Beauty, happiness, fairies, magic–– couldn’t everyone use a little more of that? A fairy garden is the answer! A fairy garden is a magical, usually miniature area you design to create an imaginative space. Who knows, maybe a fairy or two will visit your fairy garden. The best part? Anyone can build their own fairy garden with minimal supplies. This article will walk you through how to build a fairy garden.
And don’t fret––you don’t need an entire garden to have a fairy garden. They can go anywhere in your yard, on your deck, porch, or even inside your house.
Step 1: Pick Your Location
Fairy gardens are versatile in their locations. You can start one inside during the cold, gloomy winter to brighten your days. A raised garden bed, an old washtub, or nestled under your favorite tree are great spots to start your fairy garden. If you have an already established garden (container garden or in-ground), your fairy garden can also find a cozy place there.
Your available space in your chosen location will determine how big your fairy garden can be and what supplies you can utilize.
Step 2: Gather Supplies
There’s no extensive list of supplies to get you started on your DIY fairy garden adventure. Aside from some potting soil, you can use natural materials like small sticks, rocks, pebbles, bark, acorns, or pinecones for your decorations. You’ll also need a container or pot. Some ideas for a container or pot include:
- Clay pot
- Terra cotta pot
- Flower pot
- Garden box
- Wheelbarrow
- Bowl
- Wagon
- Washtub
The container or pot can be the base of your fairy garden. You could also have a base container and another small pot for a particular plant or flower for your fairy garden.
Tip: Ensure your containers or pots have drainage holes – add some if there aren’t. Don’t forget the saucer to catch the water drainage if your fairy garden is inside.
Optional Fairy Garden Supplies
Although the necessary supply list to get your own fairy garden started is small, some optional supply ideas include:
- Popsicle sticks to create a fairy door or window
- Twine to tie twigs or sticks together
- Figurines like princesses, animals, knights, or miniature gnomes
- Teacups
- Dollhouses or other tiny houses
- Tiny trees
- Birdhouse
- Birdbath
- Terrarium
- Scrap wood
- Paint and paintbrushes if you want to paint any pots, popsicle sticks, birdhouses, or toadstools
Don’t feel you have to get highly detailed if that’s not what you want to do. Fairy gardens can be as elaborate or as relaxed as you choose for them to be.
Dollar stores and craft stores are wonderful resources for fairy garden supplies.
Step 3: Add Flowers or Plants
Adding small flowers or small plants to your fairy garden is a way to give it color and greenery. Before you add flowers or plants, evaluate your garden to see if you have full or partial sun to determine which plants or flowers will grow best. Some ideas for flowers or plants for your fairy garden include the following:
- Ground covers such as creeping thyme, Irish moss, or fairy fern. Ground covers give your fairy garden a lawn-type look.
- Succulents
- Mini bonsai tree
- Foxtail fern
- Petunias
- Marigolds
- Snapdragons
Are you convinced you have a brown thumb, but the allure of a fairy garden is calling your name? Your fairy garden can still come to fruition with faux plants. Many fake plants have an incredibly realistic look, such as faux succulents.
Step 4: Pick a Theme and Accessorize
There’s no wrong theme for a fairy garden–– let your creative side come out. Figurines or rock statues? Princesses or knights? Dinosaurs ruling the land? A beach scene? Birdhouse or several small pots? Maybe a little bit of everything–– the options are endless.
Keep in mind that a fairy garden can be ever-changing. You can start small while dabbling with the idea and continue adding more accessories or increase the size as you go.
Pro Tip: If the ideas aren’t flowing, and you’re struggling to develop ideas for your DIY fairy garden, Amazon has pre-constructed kits.
Benefits of a Fairy Garden
In the day and age of technology, sometimes it’s difficult to find the motivation to get outside. Building and maintaining a fairy garden gets you and your kids outside. Tinkering with your fairy garden, getting your hands dirty, and breathing in fresh air are so important and beneficial for your mental and physical health.
If your fairy garden has live plants or flowers, it can also teach kids the responsibility to care for the plant and remember to water it.
Kids’ imaginations will spark with new ideas of what to add to their fairy garden.
When to Call a Professional
If your DIY fairy garden has inspired you to take on a full-fledged garden, and you’re not sure what steps to take, connect with a local gardening professional near you.
Main Image Credit: Bob Klannukarn / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
