Create a Strawberry Fairy Garden
Strawberry vines are relatively easy to cultivate, and like other garden plants, you can attract fairies to reside among them. Unlike regular strawberry plants which have their fruit harvest in June, strawberry vines, sometimes called everbearing strawberry plants, have two harvests, once in the spring, then a second one in the late summer or early fall.
Strawberry fairies are delightful creatures who enhance the growth of sweet, big, and juicy strawberries that you will enjoy eating every summer during the plant’s harvest season. The concept of strawberry fairies has its roots in European lore. There is in fact a popular Swedish fairy tale about strawberry fairies living in the forest, who have strawberries for hair, and strawberries for bodies. The strawberry fairies that you can attract to your garden may not look like this, but are just as enchanting.
The most important part of your strawberry fairy garden is a dwelling of some type for the fairies. This dwelling should be light and airy, preferably a gazebo where the strawberry vines can climb over it. A gazebo as such can be purchased from a specialty store such as Miniature Gardens.com. Ideally, your miniature gazebo should be between 6″ to 10″ high. Strawberry vines are easy to train growing up your miniature gazebo, so you want to buy the actual plants, instead of growing them from seeds, just for this purpose. In addition, you will also need to purchase a bag of mulch, four bags of topsoil, and compost.
Mark off a section of your regular flower or vegetable garden where you think the strawberry fairies will enjoy visiting. Of course, it will be a part where the plants can get at least eight full hours of sunlight a day. A small section of any garden area should be enough for a handful of strawberry vines and the miniature gazebo. A spot that measures 4′ by 4′ in size is big enough for four strawberry vines.
Dig up the soil in the garden to loosen it. You can use a regular shovel, digging about 6″ to 8″ deep, turning it over. Once the area is dug, blend in the compost and topsoil, crumbling any large chunks of soil. With a garden rake, smooth the surface of the soil so that it is even. Now you want to build small hills, or mounds, for each strawberry vine plant you have. Each mound should be at least 6″ high, to 20″ across the top. In a 4′ by 4′ garden, you will have four mounds with room in the center for the gazebo.
Once the mounds are created, you can place the miniature gazebo in the center of the garden. Position it so that the entrance is facing one of the rows between the mounds. Now the strawberry vines are ready for planting. Dig a hole in the center in one of the mounds. The hole should not be too deep nor too shallow; the crown, or base of the plant, should be visible above the soil level. Cover the roots with the soil and pack down at the base of the plant. Repeat the procedure with the rest of the strawberry vines. After planting, water the strawberry vines.
When the strawberry vines start growing, guide them towards the gazebo, placing them over the sides and top. Placement of the vines will not affect the growth of the fruit. The vines will crawl along the gutter created by the mounds. Your strawberry garden is now ready to attract fairies! If you prefer, you can plant ground flowers along the border of the garden. Sweet alyssum, lobelia, or pansies are ideal as border flowers. The strawberry fairies will enjoy romping among the flowers as well as the strawberry vines.
Image Credit: Petr Kratochvil, public domain, Publicdomainpictures.net.
