There are many people who are drawn to the garden lore of fairies and how they protect and live in beautiful gardens. By planting certain flowers and adding garden art gardeners create a garden that will lure fairies into their gardens. I have seen faerie gardens, faerie chairs and now a faerie house.
photo credit: Ramona.Forcella

A faerie house is said to be “a gateway through which our fairy friends enter our gardens.” By creating houses for them, we create a way for the fairies to use to visit our world. And in thanks the fairies will tend the gardens and help them thrive.

There are many types of faerie houses, from a simple style to intricate lavish. They add fun and wonder to a backyard garden area and assembling a faerie house is fun for adults and children alike. This would make a great family project and help interest children in gardening.
photo credit: aussiegall

These adorable glass faerie houses look beautiful setting in any garden. Sometimes small furniture or plants are added to the interior of the house. And to blend the faerie house into your backyard garden area, add a mini garden or fairy chair and the yard will take on an enchanted feeling.

Fairy House : supplies you will need

• 7- square foraged or used windows
• Hot glue
• Hot glue gun
• Paint
• Screws
• Screwdriver 4 Large wood balls (for feet of house)

Collect your free or foraged windows together. The windows will need to be the same size. I pick up windows along curbsides and at garage and auctions. Construction sites may also be able to help you. I also look for windows that show a little wear – peeling paint or a few colors.

Clean the window and frame. I like to scrap off loose paint and lightly add a smudge of color to the frame with a cloth. This will give the frame an older look and more character. Choose a color that will compliment your backyard and flowers.
photo credit: zedzap

The next step in building your faerie house is to create the structure. Start by screwing the four windows together using one screw at the top and one screw at the bottom of each window. This will form a square block. Attach another window to the bottom of the block by using one screw on each of the four sides. Tip: to make the screws easier to get into the frame I use a drill to start a hole.

While box is bottom side up, screw or hot glue the wooden balls to the bottom of the box. This creates legs for the faerie house. (You can also use old legs off furniture or wood blocks.) Turn the box over onto its legs.

Screw or hot glue the last two windows together to form a “V”. If you have hinges I would suggest using two of those on the inside of the frame. I think they are easier to use and make a stronger attachment. Turn the “V” over and hot glue or screw or hot glue the windows to the top of the box to form the roof of the faerie house. If you use hot glue, add a small decorative brace to the roof. It just fortifies the structure of the house.

This will leave you with two openings in the roof to decorate the inside of the fairy house if you wish. Candles, a small potted plant, mini furniture, or even a mini rock garden will add flair to the faerie house.

Add the faerie house to a section of your yard that needs garden art or a focal point. And for more fun add night-lights in the area.

Technorati Tags: Backyard Flower Garden, creative gardening, faerie garden, faerie house, Theme Gardens

The fun of gardening is to create unusual or unique gardens for your backyard or garden area. One such garden, a theme garden, is an Aerial Garden. An Aerial Garden is a garden that is suspended or elevated in the air. These gardens make use of unused space in rooms or patios, are great for small space gardening and can be used as a room divider or to create privacy.
photo credit: sarcozona

I used a pre-made garden arbor for my Aerial garden. It was only a few dollars at off-season prices and I set it up in minutes. You can also make an outdoor divider quite easily.

Outdoor Aerial Theme  Garden

1. Find or purchase two square posts that measure 2” by 8” and the length that will fit you desired location. You will also want 20 to 25 slates measuring six feet long.
2. Place the posts about 4 feet from each other. Next pour cement around the bottom of the posts to make them secure. Add the wooden slates or thin pieces of wood and attach them horizontally from one end of the post to the other. I like to find old barn board for these projects.
3. Space the slates in such a way that you will be able to hang your aerial garden from the slates. Mixing in hanging plants will give more color, texture and interest into your aerial garden area.

