Recipe for a Fantasy Garden
by Martha Blume
Imagine a kingdom all your own, with a carpet of regal moss, tufts of primroses as your tapestries and an oyster shell for your throne. There might be mats of mint and thyme to perfume the air and pretty paths of colored stones leading to enchanted forests of ferns. A garden can be as fantastic as your imagination will allow.
At Bittersweet Hill Nurseries in Davidsonville, some muggles imagined a miniature Hogwarts Express running through a lush green valley complete with quidditch field, giant spiders and a bonsai enchanted forest. But if Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters isn’t your stop, here are some ideas for an enchanted garden of your own design.
Grow a garden for fairies or a miniature village for wood nymphs in your own yard. Gather:
- your imagination
- interesting rocks
- aquarium stones
- shells
- wood chips
- dried grasses and sticks
- pine cones and other seed pods
- plastic toys and animals
- plants with miniature flowers, or those that make a soft ground cover, or some that look like small trees and shrubs
Plants for a shady spot:
- Mosses r Ferns r Liverworts r Hostas r Primroses
- Lily-of-the-valley
Plants for a sunny spot:
- Coral bells r Phlox r Scabiosa r Fescue grasses
- Herbs like thyme, rosemary and mint
Plants for part-sun, part-shade:
- Violets r Bleeding hearts
- Forget-me-nots Sedum r Pansies
How to Plant Your Fantasy Garden
- Plant your garden when danger of frost has passed. Make carpet mats with herbs and mosses. Use ferns and taller flowers as umbrellas and houses. Remember to water.
- After your plants are in, make roads and paths with wood chips and beautiful stones.
- Weave fairy houses with twigs and dried grasses.
- Make pools, tables and chairs out of shells, pine cones and other seed pods.
- Add plastic figures
- Let your imagination go wild!
Win Fame & a Bit of Fortune
Shush No More
Sat. April 13–Singing kids 6 and up audition for the All Children’s Chorus of Annapolis. Noon–4pm @
Unitarian Universalist Church, 333 Dubois Rd. off N. Bestgate, Annapolis: 410/263-9191.
Design a Poster
Deadline April 19–Artistic fourth graders design posters for National Water Drinking Week on the theme Smart Water Savers. Savings bonds reward winners. For rules, entry forms, call Anne Arundel Dept. of Public Works: 410/222-7582.
Kids’ Stuff
Friday, April 12
Butterflies:
Kids 3-4 learn about butterflies and their amazing life cycle. 10:30–11:30am & 1–2pm @ Patuxent Research Refuge, on Powder Mill Rd. between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Rt. 197, Laurel: 301/497-5887.
Sunday, April 14
Wild Yards:
Kids 3-4 learn about the wildlife in their own backyards. 11am–noon & 2–3pm @ Patuxent Research Refuge, on Powder Mill Rd. between the Baltimore-Washington Parkway and Rt. 197, Laurel: 301/497-5887.
Monday, April 15
Bedtime Stories
Celebrate National Library Week by snuggling in for Evening Storytime at your Calvert County Library. Tonight at Southern branch, Lusby: tomorrow in Prince Frederick; Twin Beaches and Fairview branches on Th April 18. 6:30pm:
410/855-1862.
Tuesday, April 16
Hello Kitty:
Learn about cats and color a Hello Kitty picture. 10am @ Barnes & Noble, Annapolis Harbour Center: 410/573-1115.
