succulent garden, a flower box, plant a tree, and so much more!

My next project will be another fairy garden and a water plant! You better believe I'll be sharing that as well!

Thanks for reading, see you all soon!