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katydidit33

Saucer Sled Fairy Garden - Trying Moss

katydidit33
10 years ago

I thought I'd offer this idea to others out there who might have or find an old saucer sled.

Sled:
The first picture (spring, 2012) shows the sled on the base of a papasan chair tucked into a northern corner of the deck. One original handle of the sled shows - since removed. The base of the sled has five or six drilled drainage holes and a planter saucer sits beneath it on the table.
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I offer the second picture taken to show it with its characters/items. Note that drainage would not tolerate a regular table as shown. Too many a time I had to siphon out the saucer under the papasan base - not workable.
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The third picture (fall, 2013) shows my final determination - I needed an open weave table for total drainage.

Plants:
There is actually a hill in the garden's terrain. I covered it with sheet moss from the north side of our house. The hill itself is high enough to contain a small potted cactus (behind the white fairy). I bought plugs of several types and most of them lasted throughout the summer. But the shallow edges were a failure and some of my best plants, a baby pine tree, clover, and (trimmed) weeds, arose naturally. Irish moss and Blue Star Creeper were the best of the buys.

Moss:
Since I wanted something a bit more permanent that might survive the winter (garage or outside), I decided this spring that I would try moss. Just moss - no characters or items until I knew I could maintain their neighborhood. So I bought mosses online and set it at the north-west corner of the house where it got only late afternoon sunshine. Even that seems a bit too much dry-out for the sled edges but if I move it back any farther north (where our mossy lane is) it disappears around the corner. If nothing else, I have to remember to mist it more often.
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I'm in Connecticut and winter is fast approaching. I asked for help and suggestions for winterizing in another thread.
"http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/junk/con1021524015721.html?4"
The consensus seemed to be to try leaving it outside. So here goes the final stage of the experiment. The fourth picture shows where I'm going to put it - back in that northern corner, fairly well protected. After taking the pix I lowered the sled, setting it on a milk carton for that all-important drainage.
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I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hoping this inspires/helps someone else out there, and wishing I lived just a tad farther south ... ... And I'm so open to any suggestions for winter or whatever might grow in very shallow dirt, ideally trailing over the edges. Any ideas?
Anyone want to wager on chances for survival over the winter?

Oh yes, one more thing - this garden frog was such a treat I had to take a picture when I saw it - and now have to share. Just luv it!

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