Somethin’ different…Ok, ok, I know that the following tutorial is NOT about pastel painting but it is summer time and it is time for a different type of fun project. So, this is a great backyard tutorial on how to make a wagon garden!
How to Make a Wagon Garden
Now this garden can be made in just about any sort or size of container (see more examples, below). This can be your longed-for fairy garden (my grandsons would not have stood for this sort of garden) or just a little bit of heaven planted in a simple bowl!
Make sure your container has proper drainage. For this particular garden, I have a rusty old Red Flyer wagon that has wheels that no longer turn…they are frozen to a halt.
Use a Red Flyer Wagon for Your Garden
I had my son bring his drill and drill a couple of holes in the bed of the wagon (now you antique wagon purists just be still, this wagon has been leaning up against the house for four years and is getting rustier by the day. Of no use or purpose, but now….) for proper drainage. Yes, make sure that container has some sort of hole in the bottom so that water can drain out and not collect and rot everything.
With that done, we put some river rocks, not pea gravel, in the bottom of the wagon and then covered the rocks with some bagged moisture-controlled garden soil…about 2-3 inches. You can begin to mash the soil around and make hills or mountains, take your hand and cut in a stream or river…just have fun making the topography of your little garden.
Build a Soft Moss Garden
I am blessed with an abundance of real moss in my side yard. You may not have moss that you can dig up close by, but you can get some dried moss at your local arts and crafts store. It won’t grow, but it will make a green carpet for your garden. I dug up a few big clumps of moss and stretched them out over the soil in the wagon. You can make the moss fit; you can tear strips to fill in, you can add some bigger rocks and even some of those plants that would grow and like to have folks visit often!
After the moss was in place, we decided to go ahead and put in our stream and we used blue-colored fish tank gravel for our stream. It stays in place and is easily forded by our toy cars and trucks.
Use Your Imagination to Make a Garden Featuring Favorite Toys
I had a few tiny ceramic houses, and splurged on a ceramic castle that is supposed to go in a fish tank, but looks regal at one end of our garden. We had some tiny rocks that made paths or roads curving through the moss countryside.
We have LOTS of tiny plastic cows, sheep, horses, chickens…all sorts of animals inhabit our garden. And, we even have some “Matchbox-type” cars that roam the paths!
We made bridges with sticks and have planted some succulents that are standing in for trees. Use your imagination, it will be great fun and everyone can get tired and dirty in the process.
Taking Care of Your Completed Garden
I have my wagon on my screened porch and drag it outside for an occasional rain shower to keep the moss alive. That is all the care it gets until winter time…then I guess I will retire the hordes of animals and cars and let the garden sleep until next summer.
Make a Charlotte’s Web Book Themed Mini Garden
You might also like the mini, individual gardens that the grandchildren and I made, just to give you some ideas. Littlest Girl made hers a Charlotte’s Web theme. You could make yours around a beloved book too.
Pin How to Make a Wagon Garden!
I think that I can say that this is an artistic project and remind you all that you ARE artists!
You might also like:
- Nana’s Charlotte’s Web Themed Art lessons
- How to Make Seed Tapes
- How to Draw a Garden Spider With Chalk Pastels
What are you creating in YOUR garden?
-originally published June 2015
This is really pretty! I like the instructions. It makes me wish I had my own home to do this but my landlord does all the gardening and placement of things around the house (he lives downstairs at our duplex).
The mini gardens look so cool!!! Keep up the great work.
I am thinking that maybe you could make a tiny, indoor garden for a window sill, maybe!
Such a cute idea! My kids will love it ! Making this wagon garden for them will be great because like this I will be able to keep them away from the flowers that are very often ruined after playing in the garden! Thank you for sharing! The wagon looks like a really fun way to change the atmosphere in the garden! Thank you!