WOW! Have they ever!
What adorable miniatures...and even the plant miniatures! I find that my miniature hostas don't remain very small over time, but they last a year or two as minis. I wouldn't have thought to use the low thalictrum at all. What imagination you have!
The wire ornaments are adorable, the glider, the gazebo, etc...I bet Bella is in Heaven!

Wow, that is amzing! I love your little fairy gardens. I am inspired!! :)

Hop Scotch! the real test of skill is when you have several single blocks in a row... when you have to turn around in a single block is another good test. If more kids played these sorts of games we certainly wouldn't see as many fat little kids as we do now, I'd wager.

I was never particularly good at traditional jump rope when done with two others manning the rope, but Chinese Jump Rope was pretty popular when I was just a tad older than Bella. Anyone remember those rigs that featured a ring to go around your ankle and a bell shaped affair at the end of a 2-3' cord? you used to get it rotating and you had to jump over the cord as it swept under your feet. Loved it! I recall walking to the bus stop hopping over the cord all the way, lol.

No fattie here! But I digress...

(cool miniatures, Eden)

What a treat Eden to see your creations this a.m. I love all your fairy gardens. You have such cool stuff in them. Do you order on line? I've found very little locally. As well as the miniture shrubs. I found one kind at one nursery. The last 2 pictures are Bella's creation, right? I love the Eiffel Tower and the horses! If I were a fairy I'd like to live in your gardens ;o)

Your containers and gardens are looking fabulous as well. I think I'll have to get to Michigan again sometime to check it out in person.

Michelle

The fairy gardens have been as much fun for me as for Bella. Probably more!

Marie, I find that the hostas labelled "dwarf" tend to stay small. With many of the miniatures you're right, the leaves stay small but the size of the plant increases beyond fairy garden size. I've been surprised how many miniature plants I've found. Mini heuchera, solomon's seal, alchemilla, campanula, and spirea are some of my favorite finds.

Thanks Greylady!

Chelone, my girls had those jumpers that you describe. Wonder if they're still around? Bella would love one I bet. My son's favorite was a pogo stick. Remember those? And my kids had fun with stilts my dad made for them too. Like you, my friends and I used to spend hours and hours jumping rope. My girls did more of the chinese jump rope. I'd forgotten about that. Hopscotch was always a favorite for us too. Brad's always been big on bike riding with the kids and scooters were fun for them and Bella. Nothing more fun than the toys and games of summer!

Michelle, I haven't resorted to ordering online for the fairy gardens...yet. There are a few places around here that are well stocked with fairy garden supplies and plants. I always am on the lookout for things for the fairy gardens, especially mini plants. The big rectangular garden is Bella's. All stuff in there she can move around and play with. We found a line by Schleich (the company that makes the little zoo and farm animals) at Meijer that has fairies, knights, horses, a unicorn, flying horse, and even a dragon. We're slowly collecting the pieces for Bella's garden. She really likes playing with them.

I remember chalk and hopscotch. But I mostly did roller skates on the bumpy sidewalk. Spent much of the time adjusting them with the skate key. Anyone old enough to remember the key? I did real hiking when I was 8 in mountains in France to visit castles. Now that is a fond memory...along with berry picking.

Here a 1970s song for EI, below. My skating was in about 1949-50 and beyond.

Here is a link that might be useful: roller skates

'bug, I had roller skates with a key. Quite often there was a hunt for it before you could begin. I also remember bumpy sidewalks and then the skate would pop off the front.

Hopscotch was drawn with chalk. I'm thinking in Kenzie's garden of buying some square stepping stones to set up as hopscotch.

The Skip-It was popular when I was a kid and my DD loved heres as well. They are still around as I just saw them the other night while shopping.

Eden, I'll have to check out the Schleich figurines. I've bought the animals for Kenzie, but haven't seen fairies etc.

Michelle

OMG wonderful, wonderful Eden! Just love all the details you've put into your Fairy Gardens. Fabulous! I surely wish we lived closer. I'd so love to visit again. Love the banana in the greenhouse and the views down the paths. How do you get the banana out when it gets too tall?

Yes indeed, I do remember using a key for my roller skates, So many skinned knees because our sidewalks on Russell Avenue where I grew up were uneven at the cracks because the huge maple trees had heaved up the sidewalks with their roots.

Deanne

Michelle, we used square patio stones for our hopscotch when we were kids. We also liked to use our charm bracelets instead of a rock to throw. Kind of cheating now that I think of it. The bracelets were easy, they didn't bounce. We usually draw Bella's with chalk on the front walk. I looked for the Schliech fairy figurines online to show you but came up empty. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a Skip It. Bella might not be quite old enough for it yet. She has a hula hoop and it's hilarious trying to watch her do that. Not as funny as when I tried to show her though. No outdoor rollerskating for me as a kid, I lived on a dirt road but we skated at a roller rink one night a week and sometimes on Saturdays. I don't remember skate keys though. By the time my kids were skating rollerblades were all the rage.

Deanne, hmmmm, good question about the banana :) I'll have to give that some thought really soon. I like it in there because it doesn't get any wind damamge but it's fast outgrowing the space.

