When we bought this house, the little nook behind the garage was overrun with bamboo, and filled with decades of trash and dead leaves. It took the better part of 6 months to clear it out and find sold ground! Shortly after doing that, we added this little Kidkraft playhouse, which I created a foundation for by using some of the bricks we found when digging out the trash heap. We hung some white Christmas lights above it, and it became a casual little fairy nook that Evie has loved for several years now.
But, after several years, it needed a facelift. I started by repainting the door and canopy with the same pink I used on the back of the bathroom door (Sherwin Williams Comical Coral), and adding a new wood sealant to protect the house. Next, we spread the dirt that we had dug up to level the space for the new playset around, leveling the ground somewhat and helping prepare it for planting.
Thankfully, I have a neighbor who does landscaping professionally, and is quite the plant whisperer! She helped me figure out which plants to add to the space, how many, and the best layout.
The plants we added all require little water, thrive in shade, and can tolerate interference by pups and small people ;) The ferns are Western Chain Ferns and Deer Fern, and for the grasses we went with Everest Variegated Sedge and Licorice Sweet Flag Grass. In the small flowering bed, we have a little marigold who believes it can, some purple salvia, and a hydrangea.
When we planted everyone, we put a scoop of good organic soil at the bottom of each hole to ensure they had some nutrients starting off, then added a layer of topsoil and spread some ground cover seeds.
It's been rainy every few days since then, so everyone is looking healthy and getting established. I'll add a drip system in the next month or so to ensure they keep getting the water they need once the rain leaves.
The final touches for this space are a "Once upon a time" sign from some materials that I have left in the garage, and turning those tree stumps into oversized mushrooms! I'll share those projects as they come to life.
