To Fairy or Not to Fairy - that is the question

One of the streets in the neighborhood is known for its multiple fairy gardens. That led to a proliferation of attempts on other streets as well, some better than others. I have mixed feelings about the whole fairy garden trope. On the one hand, they can be both amusing and engaging, as the gnome in front of his door at the base of a tree certainly is.

If they are well kept and use natural, ceramic, or metal decorations (no plastic), at least they hold up well in weather and are fairly easy to keep up.

Some are quite clever in their design, evoking whole villages that are easy to visualize as little communities. Now here's where I'm gonna get labelled looney tunes. I'm not a big fan of nailing things into living trees. I know theoretically it does no damage to the tree, but do we really know that? After all, our study of creatures other than ourselves has been wanting on many levels, mostly due to our human-centric biases. Other than looking at trees as future buildings and industrial materials, what do we really know about them? Inquiring minds want answers.

Then there are the displays that started out clever and well cared for, and are slowly disintegrating. (Again with the nailing things to the tree).

 Or the whole letting the 3 year old put together something and then ignore it forever after so it is basically trash.

I think ultimately I prefer decorations like the pinwheel and flowers below. Easy to maintain, highly visible, and simple.