Tag Archives: garden

Make a Garden Trail with Fairies and Bostik

Posted on by Abi

fairytrail1Where’s summer gone?? If someone hasn’t asked you that question in the past week then you must’ve been been hiding somewhere far from human contact. Everyone wants to know when the sun will return and we can get back out of the house to enjoy reasonably pleasant weather. Apparently things are set to improve soon and when it does what better way to celebrate than getting creative with the kids before embarking on a hunt around the garden. With my tutorial you can make a garden trail with fairies and once again enjoy getting out of the house. This was made using craft supplies provided by Bostik as part of their Craft Ambassador scheme.

What You’ll Need

Wooden pegs or doll shapes

Fake petals, leaves and foliage garlands

Bostik Glu Dots

Green pipe cleaners

Miniature basket

Patterned tape

Small cardboard boxes (optional)

largefairy1

Larger Fairy

Begin by cutting a pipe cleaner to create legs. These can be stuck to the bottom of the fairy using a Glu Dot. Cut another two short pieces to make arms and fix into place.largefairy

Wrap some fake foliage around the middle of the fairy and secure using patterned tape to make a dress.largefairy3

Stick flower petals to the back of the head to create a bonnet. Then finish by sticking two larger leaves onto the back of the fairy to make wings.

Larger fairies work brilliantly if stuck onto a small cardboard box within which you can hide small sweets.

smallfairySmaller Fairy

To make the smaller fairy begin by using a glu dot to stick a leaf onto the back of your peg or shape. Wrap the leaf around the fairy as shown in this picture then stick with another glu dot.smallfairy2

Cut off one petal from a fake flower and stick onto the back of the head to make a bonnet.smallfairy3

Place the fairy into a basket.

fairytrail2The Trail

Hide all the fairies at various points around the garden. As I mentioned above I think it’s a nice touch if at least a couple of the fairies are hiding treats for the kids to find.fairytrail3

Variations

fairytrail4Our fairies are very simplistic in their design but you could of course add faces, googly eyes or anything else that comes to mind! We also made variations with fabric cone hats and tops.

fairytrail5

 

 

 

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An English Country Garden

Posted on by Abi

Rose2Time to do something ridiculously British and talk about the weather! It’s actually been very kind to us so far this year with lots of sunshine interspersed with rain showers. As a consequence the garden has sprung to life. This being our first Summer here I was feeling quite wistful about my previous garden, though small it was an Edwardian walled garden where everything seemed to grow (including grapes). When we came here I loved the fact that we had a larger space, but it was sparse and unloved. Certainly not the English country garden that I longed for and it still wont be for quite a few years. Although over the last few weeks we’ve seen flowers opening and some colour appearing at last so I know we’re on the right path.

RosesFor my wedding I chose a deep red tea rose called Romance. I dearly wanted to grow it myself, but it isn’t available as a home plant so I looked for the closest Rose I could find and grew a couple of varieties in pots. They have a velvety soft look to the petals which I adore.

cornflowers1I’ve also developed a fondness for proper English flowers and planted hundreds of seeds. Unfortunately not everything has grown but the Cornflowers are a triumph. They look wonderful in vases along with Lavender sprigs and poppies.

CandyroseThis rather amazing candy coloured Rose came from a pound shop, I’m not sure it looks like the packet but it’s got a wonderful pattern to the petals.

LilliesWe’ve also had a go at growing Lilies in pots, these are by far my favourite, they’re so dramatic with their deep purple centres.

Unfortunately the end of the garden is resolutely refusing to grow anything much, which I think is caused by too much shade from a nearby tree. We’ll find the right plant to go there though I’m sure 🙂

 

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The Gardening Season

Posted on by Abi

We’ve had some fantastic weather recently, we’ve been celebrating this gorgeous sunshine with plenty of BBQs and lots of games in the garden. But it’s also made both Anne and myself start looking at our gardens and seeing areas we want to improve.

We’re both big fans of terracotta pots, I think they give a cottage feel to any plant and they’re relatively inexpensive as a pretty addition to your garden. I thought I’d share some pics of our recent plantings. Have you been out in your garden recently?

If you don’t have a garden or perhaps just don’t have the inclination to garden (I hold my hands up here, I direct operations, I don’t actually do anything) then you could have a bit of fun by entering Nature Valley’s new Facebook comp. You can create a miniature garden in a pot and possibly win a prize. I’ve already made quite a few, I’m particularly fond of the pond feature (possibly as I don’t have one). Do let me know if you make one so I can go and check it out in the gallery.

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