True aerial gardens make use of epiphytic plants, also known as air plants. These plants get there  nutrients from the air and will grow on the bark of a tree or on moss. My favorite of these air plants is the staghorn fern. Orchids and bromeliads are also popular air plants.
photo credit: cliff1066

Take the hook that is on the back of the epiphytic plants and hang it from the slates of your outdoor room divider. Stagger the way you hang the plants and mix in other hanging plants to add creativity and flair to your plant divider. colorful pots will also add to the arrangement.

You have just created a very decorative and unusual garden and created additional privacy in your backyard.

Your Epiphytic Plants can be brought in during the cooler winter months and over-wintered. You may even want to create an indoor aerial garden and mix herbs in with the Epiphytic plants. You will have added color and texture plus fresh herbs.

Technorati Tags: creative gardening, staghorn fern, Theme Gardens

How to Grow Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries and Blackberries

As I was out walking the property today I realized it’s the time of year to think about adding berries to your garden area. Berry plants need time to acclimate to their new surrounding and with the economy as strained as it is a Berry garden would be a perfect addition to your backyard garden areas.
photo credit: Caitlinator

Homegrown berries also offer you the opportunity for fresh non-chemical fruit just outside you door. With very little effort you can assemble a Berry Theme Garden that will supply you with fresh fruit and add beauty to your yard.

Berry facts and tips

• Every berry variety likes full sunlight and a well-drained soil
• Do not plant berry plants where tomatoes, potatoes, or eggplant has grown.
• Set out new berry plants as early in the spring as you can. This gives the plants time to adjust to the hot weather and transplant shock.
• Buy disease-free plants and varieties that claim to be disease resistant.
• Keep the plants roots moist before and during planting.
• Give ample space between plants for air circulation
• In the fall cover plants loosely with straw or the like as winter protection.
• Berry plants will thrive better with a south-or east-facing slope.
• Beware of planting berries in a hollow or bottom of a hill or an area that cold will collect.
• Mulch. Berry beds that are mulched will have less disease, retain moisture in the soil and need less weeding and care.

To start a strawberry bed

Dig rotted compost or aged manure into the soil and place the plants eight inches apart in rows 30 inches apart. Make sure the new leaf buds should be at soil level. (This is the biggest mistake people make when planting strawberries: they plant them too deep!) Water the plants in dry weather preferably in the morning and mulch using straw to preserve moisture. This will keep the ripened berries off the ground. Berries that lay on the ground tend to rot.
photo credit: Edgar Zuniga Jr.

How to start a blueberry bed.

Blueberries need generous rainfall and well-drained soil so place  the garden in an area you can easily water.

Dig a trench or holes at least 2 feet deep and 3 feet wide and fill the trench with a mixture of 2 parts peat moss, 2 parts sand, and 1 part garden soil. For a successful blueberry garden its essential to take the time to prepare the soil properly! Space the plants about four feet apart. Mulch the plants heavily at planting time and every year add more straw, peat, or leaves.

How to start Blackberries, Raspberries,  Loganberries, and Boysenberries.

These berry varieties need a moisture-retaining soil and a sunny spot to grow well. Before planting the berry bed, dig in plenty of manure or peat moss and compost. Space the Raspberry, Loganberry, and Boysenberry plants two to four feet apart in rows that are six to eight feet apart. Blackberries need even more space so allow 4 to 6 feet between plants and 6 to 9 feet between rows.

Now that I gave you planting space for the berries, I will admit I do not plant in rows. I plant in circular gardens that have a different ground level for each fruit. The strawberries have their own small-tiered garden area. The blue berries are planted in a mound that is oval in shape and the larger berries that grow tall are grouped by their varieties and placed in the garden area where they will not cast shade on the other berries. These berries are grown or a trellis. The berry garden has a theme look with a bench, a few wandering plants and garden art scattered here and there.

I believe that a trellis makes harvesting easier for taller berry plants, plus I like the look.

I grow about 25 strawberry plants, six blueberry plants and about 30 berry bushes. I produce more than enough for my family.

Berries are a wonderful addition to any garden area. If your garden space is limited many of these plants will grow in containers, hanging baskets or on trellises.

Technorati Tags: growing fruit, Theme Gardens