Harvest Shot

Spent some time outside with the boys picking blackberries this afternoon. I suspect that this basket would be full if the boys weren't sneaking so many into their mouths!

Now our fingers are pink as a fun reminder of the harvest.

Magic Sticks

Have a cousin with us this week, so I was lucky to find inspiration on Crafy Crow for this fun activity today...painting sticks!

The kids searched for sticks and then had a great time painting them. Without any direction, they were free to use their imaginations.  Their sticks turned into magic wands.  (We never tire of Harry Potter in this house.)

One stick became a rainbow for a lucky garden gnome.

Fairytale Garden Update

The Fairytale Garden is doing well.  The Magic Beans are climbing everywhere. The 'pole beans' sign is barely visible in the picture below.  Some new bug is eating the leaves, but it hasn't stopped the beans from growing.  (New Bug is yellow and spiky; the chickens won't even eat this strange creature, so I'm hoping he just goes away.)

The Cabbage Patch is gorgeous.  Having never grown cabbage before, it is a thrill to watch the purple leaves form cabbage heads.  I've weeded out some of the crowded plants; the chickens love them. The primary reason for growing cabbages is to feed them to the chickens.  I enjoy purple cabbage, but my family does not much care for it. The plants add a nice color to the garden, so I'm glad to have them, even if the chickens and I will be eating them alone.

Cinderella's pumpkins are starting to grow.  Additionally, some of the squash we planted with the pumpkins are growing nicely.

The potato plants are starting to die off, which is good.  That is exactly what we've read they should do.  (It is always a relief when the plants have read the same gardening web sites as the gardeners.) 

We've seen a few fruits on these plants, which surprised us. Who knew potato plants made fruit?? The fruits look like green tomatoes, but we've read that they are toxic and not too common.  The potatoes are teaching us plenty, as we are new to growing them.  They are also the most controversial member of the Fairy Tale garden, since they are not an obvious character in any popular fairy tale.  It has come to our attention, though, that they are popular in folklore, having sparked Mr. Potato Head, hot potato, "one potato, two", and more.

There is much to learn from a potato. 

Jack and the Beanstalk: the Beginning

Surely this is when Jack's story started to get interesting: those beans started to grow!  And this is when our Fairy Tale Garden* starts to get interesting, too.  I didn't have to trade a cow (not that I own one to trade), because most of these beans were given to my by my father, who grows pole beans around his swimming pool.

Our Fairy Tale Garden will hopefully be full of many magical story elements by summer: beanstalks for Jack, orange pumpkins for Cinderella, giant sunflowers for the wondrous effect they create, and purple cabbages to represent that mythical cabbage patch where all children are told they were found (all my children, anyway).

*Our Fairy Tale Garden is different from the Fairy Garden, which is another magical place found here.

A House for Frog and Toad

Picture this: the kids are playing nicely, too nicely almost, when your suspicions that this is 'too good to be true' are confirmed and -- crash! -- your lovely potted parsley lands on the floor from its perch on the kitchen counter.

I hate to throw out pottery.  Chips of a broken pot can be used in the bottom of another pot for drainage. I usually smash up broken pots and store them in the shed.  But the gap left in this pot looked so much like a doorway, that we turned the pot into a toad home.  I don't know if any toads or frogs will find their way to it, but since it kept my boys quiet for a few minutes while they painted it, I don't really care.  : )

Chicken Fairy

My littlest guy has been on a fuse bead kick for a few weeks now, ever since we made plant row markers for the vegetable garden.  Usually when my children figure out that some sort of fun activity has a purpose, they no longer want to do it, but not this time.  "N" has made a fairy for the chickens, using a pattern that came with some of our fuse beads.  I hung the Red Faced Chicken Fairy on a pole in the chicken yard.  And I thought that pole had no purpose.  It was just waiting for the day when the Red Faced Chicken Fairy would arrive.

This chicken was not impressed at the turn of events.  When asked her opinion, she said, "Er...shut the door, would ya?" (That chicken is named Teriyaki.  Such a cruel name. No wonder she's so paranoid all the time.)

