On a recent visit with her cousins - the infamous and ever so adorable Three Hess Girls - Amelia hosted a tea party like most two-year-olds do.
And being the Instagram moms that we are, Tiffany (my soul-sister and sister-in-law) and I snapped and posted about a thousand photos of the whole experience. Still today, months later, they remain some of my favorite photos of all time.
The tea party took place in Amelia’s playroom, in front of a beautiful garden wall that I designed and my husband (read: hero) built. We receive so many compliments and questions about it, so I thought we would give you a little background on how it came to be, and a very easy tutorial on how to make your own.
When Amelia turned two, we threw a party in her honor at our new home in suburban Chicago. The theme was Amelia’s Secret Garden, and the whole house was filled with bright pink roses, fragrant purple hyacinths, and pale blue hydrangeas. Each room was filled with little experiences that were inspired by secret gardens - with little gold butterflies separating each room. A little cottage house in the living room. Mini canvases and paint pallets in the den. A maypole and yard games outside. A grand picnic area in the dining room. And my personal favorite - a garden wall for photo-ops in the sitting room.
You know... the kind of garden wall you see at celebrity weddings. In every California girl’s Instagram post. In every restaurant that serves rose all day. Yes, that one. We made THAT wall. For our 2-year old’s birthday. And it was magical.
The whole day was magical.
After the festivities ended, we couldn’t bring ourselves to tear everything down. We had put so much thought and time into it, and it turned out so much better than we had imagined it could. So we didn’t. Instead, we relocated the decorations into Amelia’s playroom - including the garden wall, which happened to fit perfectly on this one narrow wall in the playroom.
Now, the garden wall is not only a backdrop for photos - it’s a backdrop for camping adventures, playing dress up, and as you already know... the most amazing tea parties!
So if you want your very own garden wall, keep reading, because it’s so simple to make, yet it will provide the perfect backdrop for so many memorable moments, for years to come.
The Supplies
- hammer
- nails
- tape measure
- level
- scissors or a wire cutter
- flowers
- 10x10” faux boxwood squares
- a ladder (if you’re doing floor to ceiling)
- strong glue (optional)
- hero husband (optional but highly recommended)
The Step-by-Step
Step One:
Measure the area where you’re going to build the wall - height and width, to determine how much space you need to cover. And, decide which colors and flowers you want to add to your wall.
Step Two:
Order your supplies accordingly and patiently wait by the door for your Amazon delivery to arrive.
Step Three:
Attach all grass squares together (grass side down). If you’re doing floor to ceiling or wall-to-wall: use scissors or wire cutters to trim any excess off the edges as needed, to ensure a snug fit on your wall.
Step Four:
Lay the grass on the wall, starting at the top. Use a hammer and nails to adhere the grass to the wall - spacing the nails about 6 to 8 inches apart for maximum holding power. This is where a hero husband or a good friend comes in really handy - it’s easiest if you have one person holding the grass and the other person using the hammer and nails. Repeat this until you’ve reached the bottom of the wall, and trim any excess off, as needed to ensure a clean wall-to-wall look.
Step Five:
Add flowers to the wall. You can either press the flowers into the grass or glue them to the grass. I opted for no glue so I could easily swap out colors later if I wanted to, but glue would keep the flowers in place a bit better.
Enjoy!
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