Julie Bawden-Davis - Fairy Gardening: Creating Your Own Magical Miniature Garden by Julie Bawden-Davis and Beverly Turner

Creating Your Own Magical Miniature Garden

Julie Bawden-Davis and Beverly Turner
Photography by Xuong Do, Happy Photos

Copyright 2013 by Julie Bawden-Davis and Beverly Turner

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-61608-833-0

Bawden-Davis, Julie.

Fairy gardening : creating your own magical miniature garden / Julie Bawden-Davis and Beverly Turner;

photography by Xuong Do.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-61608-833-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)

1. Gardens, Miniature. 2. Miniature plants. 3. Gardens, MiniaturePictorial works. 4. Miniature plants

Pictorial works. I. Turner, Beverly. II. Title.

SB433.5.B375 2013

635dc23

2012038234

Printed in China

For Allan, whose love and support are everything. For sister Sue, brother Bruce, and Mom, who taught us how to be happy.

B. T.

M aybe I never outgrew my Barbies. Or maybe, as my mom laughingly once said, Youve always just loved miniatures! Remember the fort you made out of sugar cubes for extra credit in third grade? I do. The project was inspired by a yellow plastic cannon I found in a box of Cracker Jacks.

I still love miniatures. So much so that some years ago I decided that even though I was an adult, I wanted to build the dollhouse of my dreams. At the hobby store, I found a basic model and proceeded to do a little kit-bashing. In other words, I took that classic Edwardian-style dollhouse included in the kit and added on to it. And added. And added. And added. By the time I finished, my diminutive home had a garden rivaling Central Park! It was huge! The dollhouse and its sprawling garden became the center of attention when company came to visit.

After several years of friends asking, Dont you wish you could have a real garden thats as tiny as this? I thought, why not? As head designer at M & M Nursery in Orange, California, I started experimenting with different plants to see how easily they adapted to a small-scale look. In the beginning, herbs and a few bonsai-type trees were the only plants available. Fast forward twelve years and there are several hundred dwarf plant varieties suitable to different climates and zones. Some major garden suppliers now manufacture accessories specifically for fairy landscaping, and the staggering number of people discovering this delightful hobby climbs daily!

Watching peoples faces when they first encounter fairy gardens is a little like seeing kids finding everything they want under the tree on Christmas morning. Astonishment gives way to pure pleasure as people inspect every inch of these enchanting mini landscapes. Somehow, fairy gardens transport us to a place far from the mundane tasks of everyday life and into a realm of wonder and imagination. Fairy gardens remind us that we are never too old to play Lets pretend.

One of the best aspects of fairy gardening for me is watching people share their enthusiasm with each other. Mothers and daughters come to the nursery to work on their creations, as do couples, siblings, and even entire families, who plan a fairy project with everyone having a hand in it. Obviously, Im not the only one with a fondness for miniatures!

Since that first fairy garden, my designs have become more sophisticated over the years. At fairy gardening how-to seminars, I answered questions and mentally tucked them away to share at the next lecture. I thought I had just about every detail covered until I had an aha moment at the Southern California Spring Garden Show in 2009. Every year at this popular event, local nurseries and landscapers showcase their best plants, garden supplies, and horticultural ideas. For many seasons, we brought examples of my fairy gardens, but this time another nursery had them as well. Curious, I enlisted my sisters help to indulge in a little friendly fairy espionage.

Sue is the best big sister anyone could ask for and a great first grade teacher. In fact, from what I can see, her only flaw is that she didnt inherit the family love of gardening! But this comes in handy when I drag her to events like the garden show, because I get to see things through her fresh eyes. So I pulled a hat low on my brow and wore my biggest Jackie O sunglasses to snoop my way over to the display. After a quick peek, I scuttled off in the opposite direction. A few minutes later, Sue joined me.

So? I asked.

Of course Im prejudiced because youre my sister, she said. But those other fairy gardens just didnt work for me. They looked like a pot full of plants with a fairy stuck in it. Yours look like real, live, mini gardens. Why is that?

I replied that I simply take the time to choose just the right plants and accessories.

But the main thing is, with every fairy garden I make, I try to tell a little story, I said. Thats what makes the difference. I want it to seem as if a teeny somebody actually lives there.

This book is the culmination of more than a decade of designing fairy gardens with those tiny inhabitants in mind. In here youll find my tips, tricks, and secrets, and, most importantly, youll encounter the very best ways to create a garden filled with heart. Your heart. As you take the fairy gardening journey, let your imagination soar and have fun!

Beverly Turner

Head Designer

M & M Nursery, Orange, California

www.fairygardenexpert.net

D eciding on a theme is the best way to begin making plans for your fairy garden. Once you know the basic subject, designing your garden comes easily. Think of all the occasions in your life when you rely on a particular theme to give you direction. As a kid, how many times did you agonize over what to be for Halloween, yet as soon as you decided on a costume, such as a witch, you found it easy to choose the perfect make-up and accessories? How about birthday parties? Pirates or princesses? Sweet sixteen or over-the-hill? Once you decide on the theme, it all seems to fall naturally into place. No skull-and-crossbones flags for a princess party, but pink, sparkly wands and tiaras instead. Hosting a dozen royal girls determines the food, the dcor, and the entertainment.

A theme helps you choose all of the necessary elements that, when combined, create a miniature world filled with little scenes that seem to come to life right before your eyes. Knowing the topic of your garden helps you choose just the right materials like focal piece, container, and accessories.