What You Need to Know About Stakes, Bases, Hangers, and the Finish

Most faeries and dancers come with detachable copper poles and most have picture hangers on the back. More specifically, the large sculptures (23 inches and taller) are finished on both sides, have picture hangers on the back, and come with 5-foot detachable garden stakes. Wood Nymphs and Little Faerie Dancers are finished only on the front, have picture hangers on the back, and have detachable 3 foot copper poles. The Elf with Horn, Dwinkle, Twinkle, and the Magic Animals have permanently attached 3 foot garden stakes and the Green Men have no stakes at all but have hangers on the back Bases are available for all large and medium sculptures for indoor display for an additional $125. The Minis have 26-inch flexible copper wires and can be displayed in hanging baskets, in pots, on walls, on tables, or in the ground outside.

All of my pieces are designed to go outside. They have a clear, weather-resistant finish that helps keep them shiny. Lots of people use them inside - on porches, on patios, in atriums, by fireplaces, in little girls' rooms - but they're also fun out in the garden.

All Minis are attached to 26-inch flexible copper wires and are finished on the front with a super finish that permits you to leave them outside all year long. You can also bend the bottom of the wire into a circle and sit the piece on a table or bend the wire in an oval around the figure from toe to head creating a frame that allows you to hang it on a wall or tree.

There are five places I especially like to see my copper sculptures:

• The first is in places that are heavily shaded or are mostly green - such as an area where there are lots of hostas or near the edge of a woods. The contrast between the copper figure and the green background is stunning, especially when the light filters through the trees and catches the figures. They glow! Can't you just see a Wood Nymph right on the border of your yard under a tree as if shes' just sneaked into your garden from the wild woods. The Gypsy Moth, the Flower Child, and Dwinkle are good ones for this spot, too.

• Another spot I like is beds where there are tiers of flowers. I place the faeire, elf or maagic animal so that flowers are at its feet and behind it. When bigger perennials such as phlox want to flop over, I use the sculpture to help prop them up. The Fancy Faerie, the Iris Faerie, the Wind Faerie, and the Little Faerie Dancer are especially nice framed with flowers.

• A third place is near water - at the edge of a pond or dancing down a stream. The kitty cat juggling fish is fun beside a pond. Imagine see three faeries - one on either side of a stream and one right in the middle!

• I try to make my garden magic. I like for there to be subtle surprises and discoveries for all who visit. Imagine walking through my cottage garden, turning a corner, and there - tucked behind a shrub is. . . . a faerie! What fun! Dwinkle the running elf, the Wood Nymph, and the Little Faerie Dancer are fun tucked away like this.

• My faeries are really fun in trees, too. The Elf playing a Horn is great perched on a tree branch. He looks like he's playing music for the birds to sing along to. The Green Man is fun perched in the crook of a tree. I also hang the Grand Jete Faerie, the Flying Faerie and Bearberry the Bear from tree branches.

If you have any stories of how you use the faeries in your garden, let me know!