A fairy in my garden.......

This delightful little fairy was a gift from my parents. I didn't want to put her just anywhere where she would most probably be overlooked, so I made her her own special 'garden' in a large pot that now sits on the patio. She's in a prime spot and we can keep our eye on her from the sitting room.

I got the moss from the grounds of a nearby hotel that was knocked down some months ago and didn't feel too bad helping myself to it, knowing that the area is due to be cleared soon to make way for new shops and houses, so really I acted in the name of conservation. :D

In the pot there are four different kinds of moss, but I don't know any of their names. I did try to get a book on mosses, lichens and liverworts on eBay but was outbid! lol I'll try for another one because mosses fascinate me and I'd love to learn more about them. I've seen a fabulous book by George H. Schenk (Moss Gardening: Including Lichens, Liverworts and Other Miniatures). It's full of advice on growing moss, identification, etc. with glorious colour photographs ..... maybe I'll put my pennies aside until I can get that one.

Also in the pot is Sisyrinchium californicum (pronounced sissy-rin-ki-um) - that's the plant with the small swordlike leaves. From May onwards, it produces masses of yellow star-like flowers right up until October. The blue flower, although not clear in the photograph, is the blue form of Anemone blanda. It's a daisy-like flower. If you look closely at the top right-hand side of the picture, you'll see a twig. That is actually a baby tree with a couple of buds waiting to open. I pot up tree seedlings from the garden especially for projects such as this.

I may have to offer the mosses some protection in the form of fine netting, just until it gets established as the blackbirds have already thrown some of it out the pot. I stuck the moss on the stone with margarine!