crafty/creative family: make a garden guardian

Meet Zopanoni, so named by my 3 1/2 year old, she is the guardian of our little sprouts, tender buds, and hopeful harvest. Inspired by scarecrows, fairies, and strong women, she has yet to be fully adorned with all of her sparkles and bells; she is a work-in-progress achieving her regalia and ephemera as the garden waxes then wanes. But she has enough right now to make beautiful music and a loving presence in our sweet little garden.


To create her, we used:

• bamboo for the vertical pole
• grape vine for the horizontal (arms)
• straw and grape vines bundled with twine for the head and wild hair
• fabric, bells, sparkles, mirror bits, ribbon, beads, etc. from SCRAP and around the house

Use what you have available in your yard and house! On a Nurture-neighborhood garden-ogling tour, my daughter and I met a woman who made her scarecrows with old brooms. We didn't have any old brooms, but we were very inspired, so we basically made one out of straw. The more bells, chimes, and shiny things you add, the more your garden will sparkle and sing and the safer from the birdies it will be.