How one mum created an enchanted garden for her daughter

Joanna Roos wanted to create a space for her daughter Andee to play in that would ignite her imagination. She also wanted to do it on a budget. From this, came the idea of a fairy garden which has since transformed into an enchanted garden with references to not only fairies, but magical literature like Harry Potter, the Wizard of Oz and Jack and the Beanstalk.

WATCH: How to make a teapot fairy garden

What did the garden look like before the makeover?

It was an unkempt garden bed full of fallen palm fronds and leaf litter. We live on 2.5 acres just out of Darwin, my husband works long hours and I’m busy with our toddler, so gardening hasn’t been a priority.

Joanna Roos

Joanna Roos

What inspired your makeover?

Our 20-month-old daughter inspired me. I enjoy giving her magical memories and like to inspire her imagination.

Joanna Roos

What kind of look were you after?

Originally, I was going to create a fairy garden in a pot, but I couldn’t consolidate all my ideas into something so small. I noticed we had some hollow logs laying around and I thought they’d make lovely fairy houses. Then I started researching and found some birdhouses at Kmart for $5 that I thought would make great, affordable fairy shops for the garden.

As I added more and more to the garden, I kept thinking up new ideas and it continued to grow. It originally started as a fairy garden, but I thought it would be fun to incorporate literary references from fairy tales that would be relevant to my daughter Andee, so it became more of an enchanted garden. No matter what I did the priority was doing it as cheaply as possible- repurposing and recycling what I could.

Joanna Roos

Biggest challenge?

I think probably knowing when to stop, I haven’t figured that out yet and the garden is currently being extended even more. Finding the time with a toddler on hand is also challenging, so I get up at 5 and get a few hours work in before Andee wakes up.

Joanna Roos

Talk us through the process

I started with a couple of hollow logs.
Made windows and doors from polymer clay.
Turned Bunnings wicker plant hanging baskets into whimsical roof tops for the hollow log houses.
Turned Kmart birdhouses into shops using icy pole sticks & paint.
Painted terracotta pots and pot saucers to look like toadstools.
Cleaned up garden bed and made a pathway through.
Found an old bike in a junk pile and turned it into a feature in the garden.
Made the Wizard of Oz set from instructions found online.
Turned a dog kennel into a gingerbread house.
Got some stones for the pathway.
Made the directional signpost from scrap wood.