Washington County Weekend Post e-edition
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Washington County ■ 262-306-5000 ■ 1-800-498-5655 ■ Fax: 262-338-5271 ■ CVC Audited ■ Retail ■ July 5, 2015 SERVING WEST BEND AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES POST POST WASHINGTON COUNTY CIRCULATION AUDIT BY F or many, fairy gardens are essentially miniature art installations meant to spark conversation, not inter- action. Not so for Lora Schreiber. The town of Trenton resident became interested in fairy gar- dens about four years ago, just as they were becoming the rage among gardeners. She took a course from a Master Gardener and learned about types of plants that work well in the miniature tableaus. She left the course with a twist on the mainstream concept, and set out to build a fairy garden that would be an interactive garden in which her granddaughter could play and eventually learn about plants and gardening. Lora planned and planted her first fairy garden three years ago as a present for her grand- daughter, Daisy, on her fourth birthday. Lora bought a peanut-shaped tub from a local home improvement store, drilled drainage holes into it, filled the bottom third with packing peanuts, and topped it with a bag of compost and sev- eral bags of soil. Then she added miniature plants, like creeping mint, herbs and suc- culents. A few decorative items were added to create a scene in which Daisy could play. Daisy saw it and started to cry. "When we took her out back to show her a surprise, I think she was expecting a pony," Lora said. "It took her a little while to come around to it." She did. Before long, Lora and Daisy were playing with the fig- urines in the fairy garden, cre- ating stories as they learned about maintaining and deco- rating a miniature garden. Last year, Daisy, helped Lora plant items in the garden, which had a few different ele- ments but largely followed the same design of a place for fairies to live on one side and a place for humans on the other. Then, last summer, Daisy dis- covered the "Rainbow Fairy" book series, written by several authors under the pseudonym of Daisy Meadows. Daisy read the books voraciously, dramati- cally increasing both her vocabulary and her love of the fairy garden. This year, Lora and Daisy, 6, decided to create a garden based on the book series. What had been the "calmer" human side has become the fairy's home. The other side has turned "wild," creating the per- fect lair for book baddie Jack Frost and his goblin. Lora and Daisy populate the fairy garden with plants from garden centers and decorative elements that are repurposed or bought at rummage sales, resale shops and estate sales. The results are a unique gar- den that isn't a budget buster, Lora said. "(Garden centers have) shelves and shelves of little and not-so- little furniture, buildings, tools, animals and plants to put into a fairy garden display," she said, "but some of the prices will surprise you." To keep the fairy garden afford- able, Lora and Daisy get cre- ative. Jack Frost's ice castle was pur- ple and pink when Lora bought it at a rummage sale and then painted it. The fairy castle started out as a decorative item in Lora's aquarium. The Time Tower, a pivotal element in the book series, was a candle hold- er at St. Vincent de Paul. Even the residents have been repur- posed. The fairies are Hallmark ornaments that Lora bought at an estate sale and the goblin was an elf that has been paint- ed green to match the book character's complexion. Lora and Daisy hope to find a few additional goblins and two girls who interact with the fairies in the "Rainbow Fairy" books to add to Daisy's garden, but no major renovations are planned for next year. The fairy garden is a lot of fun and a great way to teach Dais y about gardening while allow- ing her to spend time outside and with her grandma. Gone Gardening Gone Gardening Continued on page 11. Small size, huge impact. Non-traditional fairy garden enchants grandma, 6-year-old • STONE STEPS & WALKS • BRICK WALKS & PATIOS • RETAINING WALLS & FIREPITS • PLANTSCAPES WLCA 2015 GOLD AWARD OF EXCELLENCE DANIEL STUKENBERG 262-689-6045 WWW.DANIELSLANDSCAPINGLTD.COM Over 35 years experience! We specialize in Outdoor Living Areas Written By: Jill Badzinski 7259 Sleepy Hollow Rd. West Bend, WI 53090 (262) 334-1906 W63 N127 Washington Ave. Cedarburg, WI 53012 (262) 377-1906