On the Subject of Fairy Tales

 J.M.J.

     I suppose I have had a busy week. In addition to the chaos of daily life, catching up with cousins, trying to continue my current novel project, testing new ideas with drawing, and trying to read up on the Middle Ages and King Arthur, I've also managed to throw a minor landscaping fantasy into the mix. That is what summer is for, though, correct? Catching up on all the hobbies missed during the school year? Anyway, the minor landscaping fantasy has become what my family and I refer to as my "fairy tale garden." (I call it "minor" as we have had far more major landscaping fantasies...such as adding around 100 lilies to a hillside in our yard last summer, among other things...)

     If you have ever spoken to me and gotten me onto the topic of stories, chances are that you have gathered that I have a slight obsession with fantasy, fairy tales, and mythology. I remember reading the C. S. Lewis quote that states "Someday, you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." I have always wondered how that someday will come if one is never young enough to stop reading fairy tales in the first place. Perhaps that dreadful first someday never comes for certain children. Perhaps.

     When I was younger, I loved fairy tales for the princess' beautiful dresses and long hair. Essentially, I loved them for the delight and enchantment. I loved them for the fairy. As I grew older, I loved fairy tales for those same things and also for the happy little story they wove. I remember reading Grimm's fairy tales when I was 9 or 10. They were dark at certain points, yes, but each one ended with the words happily ever after. Perhaps it was then that I began to love fairy tales for the tale. Now that I am older still, I see that fairy tales carry something to them that is sorely lacking in the majority of modern literature. There is an element of beauty, goodness, and truth (the three pillars of meaningful art) that is hard to find in modern children's entertainment. For instance, I found that the the whimsical, carefree, delightful air felt in movies such as Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty or even Tangled cannot so easily be found in recent children's entertainment such as Ice Age, The Incredibles, or Despicable Me. There is nothing wrong with watching and enjoying the more recent entertainment. I enjoy watching all of those movies with my younger brothers, who may or may not only watch the latter set of movies with me, but I am always worried that they will catch some reference that has no place in a film targeted for such a young audience. It feels as if the writers behind the big-screen stories lack confidence in the story that they are trying to tell, and so, they feel the need to throw in camouflaged adult jokes to ensure that there will be an audience, at all. The stories would be so much more without those attempts at laughs.

     Anyway, I have always been drawn to elements from fairy tales. Last spring, I tried to read J.R.R. Tolkien's essay "On Fairy-Stories." It did not work so well, however, to only try reading it either late at night in bed or at play rehearsal on account of having to do schoolwork. What I did manage to read solidified my thoughts and feelings towards fairy-tales. I quite enjoyed it, and now that school is through, perhaps I should try to finish...

     I think that is a sufficient introduction to the topic of yours truly and fairy tales. With recent book sales from Daughter of Kings and the nature of the chaos in my life, I took the liberty to take my love for fairy tales and to execute a somewhat crazy, somewhat thought-out plan in my family's yard. My mom was kind enough to let me have the "Prime Real Estate," also known as the lovely little patch of earth between the house and the pool. (I had thought that if I was lucky maybe, just maybe, the little story realm could find a home with the corn and pumpkins?)

Here it is...from left to right (according to the kitchen window)

The Gnome: From the ankle length beard to the ladybug on his leaf hat, Sir Gnome is the perfect little fellow to greet visitors and welcome them to the little garden. I have no idea what the bushy thing is. My mom planted that last summer. We planted thyme on one side of Sir Gnome and some hummingbird plant that my youngest brother insisted on getting my dad for Father's Day (and that he knows the name of it by heart...it starts with H and has multiple syllables...that's all I caught...)

The Storybook: What better way to say fairy tale than to have several fairytale-ish elements springing from the pages of an open book? Elfin thyme was planted all around this decoration. Another bush-thingy and a rock from the woods (from last summer) complete the look. 

The Fairy-Girl: My personal favorite. I decided to place the fairy by the moss from last summer. I love moss...it is kind of ridiculous. So anyway, I thought I would put my favorite decoration with my favorite of the already present plants. Another hummingbird plant was put next to her. (This one is the "second brightest in all the land." The brightest, unfortunately, was not photographed.) I have no idea what the other two flower types are called (I call them "pretty"), but they looked perfect and they can supposedly survive full sunlight. ;)

The Little House: I thought this was cute. It carried the "leafy cap" theme from Sir Gnome, and with the yellow paint on the windows of the hut, it is easy to imagine a little fairytale inhabitant inside. ;) There was a small patch of moss from last summer, already, so my mom planted the thyme on the other side of the house. Some little pink flowers were planted behind the house and ground covers. 

The Dragon: The personal favorite of my dad and brothers. (My personal second favorite!) He has some thyme planted on one side and the "palest hummingbird plant in all the land" on the other side. Yesterday, when my family and I bought all of the plants, we found some lilies that I thought would be quite suitable for a baby dragon's napping area. 

Little Brother Bonus: Bob the Mud Guy

For whatever reason, my younger brother decided that the clay dirt in my family's yard is just the thing to sculpt with. He also decided that no fairy tale garden is complete without a Mud Guy. So, he gathered as much clay as he could (without my mom's permission...) and made Bob. He gave Bob clover leaf facial features and added him to the garden. A fine addition, I think.

And that, dear reader, is the fairy tale garden. Farewell!