Photo by Danny Fulgencio
A sign in the backyard garden of Robin Peckover’s East Dallas home pleads with guests: “Don’t piss off the fairies.”
Peckover, an Australia native turned Texas transplant, says she needs all the magic she can muster to ready her garden for the White Rock East Garden & Artisans Tour on May 17.
“When I moved in five years ago, there was nothing,” she says. “Absolutely nothing, just a plot of dead grass.”
She chose her property because of three wrinkly old live oak trees in the backyard, which she says remind her of “magic forest trees.” Then she began spending most of her spare time with her fingers in the dirt, making her garden as enchanting as possible.
With a little help from the fairies, of course.
“I love fairytales,” she says. “As a child, I used to go out into the garden and look under every flower to find a fairy, and I still do think I’m going to find them here.”
If fairies were to hang out anywhere, it would probably be in Peckover’s garden, which is overflowing with beautiful rose bushes and ivy. Everywhere you look, tiny creatures made of stone or metal are frozen in motion, and decorative mushrooms and other knick-knacks are scattered throughout.
“Gardening is in my blood,” she says. “I see it as giving back, a thank you note, to all that the Earth has given us.”
Aside from being a gardener, Peckover also makes mosaics, which will be on display during this year’s White Rock East Garden Tour & Artisans.
Hers is one of eight gardens on the tour, which comprises everything from elaborate grounds in Little Forest Hills to lush green spaces in Forest Hills. Check out some life-size sculptures and collect a few tips from the “master composter” of East Dallas.
For more information, visit whiterockgardentour.org.
