Moss Ball Garden Fairy Village
Kokedamas, or moss ball gardens, are taking the internet by storm! The ancient art of binding plants into mossy, green spheres and creating beautiful floating gardens dates back to the 16th century. They're elegant, simple and easy to look after and it's a great way to showcase your plants. With the addition of a few scraps of wood and found bits you can transform your moss ball garden into a fairy village to create a stunning feature.
This moss ball fairy village is built around a Spekboom. The Spekboom is indigenous to South Africa, and is often confused with a Jade plant. They look the same but they come from different families The Jade plant is a Crassula while the Spekboom is part of the Portulaca family. You can read more about how to identify different types of succulents here.
Besides succulents, pothos, philodendron, and ferns are all perfect candidates to use in a moss ball garden. To make the fairy village you'll need:
- Craft paint and permanent marker
- Thin ice cream sticks (popsicle sticks)
- Binding wire
- Rusty scrap metal (tin cans or ceiling tiles work well)
- Leftover scraps of wood
If you don't have any scrap pieces of wood lying around you can make the fairy village using twigs, flat garden pebbles or clay.
Start by cutting your wood scraps into various lengths depending on how big your plant is. I used a leftover bits of 2 x 2, so I just cut them into chunks of between 5 and 10 cm (2" - 4"). Find the middle point on one end of the cut pieces and make two cuts at an angle to form a roof pitch. On the opposite end cut at a 30-degree angle as shown below
Paint or stain the blocks in a color of your choice. Cut some rusty metal into strips to form the roof and decorate the blocks by drawing on some window using a permanent marker.
Drill a hole in the bottom (where you made the 30 degree cute) and insert a piece of wire.
Glue the tin roof on and add any other cute details to the little homes. We made small doors using ice cream sticks and some of the homes got TV aerials made from jewelry wire. I've been told that fairies enjoy watching TV too
Insert the homes all around the moss ball to create your village. I think I may just make a fairy hammock or three to add to the moss ball. That way the fairies can relax and enjoy the scenery.
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Linda Abate on Jun 11, 2022
This is soooooooooo adorable. A craft that definitely can be changed as often as you want to coincide with the holidays. Would love to see some little birds/butterflies, or flowers on the tree branches. This would make such a lovely centerpiece on a sideboard, table or island or in an entryway to welcome your visitors. Thanks for sharing such an adorable craft.
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