Fairy Garden Plant Spotlight - Creeping Jenny

Golden Creeping Jenny is a well recommended perennial plant for ground covers and pots!  It's low growing and trailing nature also makes it perfect for a fairy garden.  Please note that it can be considered invasive, so keeping it in check, or growing it in a container may be advisable.  It is hardy zones 3-9 and can be grown in full sun to shade.  In shadier environments it will be greener, and in sunnier environments it will be a lovely yellowish to chartreuse green.  You may also enjoy yellow flowers in the summer time.

I currently have Creeping Jenny in pots, and I'll be propagating it this summer into additional pots to add to my fairy garden area.  Propagating Creeping Jenny is easy and just couple of plants can provide you will more than you may need.  I am taking advantage of the creeping nature of it, and allowing the plants from existing pots to drape into smaller pots.  These long drapes will grow roots in the soil and once established I can cut them from their mother plant.

Tiny Roots growing from Creeping Jenny

 Creeping Jenny grows fastest in moist but not soggy soil, although it will grow in dryer environments, just less aggressively.  In the garden, I find that it does not need to be watered once established and will tolerate very sunny locations.  Creeping Jenny can also tolerate moderate foot traffic once established.

Why do I like it for the fairy garden?  Since it is so low growing, I find that I can set fairy houses and other ornaments on top of it without hurting the plant, and without the plant covering my fairy house.  Sometimes I will use a rock on top of the Creeping Jenny to set the fairy house or ornament on top of, still without causing damage to the majority of the plant.

I also like it mostly for pots that I have in the fairy garden since the creeping jenny is such a nice cascading plant and spills over the sides.  It is also a nice bright contrasting color all year round and allows other plants and ornaments to shine.

Roots will grow into soil and can be clipped from mother plant when established

Also, since Creeping Jenny is so easy to propagate, it is a low expense addition to pots and gardens.  Since it is perennial, it means you don't have to worry about replanting each year.

Below are a couple of fairy garden ornaments sitting on top of the Creeping Jenny. 

Let me know in the comments if you have or will be adding Creeping Jenny to your fairy garden!

Fairy Garden Giveaway from April of ThePebblePathway!

So many wonderful things have been happening in my life, and it is time to celebrate!  So, I am celebrating with a giveaway!  You see, I've been on a little weightloss journey since January and finally hit 20 pounds lost!  WooHoo!  I also reached 600 followers on my facebook page!!  WooHoo!  Then there is successes to celebrate with my kids, my wedding anniversary, and SPRING is finally here!

It is such a wonderful time, and I want to spread that cheer around to a lucky person!

  This is a matching set of mushroom fairy houses, and the winner will get both!  These will stay looking great if they are set up inside, but will tolerate the outdoors.  Please note that you may notice mildew forming on them if they are kept outside permanently, and polymer clay will only take certain sealers ... If you want to seal them you can use Varathane (this is not an affiliate link, just want to make sure you know what  to use!)

The tall mushroom has a place in the bottom for a toothpick or metal wire to keep it standing tall.  It measures 3.25 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide at the widest point.  The mounded fairy houses measure 3.5 inches at both their tallest and widest points.

So ... How to enter ...Please note that this giveaway is open only to US residents!  I'll try to open another world wide in the future!

Spring is Springing! Favorite plants for fairy gardens!

Ahhhh ... Spring is underway and it is time to get outside!  After de-weeding my garden beds, I can't help but want to start planting!  Here are a few things that I am on the look out for to add to my fairy garden and other spaces! 

Thyme - There are several varieties of Thyme that are popular due to their nature to sprawl and spread, and with low growth and tiny leaves they are perfect for your fairy garden!  These include Elfin Thyme, Wooly Thyme, and other varieties of creeping Thyme.  Make sure to check the zones for your area and mix them into areas where the correct sun and water are given!

Creeping Phlox - With brilliant spring time colors creeping phlox will add some color and fun to your garden.  They like sun, but don't need rich soil.

Sedum and hens and chicks, stone crop - Pick some low growers as well as sedums that have more height.  However, be aware that some hens die off as chicks are produced, and also some are not hardy so check zones!  These are super easy to transplant and you may find yourself picking off chicks as well as replanting sedum that has spread!

Creeping Fig - this is a wonderful tight growing spreading vine, but note that it does die back in the winter, so not an evergreen variety!

I'll try to add some pictures to this post soon!

Fairy Garden Accessories!

This week has been all about the accessories!  Accessories for your fairy garden don't have to be expensive, or even store bought!  Here is a little video that I found on HGTV.com that shows how to make a fairy garden in a container, and most all of the accessories are just things that you could easily find in any wooded area.

However, little pops of colorful accessories maybe just what you are looking for!

You may consider looking around the thrift store for tiny tea cups, or even in the children's toys for tiny things that have been separated from their original sets.  Here is a good example of using little containers, dishes, and teapots that are easily found in thrift stores!

 

Here is a collection of some of the cute accessories for a fairy garden from my shop!

Kids Love Fairy Gardens! Make your own!

When I was a little girl, I spent a lot of time outside!  We were fortunate to live right behind a park that had baseball fields, and became expert baseball finders!  We also would sneak over to the concession stand during games to buy a treat ... even if no one in our house was playing in the baseball game!

During my trips through the woods I was fascinated by the trees, shady spots, little bits of moss, and all the tiny creatures that lived there.  My brother had endless aquariums, ok, some of them were just mason jars ... that housed the creatures we found for an overnight visit ... we were always encouraged to let them go the next day.

There was one dogwood tree in our yard that was my garden ... my brother had one too just a few yards away.  I would pick up little bits of bark, acorns, crooked twigs and sticks ... and created a little world there.  There were many adventures that happened in that little place with many imaginary folk that came to visit.

I would also collect little figurines ... my favorite was a little ceramic blue bird ... it was wee tiny, probably only 1/4 inch long and it usually perched on a tiny mirror that I am sure that I confiscated from my mother's makeup bag.

My garden wasn't fancy or expensive ... it was mostly made of natural materials that were found on our daily adventures outside.  There were a few made items, I am really not even sure where I got those, but most likely they were pieces from broken figurines that I found in thrift stores.  Building my fairy garden kept me busy for hours and hours ... and it certainly sparked my imagination more than my parents ever knew.

If your child loves these little spaces, encourage them to have a little space for their finds also!  You may also be interested in this little movie of a little girl that makes her own fairy garden!  (This is an affiliate link)




Children often don't need expensive pieces to make their own fairy garden, they just need a little space, a little encouragement, and time outside to explore!

The Shop is Open!!

Yay!  The Pebble Pathway is officially opened!

I've got a lot of listing to do ... and you will want to hold off on purchasing until my next post (... grand opening sale, hint, hint), but it is open!!

I've started out by listing some fairy houses ... today I will start listing accessories ... particularly Halloween decorations for your fairy garden.

But, if you want to head over and give a heart to your favorite, well, you would make my day!!

Fairy Houses in the shop this week!!

I'm so so so excited to announce that the shop will be opening this week!!  I've got 5 fairy houses ready to list!  Plus lots of fairy garden accessories!

Here are some of the houses!  I'll be posting a message when the shop goes live, so you can sign up to receive email from the blog when that happens!  Or, you can email me if you would like to reserve one!  YAY!!  All of the fairy houses range from 3.5 inches to 5 inches tall and come with a battery operated light to attract lots of fairies to come live inside!