Here you can see the pole formerly known as Useless now holding the tiny Red Faced Chicken Fairy to overlook our Empire of Dirt.  No wonder I get the Nine Inch Nails song in my head whenever I visit the chickens. It all makes sense now.  (And if you haven't heard Empire of Dirt covered by Johnny Cash, check it out.)

Boo can't figure out why the chickens would need a Red Faced Chicken Fairy.  Hmmmm....

Fairy Garden

One of the first things we noticed about our home when we moved here is that the yard has an oddly placed circle of pine trees in the corner.  I have no idea what the original garden-planner was intending for these trees, but I was immediately drawn to the room created by the branches.  We started calling it the fairy garden, based partly on the 'fairy circle' lore, but also based on a delightful memory I have from my babysitting years (long, long ago) when I had the honor of working for a family who had tiny houses placed throughout their home...for the fairies.

Now we keep our eyes peeled for tiny things that the fairies can use as homes.  Birdhouses work well, like the yard sale finds above and in the branches below, and each year the kids try to make houses from sticks and other natural materials.

The home-made houses usually don't last more than a few months, but the act of building them is the best part. 

We also add things to the garden for our own amusement, such as the old elf statue, stepping stones and toadstool seats.

My Garden Wish List

We visited Ladew Topiary Gardens today.  The historic property is a great place for children because it has lawns that beg to be run across, whimsical topiaries, and secret rooms hidden among the gardens. 

Walking along the pathways, I formulated my Garden Wish List.  I'll likely never own a property like Ladew (*likely* never) but I would still like to try to encorporate some of the elements I saw there today.

1.  Windowboxes  -  I don't know how I'll get these, but these top my list.  Those tulips are great, too, but I feed the wildlife in my neighborhood enough as it is.

2.  More places to sit  -  This little nook is the perfect place for tea or a game of cards.  The odds of me or anyone in my family ever playing cards or taking tea outside are really low, but I'd like to have the option. We found this stone set hidden in a sweet 'room' at the beginning of our tour, which leads me to my next wish list item...

3.  Hidden places  -  What fun it is to walk down a garden path and find an unexpected place to play or sit!

In this picture, notice that the wall has an alcove with a bench, through the arched walkway.

4.  A walled garden -  Just like in The Secret Garden, a mysterious walled garden could have anything hiding within.  I would need a lot of bricks, but this is a project I'd love to try.

5.  A greenhouse  -  I'd call mine the Orangerie, and I'd pronounce it with the most annoying nasal twang I could muster.  It would be fantastic.  My cat would love it.

6.  Nooks  -  Lots and lots of places for the cat to hide and the children to go find it.  What would be better than that? (Oh, and the statues and brick pathways just add to the charm, so I wish for them to accompany the nooks.)

7.  A potager  -  The one at the end of this path is actually a cutting garden.  Cutting gardens are cool, but I'd rather have an English potager, a kitchen garden.  Every year I imagine that  have one, but in reality it just looks like a bunch of plants in a huge cage.  I have got to work on that!

Plant Markers for the Garden

I searched for a while for plant markers to use in the garden.  I had high expectations for plant markers, so high that my search dragged on for over a year.  Ideal plant markers, for me, need to be inexpensive and decorative, last for a long time, involve the kids in some way, and hopefully use some materials I already have around the house. 
I spent a lot of time searching my sheds and garage for materials, but finally found my inspiration elsewhere.  In my kids' office (if you can call a room full of crayons and legos an 'office') we have a thousand or so fuse beads.  What could be better for making weather-proof, colorful markers in the garden?

My nine- and four-year-old boys really enjoyed making markers for the plants we plan to grow this year.  I was surprised how patient my little one was, even using tweezers to make the words I spelled for him. (He's wearing a Christmas elf hat; the soldier hat in the foreground just doesn't suit a crafter.)

To make a plant marker like ours, you'll need fuse beads, an iron, the ironing paper that comes with the fuse beads (to protect your iron), a small drill, bamboo stakes, and nylon cord.

Make a fuse bead design and heat it with the iron it to make it permanent.  Leave two holes near the top of the design for the cord.  String the cord through the fuse bead design once the design has cooled.

Drill a small hole in each side of the bamboo stake. Run the cord through each hole and tie.  Now your plant marker is ready for the garden!