Our Home Is Our Castle
At the base of a century-old redwood tree on an unassuming street in Oakland is a patch of snaking ivy, scattered clumps of feathery ferns, Paleozoic fan palms, one sad-looking ficus, a birdbath rescued from the side of the road, and this:
Morning light filters through the willow tree (the one with the tire swing), and sprays the scene with sun spots that, if you sit there long enough (and we do), float across the scene like reflections from a slow-motion disco ball. And now we have two tire swings.
We got the set-up for a song at a yard sale a few weeks ago, and although Simon and I made a pact not to spend any money on more accessories for what is already a fully outfitted fantasy, I, uh, thought the terra cotta jars needed some topiaries, and as long as we were at the craft store, we might as well get some moss to make trees out of sticks from the yard, and then we needed some pea gravel to fill in the pathways of the French parterre garden, which obviously needed flowers…and, oh hell, I think the two of us love this even more than the three-year-old.
The rabbit hutch yard got some cushy moss.
(Please stop me from buying figurines of Snow White and her dwarves (dwarfs?).)
While we were at the craft store, Wombat also picked out a fairy riding a cardinal and bought it with the birthday money he got from my grandma. (Hi, Grandma Alice! Thank you for the fairy money!) The tag said her name was Lucy, but as Wombat decided that Lucy is “not a very good fairy name,” she’s now called “Ferryfoot.” After much debate, the cardinal (currently MIA) has been dubbed “Sparklewing.”
Here is Ferryfoot’s fairy mother:
Wombat thinks every fairy in a green dress is Tinkerbell…except for this one, who actually is Tinkerbell (a fast food toy I got circa 2003 and squirreled away for just the right moment, like a proper hoarder). Simon and I gave him some examples of fairy names—Mustardseed, Peaseblossom…the usual—and in a flash of inspiration Wombat declared her to be Weathery, which, come on, that’s perfection.
Her wings flap when you tap her on the butt. (Don’t yours?)
And of course, because we have a boy Wombat, the yard is open to not just fairies and winged bunny rabbits but all comers, including whatever the hell this guy is. (W says his name is the very non-Dickensian “Dar” and assures us he’s a good guy, so no worries.)
There are also farm animals and jungle beasts and dinosaurs and pirates, the last of whom have been courteous enough to park their mighty vessel outside the stone walls of the castle.
Okay, technically, it’s a cottage—“Primrose Cottage” according to the sign on the front gate—but we’ve been calling it a castle from the moment we saw it. And you know, that pretty much describes our family philosophy to a T: a $100 display-only-not-a-toy garden cottage is our grand play castle palace with an open-door policy.
Simon’s mom brought up his old Star Wars figurines last week. Behold: Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine in happier times.
Needless to say, this is the coolest thing ever and you’re all invited over to play.
(You can buy the entire set online and/or marvel at the amazing deal we got here. $100 for the whole thing!!!)
That is amazing and adorable.
Oh my gosh! That is awesome and I love it. And want it. Badly. I mean, of course, for my 4 year old daughter….ahem. What fun.
Dwarfs! It’s dwarfs! Dwarves is a Tolkeinism.
I’m almost totally sure, though I can’t get a dictionary to back me up on this one.
That is amazing and gorgeous and my daughter would adore it and move in.
That is the most awesome thing, I love it. We built a little Fairy garden for my daughter but this is epic, very cool. And what a deal you got, I am offcially jealous. LOL.
I am in awe. And I want one in the worst way. You know, for the kids of course.
I have no kids of my own and I have no garden right now, but oh, I would so love to have this … You scored and might win the yard sale most awesome purchase of the summer award
I’m not sure if I’ve ever wanted anything more than this in my entire life. Wow!
Right, you guys?! I can’t believe we scored this, or that we almost walked away because we thought $100 was too much (which it probably was considering Simon hadn’t been offered a job yet).
You already had the best backyard, and now this addition just makes you untouchable.
[...] Kim France is blogging for girls of a certain age.I want to create a fairy garden for the kids, but this one raises the bar considerably.Everything I wish I could be. [via Design Crush]I’m already a [...]
Just found you through Making it Lovely! Amazing display. We just finished our (much simpler) Fairy Garden. I have a boy and a girl so we also have helicopter visits that make play more interesting. I still want to a fence of some type and a door and you have given me so many more ideas! A miniature bench is a must have now and maybe a tire swing! Lovely, lovely work! Have fun.
http://www.fishlynews.com/2012/05/creating-fairy-garden.html
Wow! That’s an amazing deal and a wonderful garden. My daughter is very jealous.
[...] Can I pretty please have a fairy garden? [...]
So jealous . . . for my kids of course. I totally wouldnt be playing with it on my own at inappropriate times!
What?! That is incredible! I’ve never thought of having a mini fairy garden…it would be for me of course…not my kiddos.
cute idea, i never thought of photographing toys like this
This is so amazing and beautiful and I really really want one for myself!
♡ Lexi
FASHION: Glitter & Pearls
WEDDINGS: Glitter Weddings
Where is the link to purchase the kit for 100.00?? We couldn’t figure it out on
the website.
We got it at a garage sale for $100. The kit will cost you over $1,000 online. Sorry!
This is fantastic. I particularly like the tire swing! Can you post a photo of the whole thing? I can’t even tell how big it is but I get the sense it is huge. The detail is just amazing and you seem to keep it pristine, too. In my little yard I am constantly cleaning out debris from surrounding plants and trees. Thanks for showing us all this.
Hi Bill,
You can see the whole set-up through the vendor link at the bottom of the post. It shows all the parts and includes photos of other people’s arrangements as well. You buy everything separately, so you can pretty much make it as big or small as you want to.
(I think it’s clean because it’s only a few weeks old.
)
[...] Also, I’d really, really like a fairy garden. [...]
Ahhhmazing! Not a lot to say, but you rock. I want this. NOW.
Princess Leia and Emperor Palpatine in happier times made me laugh out loud – this garden setup rocks!