Fairy Houses

Build an inviting abode to welcome sprites to your garden.

Reprinted with permission of author Jane Hogue and Country Living Garden Magazine.

I found this wonderful article and project in the August '97 issue of Country Living Gardener Magazine. The original article is by Jane Hogue of Prairie Pedlar in Odebolt, Iowa. I hope that you enjoy.

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A garden designed with winding paths, secluded corners, and towering hedges can be more entertaining than the playground equipment at the city park. Tuck in some whimsical focal points and your garden will delight everyone who visit it.

Create a charming conversation piece by designing a small, primitive twig house any fairy would fancy. The dwellings our children create are kept indoors, but you might want to nestle yours into a quiet corner of the garden on fair summer days. If you choose to leave you fairy house outdoors indefinitely, you will need to protect it from damaging rain and wind. When visitors discover a miniature house with that lived-in look, they'll concede that your garden is a magical place indeed!

Materials

The building project requires a variety of found objects. Your garden and yard will provide an abundance of useful natural materials that can be incorporated into the design. Long, slender locust tree pods and dried bean pods from the vegetable garden make interesting house siding. Large pine cones can be dismantled to provide charming "shake" shingles. Milkweed pods, poppy pods, flat stones, moss, pieces of bark mulch, dried everlasting flowers, skeletonized leaves, and a generous collection of twigs complete the supply list. Look for skeletonized leaves in downspouts, or along the water's edge. If they are not readily available in your area, you can collect leaves exhibiting prominent, well branched veins (leaves from magnolia, poplar, and elm trees are excellent). Submerge them in a bucket of water placed at the base of your outdoor water faucet. Weigh the leaves down with a heavy rock and they will begin to decompose. Turn you spigot on and add fresh water every few days as moisture evaporates from the pail. After several weeks pour off the mucky water, gently hose off the leaf remains, and let them dry thouroughly. Most of the green leaf tissue will have deteriorated, leaving only an interesting network of leaves.

Getting Started

Sketch a humble design similar to the houses you drew in elementary art classes. Determine window size, door placement, and simple roof lines. Incorporate windows one each side of the house to create natural light for the dwelling. A house measuring approximately 8 inches wide by 10 inches deep by 14 inches tall is adequate.

Begin constructing the front wall of the house. Cut two twigs of equal length for the sides, two pieces that will join at the peak of the roof, a sturdy floor beam for the base, and a ceiling beam. Within this framework construct a door frame and windows with twig "studs" that reach from floor to ceiling. Carefully secure all twigs in place using a glue gun. Cover any excess glue with bits of moss. Cut cardboard shapes to fit between the twig supports; secure with glue. To create a "stone" foundation, glue flat pieces of bark mulch or rock to the lower two inches of the house frame. You can add siding by layering pods across the wall studs. To create the effect of stucco, glue crushed herbs, seeds, or fine potpourri to one side of the cardboard before wedging it between the twig supports. Fix smaller twigs to create panes in the windows, and hang skeleton-leaf curtains along the inside window frame. Construct a twig door, and hinge it to the door jam with twine so that it can open and shut. Everlasting flowers glued below the sills create a lovely window-box effect.

When completed, assemble a back wall of exactly the same size, ommitting the door opening. Join the front and back walls at the base, ceiling, and peak with twig beams to create the two side walls. Insert more windows so the house interior can be easily viewed.

Select heavyweight cardboard, or purchase mat board, to serve as the sub flooring. After it has been cut to fit, carpet it with sheet moss or potpourri. Position the flooring in place against the bottom beams, and use a glue gun to secure it.

Finishing Touches

Add any interior decorations at this time. Twig furniture is charming , and a table and chair set for afternoon tea is a delightful arrangement. Fashion the primitive furniture from finer twigs or grape vine, and glue them into place inside the room. Pressed Queen Anne's lace provides an elegant tablecloth. Design a teapot and cups from trimmed poppy pods. Be creative!

To complete construction, install the roof. Cut sturdy cardboard to form the sheeting that is necessary under the shingles. Extend the roof edges past the walls to create a slight overhang and attach tightly. Pinecone scales, bay leaves, and the discs of the silver dollar plant (Lunaria annua) make great shingles --- overlap them and glue them in place.

A fairy haven is sure to add charm and gaeity to your flower border. Stretch your imagination, sharpen your senses, and cross your fingers -- a grateful fairy may take up housekeeping in your garden!

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I am nearly finished with my faery house and have seen alot of curious activity with the household faeries. It has been alot of work, the wall paper is rose petals that have been dried first and then individually glued onto the inner walls. I have lined the floor with pine needle carpeting. A tiny table, chair, and bed have been made from twigs, all with beautiful Queen Anne's lace coverings. I have made a lamp from a poppy pod with "stripes" made by attaching individual, multiple colored, daisy petals alternately glued for the "shade". As soon as I am finished and get a photo, I will post it.

I hope that you will take the time to make a home for your faery folk, it will definitely be worth the work. They will love it.