Fairies in the garden

(I took this picture of Tinkerbell-as-topiary at the 2010 International Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot in Orlando, FL.  Yes, she is way too big to fit into one of the fairy houses discussed in this post!)

Can you remember your first garden? I've loved gardening since I was a little girl, when I would visit my grandmother and follow her around the yard as she watered her dinner-plate sized dahlias and beds of rainbow-colored irises. 

Back home, to entertain myself during the long, hot summers when school was out, I'd dig up little scraps of moss from the woods and re-plant them in the soft dirt under my swing set, where there was enough shade for them to survive.  Eventually some of the other kids in my neighborhood got into the act, too, and we'd transplant all kinds of weeds and grasses and even little wildflowers, pretending we were making our own forests and gardens under that old swing.  Sounds goofy now, but it kept us occupied for hours, and best of all, that kind of play didn't cost a dime!

Recently I found a book on Amazon that revived my interest in playing with tiny plants and other natural materials.  It's called Fairy Houses...Everywhere!, and it's one of several books in a series written by Tracy and Barry Kane.  The pictures are wonderful, and will inspire you to all sorts of whimsical, magical little houses in your own backyard.  You can use whatever you have on hand, from river rocks to seashells, acorns, pine bark, and yes, even patches of  moss!

 Makes me want to go outside and play in the dirt again...and that's not a bad thing at all...