Test: 2010

Our little family of 4 live in Los Angeles, surrounded by miles upon miles of urban metropolis. My husband and I have struggled enormously with living such an urban existence. He grew up in the pristine beauty of New Zealand's forests and I spent my childhood on the dusty plains of Africa. Both of us feel more comfortable in a country setting and yet, our life's path has brought us to settle in one of the worlds largest cities. I fought this path vehemently in the beginning. I wanted to bring my children up with the wind in their hair, the fresh scent of open spaces in their hearts. I pleaded and begged with destiny to take us to the forest, the mountains, the meadows. But, alas, it seemed she had other plans for us. It was only when I stopped fighting her, stopped focussing on what I 'didn't have', that I could see that what I did have was so much more important. And, can you believe, it was then that she gave me my hearts desire!

Two years ago, on New Years Day, we passed a campervan parked on the side of the road with a 'For Sale' sign on it. Although we hadn't even entertained the thought of buying an RV until that very moment, we stopped our car, called the number on the sign, scrounged together the asking price of $6000 and, on utter impulse, bought her there and then!

Oh boy, has she changed our lives! She has given us the open spaces, the meadows, the mountains, the forests. She has given us memories and happy times. She has strengthened our family love, our marital love, our Earthly love. She is a blessing in our lives.

Often, on Friday afternoons, the kids and I pack her with what we'll need for the weekend. We put our food in her fridge and fresh linens on her beds. A Good Man knocks off work early, hitches her up to his truck and off we set, excited for the adventures ahead.

She has a place for everything - our jackets hang on the hooks at the door...

K makes sure she doesn't forget her comfy pillow...

Sometimes, she is our little home in the big woods, sometimes our little house on the prairie and, just last weekend, she was our cabin in the mountains.

First thing I do when we arrive, is set out our pretty table cloth...

My Teddy Bear goes straight to play in the dirt...

A Good Man "unhitches" and "hooks up" while I make us some coffee...

Kitty goes off in search of new friends...

We make new friends too...

We light the fire...

and cook our dinner...

Wholesome food, with the flavor of fresh air...

We pop popcorn...

We roast marshmallows...

We have late nights...

Sometimes, we sleep well. Sometimes, the children wake up in the night and we all end up in the same bed. Often, we wake up at dawn, ready to explore our new surroundings.

We walk in the woods...

We feel the texture of grasses in our hands...

Sometimes, it rains. But we don't care... we get wet. We let the raindrops splash on our faces. We notice how clean and vibrant the rain makes everything look and feel...

We spot our favorite things...

We discover magic...

I have found that when you let go, that when you take a deep breath into your very soul and quieten those rumbling of discontent, that when you truly accept that you will make the most of what you have, you find that what you have been wanting so badly all along, is actually right there in your hands.

Blessings and magic,

Donni

Childhood magic is a precious gift. I believe that it is more important than ever, in today's fast-paced, success-driven world to protect and nurture the magic in our children's lives. The excitement my daughter feels when she thinks that the fairies have left her a silvery message, the delight in the discovery of a pearly dewdrop left behind by Mother Moon... these whimsical thoughts dwell only in childhood's imagination and yet the magic they spark will live in her heart long after she knows that it is only the snail who left the silvery trail and condensation that left the dewdrop.

One of the ways we nurture childhood magic in our home is through Kitty's fairy garden. She pays outside in her fairy garden often. She's in the warm sun, breathing in the fresh air. It is her special place where her imagination can roam freely... were her felted fairies and gnomes get married, her tiny horses gallop and her little wooden birds build their nests.

Kitty and I made her fairy garden together. We started with a large whisky barrel but you can also use a much smaller container such as a planter, a tin basin or even a salad bowl. Make sure that the container has a hole in the bottom for proper drainage. Drill a hole if your container doesn't have one. You will be watering your fairy garden often and it is important that it can drain adequately.

Once you have picked out your container, fill it with potting soil. Leave it about half a foot deep.

Next, let your child plan out her fairy garden. Kitty drew a detailed map, indicating where she wanted a hill and a valley, were the pond would go and even where she wanted the path to be placed. Making the map gave her ownership, made the garden hers.
Drawing a map of our Fairy Garden

We propped the plan up in the papyrus and got to work landscaping our garden. We created the hill by mounding the soil and the valley by digging a groove.

Teddy, Kitty's little brother, was in charge of finding earthworms in the vegetable garden to put in Kitty's fairy garden. He was very good at his job and found quite a few...

Earthworms are optional. They are great soil aerators and help maintain good soil drainage (plus, they give the little one something to do so that he doesn't keep destroying the soil hill his sister has, so carefully, built...)

Now, it is time to plant the 'trees' and plants. When choosing plants for your fairy garden, be mindful of the scale you are after. You want it to look like a miniature garden. Moss is the main ground cover and too many other plants may detract from the mossy atmosphere. Let your child's imagination run wild as she chooses plants that will attract the fairies in your neighborhood. We used an immature Tea Tree for our tree. We know that it will want to grow very big and we need to trim it often to keep it stunted. The tree sets the scale of the garden. If your garden is in a smaller container, a shrub will have the same effect as a tree. Also, keep in mind the color combinations... silvers, light greens, dark greens, browns... we like as many colors as possible as it adds texture and interest to our fairy garden. Another consideration when choosing your plants is to make sure the combinations all like the same amount of sun and water. If you are going to be using moss, remember that moss likes sun to part shade and lots of water... add other plants that like the same. If you are going for a desert garden appeal, pebbles, rocks and various cacti look wonderful, but do make sure that too many prickles won't deter your little one from playing in his garden. Here are the plants Kitty chose...

When your plants are laid out, set in your pond. Your pond can be any small container. We used a coconut shell as we love the natural texture it adds but you can use a glass, porcelain or metal bowl too... anything that lends itself to the magic and natural feel of your garden. Do not place your stones until you have planted the moss.

With the pond in place, it's time to plant the moss. Carefully break off chunks of moss and contour it over the landscaped hill and valley, around the pond and the tree. Remember to leave space for the path.

Arrange the rocks and pebble path and, all at once, your fairy garden looks like the magical wonderland that it is.