I wish we all lived closer so we could visit each others gardens in person too. I know you all can't see many of the details of my gardens and vice versa. Then again you can't see all the parts that need work either come to think of it:)

Eden, IÂm getting such a kick out of your and MichelleÂs fairy gardens! TheyÂve gained such popularity the last few years. When I created mine six years ago, visitors would look puzzled and sayÂ"itÂs a what?" But my nieces knew immediately so I can envision Bella and Kenzie murmuring as they play. Some of us never lose that mystical pull for a secret garden where things are small and magic abounds. (IÂm still longing for an old wooden door set in a garden wall) When our summer slows down a bit around here, IÂll share some photos, too.

Do you have a deep yard with many trees, Eden? IÂd love to see more of your gardens and where those paths lead! I like the feel of seclusion I get from the photosÂa good place to escape and enjoy the solitude!

Candy

Wonderful fairy gardens, Eden. Your plants around them look great. The purple greenhouse has been a favorite of mine since I first saw it.

I remember skate keys! We also had some sort of stretchy loop that two people put around their ankles and then the third one did patterns by using a foot to stretch one side across the other, reversing, etc., not unlike the string games we played with our hands. Vague I know, but hard to describe. Hopscotch board was drawn with chalk. Days were spent running off all that energy. Fun days.

It would also be fun to hop from one garden to another somewhat like a progressive dinner-might take a little longer, but it would be a great adventure.

Cynthia

Candy, I'd love to see your fairy gardens. Please post some pictures. I started my first one back before they were popular after seeing some on a garden tour. The gardener who inspired me was an herb gardener and had little fairy gardens tucked in amongst her herbs. I just loved them and wanted my own. The laundry tub garden was my first one. It wasn't so easy to find plants or accessories for them back then. The last couple of years they have really grown in popularity and it's so much fun having more to choose from. My real garden isn't large, the back is 40'wide and approx 70' deep. I have one maple at the back of my property but there is a huge maple in the yard to the east of me that shades my garden in the morning and gifts me with lots of maple seeds and baby trees. Just when I get the spring garden cleanup about finished is when they fall and I get to spend most of the rest of the garden season cleaning them up. There are paths through it and the garden is broken up into different areas. I've tried to design it so you can't see everything from the front and there are areas and things to discover as you walk through it. It's hard to take pictures that give a true feel for it. I think that's because it is small.

Cyn, I think the stretchy loop game that you describe is what we called Chinese Jump Rope. An Idyll progressive garden tour would be the best!

What fun. I love your garden Eden. The Fairy gardens are really neat . My favs are pic 3 and 4. How neat That Bella gets to participate with her own. I think Jake would have loved doing that when he was little. He was interested in the plants then. I bet he will garden when he has his own home.
I want to do a progressive Idyll garden tour. To bad we are so far apart. But I guess thats what makes it all so interesting. What we each do in our own climates.

Really love the one with the dwarf conifers and the path to the little cottage..and the little metal chair too ! How fun it must be to create these-I know I'd be re-arranging them all the time to extend the enjoyment.

Looks like you might need a hatch in the roof of the conservatory before long !

Kathy in Napa

O, Eden - I just got to look at these - what a lovely imagination... and yes, so many of us who might have read the book A Secret Garden (Candy - like you I'd love to havce a wooden door in a wall garden) - I think my longings and memories for one spring from there... these are just amazing and so inspiring.. and I so long to see your whole garden in person.

Thanks for taking the time to photo and post here, it's such a treat to see them "big picture"-- o my, I want to start one NOW, LOL.

And I do hope we get to see Candy's.

-cindy

What fun to tour Eden's garden again! I'm going to share this thread with SunnyD as she is considering a fairy garden.

Beautiful! Thanks for taking the time to post photos.

Saucy

Laura, I LOVE all your pics, and the fairy gardens are espacially dear. You are SO creative. If I were younger and stronger I would be very tempted to attempt that.
Marian

Go for it, Marian! You can do the same thing on a smaller scale on your deck. In fact, I bet you already have just by grouping the potted plants. Do you have a bakerÂs rack or old table to add heightÂso you can work without bending over? Look around for items you can repurpose to plant inÂa cracked tea cup, wooden box or metal pan. Plant some cuttings or rescue the next clearance annuals you find in the parking lot when you go to the grocery store. Add a few little items that make you smile, a pretty rock or something you found of interest around the yard and youÂll have a neat little vignette to share! I would love to see whatÂs on your deck right now!

Eden, I should also clarify my fairy garden is not exactly a "garden"Âmore of a nook with shade plants where I indulge in the whimsical. DH will be home soon to badger me about going to buy a new camera and after I learn how to use it (thatÂs what I donÂt enjoy) IÂll get back to posting photos.

We have company coming in the 3rd week of July and then IÂm looking forward to a nice, quiet August. Time for a few projects, make changes in the garden (begin shuffling again) have more time to Idyll at my leisure, and pick up a book without thinking of more pressing things I have to get doneÂaaaah sounds good!

This was supposed to be a quick reply to Marian and I just kept typing because I donÂt want to get involved in #484 right now. When DH comes through the door, IÂm going to hit him up for quick take out Chinese. The heat and humidity are murderous again today Âwatering the gardens, replenishing supplies here and running errands has left me unwilling to lift a finger. Remember the old saying?Â"ItÂs hot enough to make you wanna slap your grandma" Well, itÂs just about that, lol.