I'm so excited to share this project with all of you! As Ted may have noticed, it's all I've been talking about for the past 2 weeks. So, here is how I made my gnome garden:
1. First you must find a container that you want your gnomes or fairies to live and work in. I bought a half whiskey barrel from Orshelns. Make sure to drill a hole in the bottom for drainage.
2. Have a plan in your head of how you want it to look. I wanted a pond, a tree, a bush, a path, and a hill..so I made the hill and a valley where the pond would sit in. Then, I started looking around for plants that would give it that "miniature feeling".
3. Decide what type of ground cover you want to fill in the spaces around things. I wanted to make it look enchanting, so I thought moss would be perfect. I was dying to use REAL live moss, not that dead looking fake stuff that you can buy in bags (which later on I found some nice stuff at Michaels..). I almost bought moss online, until I realized that the woods next to our house has a ton of it. So, I took a box and trowel out into the woods, and collected a bunch of random pieces. Then I watered the dirt and transplated the moss and gave it another good water. Moss is suprisingly easy to work with. It's flexible, you can tear bits and pieces, form it, and it will take on pretty much any shape. Plus, it blends well together. It actually turned out amazing so use different textures and shades of moss...it's way more visually appealing! Make sure you don't let the moss get too hot and dry during the day. It's best to water it every morning, and take a squirt bottle in the afternoon and mist to keep it moist on top.
4. Next, plant your shrubs, bushes, trees, etc. I probably should have planted my tree and bush before filling in with moss, but I was having a hard time finding the perfect tree, so I just left some space where I wanted things. I ended up checking the tropical plant section at Sunrise Garden Center, and found this cool Aralia "Balfouriana" plant/small tree. I figured I could either move it inside when it gets cold, or just buy something new for next years gnome garden. Another idea is to use a rosemary plant, or maiden's hair. Might have to trim these things if they get too large, but they look tree-ish. The bush I used is a sedum dasyphyllum, (a low-growing stonecrop). A thyme herb would also look great as a shrub or bush.
5. Now, you are ready to start the fun part! Decorating the gnome garden! This part is totally up to you on how creative you want to go. You probably noticed above that I made my rock path with stepping stones, but you should probably wait until everything is in place and do this as one of the last things. I went on a Michaels shopping trip and found so many things..but I didn't want to get too cluttered, so I had to choose my favorites. I bought a small bird's nest, wire, more step stones, small clothespins, paint, and coconut shells.
I put eggs in the nest, painted round rocks to look like fairy tale mushrooms, used the coconut shell as the pond, and made a clothesline. I just took 2 sticks, wrapped the wire around them, and attached the clothespins. As you can see, Mr. Gnome ( He still needs a name..) has hung up a Columbine bonnet and a mint leaf to dry. Please take the poll on the right sidebar.
I hope I've inspired someone to go out and make a gnome garden of their own! I had so much fun with this, I only wish Brigs was older so he could enjoy playing with the garden too!
