Our back garden is a constant work in progress and we recently decided to tackle a small area between the cubby house and trampoline. The relatively small space wasn’t being used and with no defined purpose it had become overgrown with grass and weeds while we tried to decide what to do with it! One afternoon while we were at our local hardware/garden centre I had the idea to transform it into a small fairy garden and stage area, a perfect solution given that it is right in the middle of the ‘kids zone’ part of our yard.
Being that we were already at the garden centre, we bought nine pavers and some paving sand straight away and took them home to get started.
Immy helped to prepare the space for paving and particularly enjoyed helping to cement an edging around the pavers to hold them into position, decorating the side that leads out onto our lawn with a collection of coloured fairy stones.
Once the area was paved we turned our attention to choosing plants, collecting accessories for the space and making our very special bird bath.
We selected child friendly plants – using lots of herbs (rosemary, parsley, oregano and basil), interspersed with pops of colour and interesting textures thanks to marigolds, lavender and dahlias.
Incorporating a few pots into the garden space adds an additional element of interest.
We had fun gathering, choosing and arranging accessories in the space. Some, like the mushrooms, owl, ladybirds and gnome, we already owned. The ducks, garden marker characters and yellow fairy house (originally a lantern) are from our local hardware/garden centre.
This beautiful butterfly (a gift from my Mum) has found the perfect home on the side of the cubby.
And, of course, every fairy garden needs at least one fairy looking over it.
Our fairy garden provides the perfect platform for encouraging lots of imaginative play outdoors and is popular with Immy and all of her friends.
Do you have a neglected space in your outdoor area that could be transformed into a child friendly garden?
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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.
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