Fairy Gardens - How to Make a Magical Fairy Garden

By Cindy Cloninger

One of the best things about gardening is transforming a space into something of beauty. Planning, nurturing, working, and cultivating such a space not only awakens life to thrive in the small garden space but also inspires life within us.
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In recent years, gardeners old and young have been combining crafting and gardening into a space to create fun and whimsical fairy worlds. These small spaces exist among your already established flowerbeds, nestled under a tree, or can be created in pots and boxes of their own.  They can be created on scales large and small and crafted by your or have many store-bought elements added. They can blend in seamlessly with your landscape becoming almost hidden in plain sight or burst with color.

These are such fun and unique little projects that require ingenuity and imagination and cultivate a love of growing things, rather than the mundane task of weeding kids often associate with gardening.  

Here are some fun and unique ways you can create your very own fairy garden with your kids, grand-kids, or just for your own enjoyment to be enjoyed in and outdoors.

Get Your Imagination Flowing

Creating a world where tiny little people, animals, and fairies can live and love is a great way to set your kids imaginations running.  Try inspiring them with a trip to the library to check out a few great books and movies to watch.

Here are just a few to get you started: 
Bridge to Terabithia, Tinkerbell, Epic, The Borrowers, Smurfs, Indian in the cupboard, Night at the Museum, Tumbelina, The secret world of Arrietty, Horton Hears a Who, The Littles, Peter Pan, Gnomeo & Juliet,  and Strawberry Shortcake.​

Next, brainstorm what they (the fairies) might need or enjoy in their world.  Drawing out some of those things is a fun exercise in creativity. Check out Pinterest board, Fairy Gardening for some great ideas and do-it-yourself crafts (she even has fairy bicycles). ImgSave.me has tons of photos for you to browse through. My Fairy Gardens website is a store to behold with hundreds of themed items to get you thinking. But don’t get daunted by thinking of the cost as we’ll show you many great low-cost and even recycling options.

Plan Out Your Tiny World

The next step is planning and preparation.  Decide where and what your fairy world will live in.  Map out some of the plants and structural elements you want to include, both the natural and crafted. There are options to fit every skill, time, and imagination. From the tiniest teacup to an expansive garden box. These elements don’t have to be expensive. They can come from your own yard and garden, a nature walk, your local nursery, or craft and dollar stores.

Look at that rock walkway □

CONTAINERS

A fairy garden can be a tiny part of your existing flowerbeds. Pick a location under a tree or near a rock outcropping or stump.  
You may also choose to create something new in a unique or fun container or box.  A hollowed out stump, painted pale, teacup, or an old wooden box is fun options.
Yard sale finds can be great choices too.  A fishbowl, old birdbath, empty cake pans, and baskets make great fairy gardens.

This video has some fun ideas.

SOIL

Choosing a nutrient-rich soil like our Terra Zest is a perfect environment for your succulents and tiny plants to thrive.  Because it is all natural and chemical free, Terra Zest is safe for little hand to play in. To help with watering and slow release, all natural fertilizing, be sure to mix in a bag of Wool Pellets.

Wool Pellets

$9.99

Wool Pellets are 100% Raw Wool from sheep, that adds nutrition to your plants.  Wool Pellets are a 9-0-2 grade fertilizer.  Wool Pellets will help hold water helping to reduce watering by 25% while still keeping the porosity in your soils.  An 8 oz bag will cover about 15 square feet and is enough for at least 6 gallons of soil if used as directed.  

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Nutri Wool Pot

$11.99

Nutri Wool Pots are a 2.5 Quart fabric pot that are made in the USA.  Nutri Wool pots will help air prune roots, and will hold water better than any other fabric pot.  Are 100% bio-degradable and will help feed plants when pots are placed in the soil.  

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Terra Zest

$35.00

Terra Zest for your garden, flower beds, or anywhere you want to improve your soil and retain moisture. Try planting your tomatoes straight into Terra Zest, you will love the results!

Price is per cubic yard(a yard is about a pickup load), and will cover about 162 sqft 2 inches deep. 

Read more about Terra Zest and how to use it in your garden and flowerbeds:Terra Zest Premium Organic and All Natural Compost - Wild Valley Farms Product Highlight

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PLANT CHOICES

When selecting plants, be sure to note the mature sizes so they won’t overcrowd and dwarf your little world. You can, however, plant larger growing ones in a container for one season and then transplant them as they out grow your fairy garden. Succulents are the most popular plants to add in and near your fairy garden.  Some great choices are hens and chicks and sedum.  Don't forget about adding in some great herbs like creeping thyme.  Ferns, moss, miniature petunias and daisies, along with many varieties ​of ground cover, and strawberries can make a unique and fun little world for your fairies.​

Sedum has rich colors in the fall

Every fairy world must have moss

Thyme, especially the creeping variety looks great

Miniature varieties of petunias and daisies add a touch of whimsy

Check out this how-to video to make a one season only fairy garden

ELEMENTS THAT MAKE IT MAGICAL

To make your fairy garden stand out and be completely different from your normal garden, you will need to add elements that make it feel like it’s a world of its own

NATURAL ELEMENTS

Pieces that are naturally found in nature look beautiful in fairy gardens. You can leave them in their rustic state, or craft them into something else entirely.  A few examples are a birdhouse, twig latter, twig door, sand and pebble pathways, furniture from twigs and painted rocks, moss covered dwellings, driftwood and decaying tiny logs, water features, log slices, moss pathways, seashells, gourds, and coral.

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STORE BOUGHT AND HANDMADE ELEMENTS 

Bring everyday living to life with touches of home. The ideas are endless, from rivers, paths, waterfalls, to every type of home, swing, work and leisure items around.  Really use your imagination here. Some elements you can add, buy, or make are: fake flowers, popsicle stick bench, mini bird bath with small terra cotta pots or teacups and saucers, handmade tent/ tee-pee, colored rock pathway, fake birds, night lighthouses made from water bottles,  hot glue gun waterfall, fairies, river, and mushrooms just to name a few.
The dollhouse aisle at our local craft store will have endless choices right down to miniature gardening tools.

Does your child like dinosaurs over fairies? No worries. There are dinosaur gardens too.

Feeling overwhelmed? Check out this cute way to change a simple flower pot into a fairy home? ​

Check out these other fun gardening things to do with your kids this summer. 

Cindy Cloninger

Virtual Assistant, blog manager, email & social media marketing assistant, web development. I enjoy hiking, fresh fruits & veggies, planting flowers, and cooking great meals. But I love being a wife and mother the most.  When I'm not doing all of those, I love to read and try new things.   Despite the forecast, live like it's spring.