A Fairy Moss Garden

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A gardening friend and I have been collaborating on fairy gardens for a while now.  She makes the miniatures, and I plant the container.

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She found this container some time ago, and has been wanting to get it planted.  But we are all busy, and time gets away from us with other projects. 

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This container was hand sculpted by someone, but isn’t signed.  A lovely piece, it is perfect for a small garden.

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She was kind enough to let me borrow it and plant it up for her.  She understands my need to get my hands into the dirt on a regular basis, you see.

What you see here is a “first draft” on the planting. 

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We’ll get together later this week and likely move things around a little.  She wants a path, and may decide to forgo or change the little creek, to allow space for more plants.

I wanted to create a little woodland scene, letting ferns stand in for trees.  This project allows me to recycle some of the moss and lichens I’ve brought in for other projects.

I’ve filled the bottom of the dish with a mixture of vermiculite, peat, and sphagnum moss.

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This allowed me to mold the banks of the creek to give a little topography to the scene.  The creek itself is formed from aluminum foil coated in sand, then topped with fine gravel and small stones.  It will hold water if she wants real water in her fairy garden.

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The garden is planted with divisions of lady fern, strawberry begonia offsets, divisions of a Begonia Rex, and moss.

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I will likely add some tiny Sedum cuttings and perhaps some spikemoss before this project is declared “completed.”

Since this is a collaboration, we will get together to tweak it later this week….weather permitting.

But I get to enjoy it for a few days first.  Since it is green, and not snowy, I thought you might enjoy seeing how it is coming along, too.

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Woodland Gnome 2015

About woodlandgnome

Lifelong teacher and gardener.

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