Fairy Gardens

A few weeks ago, a local garden center had a week dedicated to celebrating fairies.  In our household, fairies are celebrated on a daily basis, so this festival was one we fully embraced. 

Part of the festival of fairies included discovering hidden fairy gardens nestled within each beautiful palette of flowers. 

My fairy lover was MESMERIZED. 

Each section we explored there was a touch of fairy whimsy waiting to be discovered and celebrated.

Something about these quaint miniaturized houses tucked in lush bits of greenery...

It makes you want to believe in the magic of fairies.

It makes you want to carefully watch...

and photograph...

hoping you'll glimpse a fairy.

Gardens are certainly beautiful places on their own...

but, when you add a bit of charm in miniature form...

gardens are transformed from beautiful...

to mesmerizing.

Our day ended with a hands on opportunity to create our own fairy garden.

With a few upgrades, we brought home our very own fairy garden.

Unfortunately, these fairies would rather dance on log slices and fish from sea shells than tend to the plants.  Our fairy garden plants are no longer lush and green but the fairies don't seem to care.  Since they obviously don't have a green thumb (much like myself), our fairy garden will soon be turned into a succulent fairy garden.

If you love all things fairies, make sure to check out how to entice fairies with a fun fairy soup recipe.

Fairy Soup

Fairy soup; a perfect interactive summer activity to ignite the imagination and creativity of any lover of fairies.

Fairy soup is an unstructured, no rules activity that gives kids the freedom to create unique concoctions and push the limits of their imagination...and, in the process, entice fairies to come and visit your garden.

 

Ingredients include anything that might attract a fairy.

We decided our fairies would be tempted by glitter, food coloring, sequence, beads, flower petals, glass gems and water.

I think the only thing truly not necessary, when making fairy soup...the kitchen sink.  Everything else is up for grabs.

Making fairy soup is even better when friends are involved...

And, better still while wearing fairy wings.

 The fairy soups we made took almost two hours to perfect.  *Moms, that is two hours of pure bliss for you...no, 'mom, can you get me this', 'mom, can we do something else', 'mom, I'm bored'.  Basically, fairy soup is my new favorite recipe!

When the girls' fairy soup was perfectly created, it was then doled out in bowls and containers and placed around our garden. 

The girls patiently waited, while munching on Goldfish crackers and then magically...this happened. 

I think our recipe was a success.

Happy Houligan's inspired this water sensory play activity.