garden | Love, Laughter, and Life

September 13, 2026
by Angie 4 Comments

Fairy Houses by Autumn

One of the grands loves creating and spending time outside dinking around. This summer she asked permission to make a fairy house and garden in my potted lavender. I like fairy gardens, seeing kids use their imaginations, and watching them be involved outside, plus this is right where we would benefit from some nice garden decor! Yes, please, create away!

This is fairy house location number 1. Sadly, the lavender did not want a fairy house and/or garden in the pot. So, the grand had to relocate to a more fairy house friendly neighborhood.

Below is the artist at work at fairy house and garden location number 2. Sunflowers don’t care. They make excellent tall trees for fairy houses and gardens. And shade for the construction workers. Plus. Big leaves and strong stalks for walls and a roof!

Garden shears in hand, additional permission was granted to gather leaves and thick stems. Add rocks, water, dirt, and shells, and utilize existing cement blocks and nature protection from sunflowers and potted plants. Excellent ideas.

Et voila!

We were instructed to water carefully to avoid damaging the new location. We followed the instructions very well. But the leaves dried up, the wind blew, and the stalks fell over.

Never fear though. Miss Architect visited regularly to repair and rearrange the fairy house and garden.

She even established a bathing pool across the brick patio in the cement bird bath/waterer. I missed grabbing a photo of this when it was otherwise occupied by one of the fairy residents.

Imagination. Nature. Plenty of loose parts. Equals the best childhood!

I’m afraid to say that the fairy house might have to migrate south for the winter to escape snow and ice. But we shall see how mild or tough the winter is. Until then, we might consider charging a tiny bit of rent. ;0

June 15, 2026
by Angie 2 Comments

Haiku Moment: fire

summer fire flames

explode across the landscape

burning with beauty

fire by Angie Quantrell

my summer garden, Yakima Valley

May 23, 2026
by Angie 5 Comments

In the Garden: New Use for an Old Gate

A dear friend recently gave me an old garden gate. Thank you, friend! It’s been sitting around for a month or two, waiting for inspiration.

Shortly after that, the back broke off this old wood bench. We thought we would have to repair the back, but were in no hurry to do so.

I looked at that bench for weeks, wondering. Sunflowers grow up and drape over the top of the back. More like they lean heavily against the back. But still. The window was quickly closing for doing anything with the bench until fall after the sunflowers were done.

Finally. An idea hit. What about the gate? My honey and I played with the idea, holding it up, problem solving how to make it work. After moving a sunflower elsewhere, he set in 2 short 4×4 posts for anchors. We attached the gate to the anchors and slid the bench into place. I love this garden gate backrest!

If you look a little bit further back, you can see I like gates. In nontraditional ways. It seems I am always bringing them home! I once picked up a gate at a free yard sale in north Seattle (fun with another dear friend). My little “truck” Mazda is game to whatever huge things I decide must come home with me. That gate (unlike the above 2) is in use as a gate into the fenced garden, complete now with an arbor and honeysuckle. It actually opens!

If you’d like to see the “working” gate leading into the fenced garden, go here.

Thanks to friends and helpful honeys!

The snapdragons are in full rioting bloom! Look at the top photo to see the crowding sunflowers. They are ready to take over. As a funny sidenote, the gate now blocks access under the bench. Before this, Monet the cat used the space beneath the bench as an easy way to jump out and attack the dog when she ran past. Poor Ginger! But we watched her last night snaking through the sunflowers to go under the bench. The confusion on her face when she was cut off by the gate was hysterical.

Do you have any gates in your garden? Working or decorative?