Saturday, September 30, 2017

Making a Fairy Garden out of a broken flower pot.


What do you do with a broken flower pot?  You could toss it,  but if it's big enough,  a broken pot fairy garden is a good option to upcycle your broken pot.  This is a great option if you like puttering around with plants but want to scale down the size of the garden you are working with.  All of my fairy gardens are in various size containers small enough for this senior lady and raised up enough so there is no bending involved in their care.
Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
After scrubbing up the pieces to my broken pot I laid out the pieces and started gluing and reconstructing the major parts of the pot.

Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 The piece below was reconstructed to place inside of the main pot to serve as the pot within the pot .
A fairy house and plants (and fairies too) will be used in this section.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 The back of the pot looks pretty good.


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 A few of the pieces did not fit in but I saved them for future use on another project.
 The larger main pieces were glued and held together with wire while they dried.
I was able to tighten the wire before the glue started to dry.


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 Once the glue dried I lined and glued (with waterproof glue) the inside portion of the pot that would be below the soil line with
black landscape cloth.  The bottom of the pot was covered with a piece of coco mat
pot liner.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
By early August the broken pot fairy garden looked like this.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
*******
 I first noticed the crack in this large pot on Valentine's Day last winter. The crack was 
already pretty bad and the worst of the winter had yet to come. Snow, rain, then freezing temps finally fractured the pot.


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 The miniature thyme plants were a pretty shade of red as they wintered over.


.Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 I take in the China Doll plants (my Fairy Garden size trees)
for the winter.  I use a few faux evergreens to hold the 
soil in place over the winter months. Plus I do decorate them for 
Christmas too.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 I use an extra thick contractors bag as a free-form flower planter. It is tied securely with rope 
around the outside front of the fairy garden tub.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 Once the broken pot fairy garden was "finished" it continued to evolve as I found rocks and plants that I liked.  I even found a pair of dragons to guard the entry and a new fairy "house".


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 This handsome dragon guards the lower entryway. 
A circular stairway climbs up to the upper entryway.
 Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 *****Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden


 The plants are an ever changing backdrop for the rest of the fairy activities.
The creeping Jenny and the Irish moss are especially pleasing.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 Even the back of the broken pot fairy garden is fun to look at with various plants 
trailing down the back of the pot.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
The second guard dragon sleeps at the top of the stairway.  He makes sure that no spiders are 
sneaking into the fairy houses.


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 Long slim leaves made of glass help the fairies find their way to the top of the pot.
 Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
 A young Irish fairy guards the entry to the secret garden.  He also tries to guard against the chipmunks burying their seeds in the Irish moss front lawn.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden


 The dragons sure are cute!
 


 The little pink fairy house was replaced when I found this charming green church birdhouse. It made a perfect fairy house ( fairies can fly so it is ok to not have a door).  Even better that it is the perfect match to the slightly larger fairy (bird) house in the next fairy garden over.
***
First the new house used in this broken pot garden.
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
The (older) house has been out in the garden for several years.  
I will be repainting it over the winter.
The dolls have been out to see the dragons in the garden too.  (you can read about their adventures here Little Jo's Doll Party).
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
***
Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
  Right now the fairy garden is getting ready for a Spooktacular Halloween.
Here and there you can see the spooky elements sneaking
in to have some fun in the garden.


Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden
   

Plum Creek Place, Little Jo's doll party,  broken pot fairy garden, fairy garden, Halloween fairy garden


**********
Over the summer I made this broken pot fairy garden plus a "broken pot" fairy garden from a large
foam flower pot.
*****
And a Mermaid Fairy Garden
*****
A pirates cove fairy garden
*****
A conch shell fairy garden
***** 
and a lighthouse fairy garden. 
*****
Pictures have been taken over the summer.
I hope to post some next week (or possibly later)


********** 
I have not been out to say hello to the bloggers that I follow for awhile. I do pop in and look around a bit here and there but not as often as I should.
 For those that have asked, I have been on light duty for a while now.  I have been unable to do the in ground gardening that I loved but I now play in the fairy garden instead. 
*****



Happy Fall!!

* I will be joining 
at Between Naps on the Porch.

Friday, April 14, 2017

Saying Goodbye to Mr. Cottontale a redo on 2014 Tablescape.

Sometimes you have to make decisions that don't make you very happy at all.  That is the way I felt about selling my sweet daffodil and bunny Easter dinnerware.  But I do have my memories.......

Perhaps you may remember way back in April 2014 a post of mine called Here Comes Peter Cottontail.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas
I was so tickled to use the Daffodil and Bunny plates that I had found sometime before that at a garage sale.  I loved those bunny plates.  We continued to use those plates for Spring table settings right up until this year. 

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas
I started to sell off my tablescaping stash last year. Most of my Fall dinnerware and a bit of the Christmas has already been sold. All of my Easter plates are now gone with the exception of my cabbage plates and egg shaped dessert plates that I intend to keep.  I still have so much to sell and yes each item I sell makes me a bit sad as I pack them up and ship them out. 

Enough of that... Lets take a look at Peter Cottontail's tablescape.  (Spoiler alert - Lots of pictures).  There was a bounty of bunnies on this happy Easter table setting.

There were small bunnies
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

 There were garden bunnies.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

There were fat bunnies.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

There were long and skinny bunnies.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

There were white bunnies and brown bunnies.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

There was a bunny on a basket.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

And a bunny in a cage.
burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas
Even a bunny Peter Cottontail Tea Set

There were many Clothtique types of bunnies across the tablescape doing all kinds of Easter bunny chores.

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

Most of all a tablescape is about the dinnerware,  glassware, and flatware.

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas

burlap chargers, burlap table covering, daffodils, Domestications Bunny Plates, Easter decor, Easter tablescape, Here comes Peter Cottontail, Paper Mache Bunnies, Peter Cottontail, violas
Yes I am sad that I will not ever set another table with these happy festive bunny plates but it is so very good to know they are going to a new home with young children.  They are making memories for another family this Easter Season.

Hop Along Mr. Cottontail,  Hop along that long and winding Bunny Trail.  Happy trails to you,  until we meet again.

Happy Easter to all........