Shades of Pink in Fairy Gardening

What is it about the color pink that is so popular with little girls? Even though my granddaughter wore newborn clothes in the colors of lime green, purple, and yellow - today as a five-year-old she loves pink. This past week we have been planning her miniature fairy garden and the color theme evolved, not surprisingly, into shades of pink.

I was curious about the theories behind this color and I learned that pink represents unconditional love and nurturing. What a perfect color for grandchildren and fairy gardening!  Imagine the effect that a fairy house, surrounded with a variety of pink blossoms, would have on the fairies. A vision of beauty! We began planting a sunny miniscape using rose-pink flowers from the Thrift plant mixed with Crassula that will sprawl throughout the garden and sport fairy pink flowers. Touches of Mexican Heather added a magenta hue to the pink display, while softening the double pink tones in the Heron’s Bill Erodium. You may wonder if this was too much pink in a fairy garden. A certain little girl said, “No.” Therefore, we were off to shop for pink fairies.

First stop – our favorite greenhouse gift shop. There was a whole room dedicated to fairy houses, miniature plants, and most importantly flower fairies. Gazing at the display with the Cicely Mary Barker Flower Fairies, my granddaughter spied the Fuchsia Fairy who gracefully stood on pointe while holding arms in the fifth position. With this fairy resting in our cart, the Columbine Fairy became the center of interest. In a pale pink dress with a ruffled skirt, this fairy quickly joined of our collection. The third and final fairy for the miniature garden, the Orchis Fairy, was dressed in a vibrant pink, hooded tunic. Three hand painted fairies, dressed in shades of pink, became family members for the miniscape.

As I looked at the kaleidoscope of “pink” color in our shopping cart, I began to wonder about the final touches of color in the miniature accessories. I was pleased, but not surprised, that a bag of white pebbles caught the interest of my granddaughter. The stones glistened in the daytime rays of the sun and my granddaughter who not only likes shades of pink, but also loves lots and lots of “bling” was happy with our purchases.

It was time to finish the fairy garden. Walkways of pebbles lead the fairies through the flowers and onto the fairy house. The white color neutralized the multiple shades of pink. To add more tones that are neutral and soften the pink theme, we placed a white bench and chairs on the patio. Outside of the fairy house doorway were three brightly colored pots, one with a checkerboard design painted in colors of purple, while another pot was green with white polka dots. Lastly, the remaining pot, painted in red and white stripes, sat on the front steps. I wondered about the mix of colors decorating the pots, since I did not see any pink in the designs. After taking a second look, I started to smile. I discovered my granddaughter liked the pots, because the plants had blooming flowers in shades of pink.