Enchanting, imaginative, and oh so detailed, fairy gardens are a creative way to express your love of green things and the fair people of Fae. Round up some miniature plants, an array of containers, potting soil, and a variety of fanciful items to create your fairy wonderland. The possibilities are endless and even more fun when you think outside the box of traditional fairy lore. Explore famous gardens, paintings, storybooks, video games, and movies for inspiration.
Start with miniature hardscapes
Placing hardscape items first helps you create a framework to add other elements. Picture what your dream outdoor space would look like and scale it down to represent the perfect garden for fairy folk. Doll furniture is easy to transform into a tiny sitting area for your garden. Use flagstones to build terraces or paths. Create trellises, arbors, and ladders from broken branches or sticks you find in your yard.
Repurpose anything
It’s the innovative ideas that become the most memorable. Birdhouses, broken teapots, small baskets, aquarium decor, and old cookie jars make ideal fairy garden homes. Repurpose terracotta or ceramic planters — even broken ones — for one-of-a-kind creations. Use varying sizes and shapes as buildings for a fairy town. You can even paint or stencil designs on the items to add additional flair.
Turn that tree stump into a home
What once was a majestic tree is now just an unsightly stump in your yard. Transform it into a fanciful home for local fairies, gnomes, and wood nymphs. If the center is rotted, carve it out, add soil, and start planting. Ferns, phlox, mosses, and colorful vines create a green paradise for your pint-sized guests and the perfect green space where fairies can play.
Choose small, low-maintenance plants
When it comes to choosing the greenery for your fairy garden, look for plants that are easy to care for and don’t grow super fast. For both outdoor and indoor gardens, low-growing succulents are an excellent choice. The hardy hens and chicks plant offers attractive, rosette foliage perfect for your fairy garden. There are tons of different succulents available that will add color and interest.
- Senecio rowleyanus (String of Pearls)
- Crassula x perforata (Ivory Towers)
- Lithops (Living Stones)
- Adromischus cristatus (Crinkle-Leaf plant)
- Sempervivum (Little Bobo)
- Sedum (Little Missy)
- Gasteria (Little Warty)
- Anacampseros telephiastrum f. variegatum (Sunrise)
- Faucaria felina (Tiger Jaws)
Plants with tiny flowers add whimsy
Smaller, daintier flowers are an eye-catching way to add pops of color to a fairy garden. Consider prolific bloomers with wispy stems like baby’s breath or fairy foxglove. The ivy-leaved toadflax blooms from spring until fall. When it’s not blooming, it grows delicate, scalloped foliage that fits perfectly within a fantasy-based garden. There is a long list of miniature flowering plants that are perfectly suited for fairy gardens as well.
- Blue Moneywort, purple flowers in the summer
- Miniature daisy, year-round, tiny white flowers
- Alpine Thrift, bright pink clusters
- Toucan Tango, low-growing, bright orange blooms
- Fairy Sensitive plant, tiny, pink fluffy balls
Water features attract aquatic fairies
Stories in Celtic folklore led to households leaving out bowls of fresh water each night so that the fairies could wash themselves and bathe their children. Keep the fairies happy by adding a water element to your fairy garden using a ceramic saucer for plants. Incorporate rocks and a variety of greenery around it to form a miniature waterscape.
Create a tiny bonsai forest
If you’re into miniature trees or feel a connection to Chinese or Japanese culture, consider designing an elegant bonsai forest fairy garden. These shallow-rooted tree systems are perfect for growing miniature indoor or outdoor creations. A variety of woody-stemmed plants can be cultivated into bonsai. You’ll also find a selection of unique, nature-inspired planters to grow them in to take your fairy garden display to another level.
Put together a pop culture-themed fairy garden
For pop-culture or kitsch art fans, there are inspiring iconic symbols everywhere. Plants are featured in popular books, movies, and musical theater. And where better to display your favorite icons than a miniature garden? Whether you’re a fan of the red poppy fields in the “Wizard of Oz,” aspire to live in a shire among the hobbits, or are more of an Audrey II and “Little Shop of Horrors” devotee, you’ll no doubt find a wide selection of items to create the perfect habitat for your fairy friends.
Light up your forest
String lights, solid or multi-color LED light strands, and glow-in-the-dark solar and battery-powered accents are just some of the ways you can make your fairy garden light up the darkness. You’ll also find a huge array of fairy decor online, such as light posts, fireplaces, and paths, as well as fairy figurines with illuminated wings and glowing orbs.
Create revolving seasonal themes
Holidays make excellent themes for fairy gardens. Focus on your favorite holiday or change your garden decor to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Whether it’s a snowy, Santa-inspired fairy village, or a spooky Halloween fairyland, you can put together an awe-inspiring garden scene. Start with repurposed objects you find at home and add unique items you come across through online retailers and hobby or thrift stores.
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