Faire Stonehenge

Moss over styrofoam balls wrapped in gold thread in a lamb’s ear basket

I am deeply drawn to circles and round shapes. When doodling, the writing instrument always draws loop-de-loops both large and small, squiggles with rounded edges. I have made balls out of hypertufa, grapevine, moss and old rusty metal barrel hoops. Quilt patterns and embroidery projects include circles, always, and often scallops. The circular shape inhabits in my DNA.

I am also attracted to rocks and stones, collecting those with interesting shapes and colors throughout a lifetime of nature study. So it was that when this article from the New York Times appeared in the online Home and Garden section last week and was read and reread several times, the idea of a mystical circle at Fairegarden began to foment.

Research was done to better understand the Tao of stone circles, to see what their paradigm of construction need include, especially if there was innate meaning to the number of stones used to form the enclosure. Twelve was mentioned as a minimum, and that was the number I was hoping to use for this was to be a miniature henge with stones as part of the newly formed area now called the Fairy Village, click here to read about that creation.

There was some finishing up of concrete step stones and walkways that needed doing, and general cleanup of the area before this new assemblage of a very old concept could begin. Credit must be given to my husband The Financier for the speedy completion under duress of heat, fatigue and mosquito attacks. This is the final concrete project for us as a team, it is hoped. The years are beginning to take their toll!

Appropriately shaped stones were rounded up and brought to the site. Weeding, grading and soil sifting were done in preparation. The selected stones were placed in a circle in the chosen location under a hemlock bough. A shovel and the claw end of an old hammer dug out the requisite trench that is to be the henge, defined as a ring earthwork with an internal ditch portion inside of the circle of upright stones.

The business end of the same hammer was used to pack the clay soil tightly around each stone as it was set in place. The soil in the center was mounded up slightly and smoothed, then covered in moss that was gathered from under some nearby evergreen shrubs.

In the very center a native rock that was selected to hold the focal point of enchantment and power was half buried. The crystal that has been in my possession so long that I don’t even remember its provenance has finally found the function that was its destiny.

The Elysian Gravel Garden

There will be some additional landscaping done around the new Fairy Stonehenge. Future family gatherings might ignite some ideas about what would be the perfect elysian design to enhance the Fairy Village total experience.

Frances