Fairy gardens

You might remember the post I did some time ago about fairies in our garden. They are busy little people as you can see.

And here they are in the meadow making a daisy chain.

I thought of my garden fairies recently when I read a Milly Molly Mandy story about the time she and Billy Blunt made a miniature garden in a dish.

I well remember making these tiny gardens in saucers and dishes when I was young. Our village fete always held a competition for the best miniature garden and these tiny worlds fascinated me.

What a lovely surprise to find a post about a pretty garden made for two tiny pals in the US. Below you can see Honey and Tilda working in their garden. It was cleverly created in a barrel by Lydia and her Mom at Blueberry Cottage.

I'm not showing you more of this garden because I'd like you to pop over to Blueberry Cottage and take a look for yourself. Its amazing what can be achieved from a few pebbles, shells, moss and twigs plus plenty of imagination and magic. The pictures bring back memories of the days when we created tiny worlds in dishes for our village fete . . . . . happy days!

Sunny days

The sun has been shining for a couple of weeks and the garden has suddenly burst into life. We tend to leave plants to ramble and do their own thing at the start of the season and as a result this pretty clematis is hanging in festoons over the dining room window.

Beneath it this pot of tulips is still blooming happily. The bulbs are from a 'surprise' packet that I bought in the autumn and I have indeed been rewarded by several nice surprises. My favourite 'surprise' has to be this gorgeous fringed tulip which reminds me of raspberries and cream.

Very close to the dining room window is this small acer tree. A thick carpet of heather grows underneath it and right in the centre of the heather a silly duck has decided to make her nest. She is currently sitting on a large clutch of eggs and so we are trying not to disturb her.

She has buried herself deep inside the heather so is well hidden. In the picture below you might just be able to see the entrance to the nest (left of trunk). We only have a small pond which isn't at all suitable for ducks so I have no idea what will happen if the eggs hatch and a family of tiny ducklings emerge looking for water. I'll keep you posted!!

Meanwhile, across the lawn there is typically a 'man at work'. As soon as the sun shines my husband contemplates a bit of stone wall building. We have a lot of loose stone around the garden so I'm happy for him to put it to good use.

This week he has just completed a pillar that he started building last year. I already have a pot planted with summer flowers ready to stand on top!

And so back to the flowers. This wisteria was a birthday gift 18 years ago. It was only tiny when I received it but now covers the house wall.

Inspired by the recent Royal Wedding some of my dolls are now wearing homemade crowns and when no one is looking they pick a few of my flowers to make tiny wedding bouquets. So far I haven't noticed the appearance of any Prince Charmings!

It seems my dolls aren't the only ones to be influenced by this royal event. Take a look at this tiny grandma doll who has made herself a sunny yellow outfit just like the one worn by the Queen. She even has her own clump of lily of the valley growing in her garden. You'll find her at Space within.

I hope you are enjoying sunny days in your corner of the world.