What is a fairy garden? Well, it is an adorable tiny garden made up of beautiful plants and teeny accessories which are supposed to be designed to attract “fairies”. These cute gardens can either be built inside your home in a small container or outside in your larger garden.
It is said that fairies bring luck, prosperity and good health to your home, according to Celtic lore. This is why many homeowners want to attract these tiny, enchanting beings to their homes. And how do you attract them? With a tiny, whimsical fairy scene, of course!
Even if you don’t believe in such magic and lore, these mysterious gardens really do make a statement! They are beautiful and a fun conversation piece for people of all ages, especially children. These miniature villages are sure to be a hit with your kids!
So, just how do you go about creating a fairy garden in your home? Well for starters, you will want to give them a comfortable shelter and a place to sit down! Remember, everyone’s vision is totally different, so make your fairy garden however you want to. If you want a tiny fountain or a windmill, then go ahead and add it!
Read on for some fascinating tips on how to attract these miniature good luck charms.
The first thing you will want to start with when considering your fairy garden, is where to put it. Though your tiny garden does not need to be contained to one place, it does create a cute little area just for your fairies! It can also make things easier when building your fairy garden to put it in something. This also helps for adding your plants when you have somewhere to put the soil. A few fun container ideas include barrels, planters, wheelbarrows, old metal containers or wooden boxes. Another fan favourite is arranging your fairy garden around a tree stump. A few indoor options such as terrariums, glass vases, indoor planting pots or mason jars can work well, too!
Your fairy shelter could be any sort of shelter that you want it to be! Many people have chosen to add enchanting little cabins or cottages which seem to fit a fairy theme well. But, you can be as creative as you want! This cute trailer idea is a fun alternative. Or, you could try a tent, a luxury villa, a mushroom house or a lighthouse. Some unconventional ideas include an old boot or shoe, a watering can, logs, driftwood, or even inside an old tree! The possibilities really are endless when you use your imagination.
Fairies love to be surrounded by an oasis of greenery! And, your garden certainly looks amazing with flourishing plant life. Before planting your flowers and fauna, you will want to be aware of how large these plants will grow. You may want to try and plant miniature flowers and plants in your fairy garden, so they don’t take over the entire container. In this photo on the right, the coleus will end up growing quite large and bushy, so that might not be the best option to plant in your fairy garden – though they do look gorgeous! A few smaller plant options for your fairy garden include various mosses, creeping thyme, miniature ivy, Johnny-jump-ups, impatiens, alyssum and petunias. For a great guide on choosing the best plants for your fairy garden, check out this article!
Creating little pathways might just be the most fun part of building a fairy garden! These little passageways add leading lines to your fairy garden design. They are fun to look at as you imagine tiny little legs and feet travelling over them. Walkways and bridges are both really interesting elements to add to your garden! You can create your own, or if you aren’t feeling as crafty, you can purchase something made by someone else. Materials you could use for your fairy pathway include stones, gravel, wood chips, crushed seashells, sand or wooden “stones”. If you are feeling really adventurous, you could even try out a tiny interlocking patio or bricks like this picture shows!
After flying around all day, fairies need a spot to take a load off too! Fairy seating can be as rustic or modern as you want it to be. From homemade wooden chairs and benches to tiny plastic “Muskoka” chairs, these seating ideas are totally up to you, as the creator. Get creative with your fairy seating and try a variety of ideas. Don’t forget to add a little table here and there to go with the chairs! You can do fun little seating areas such as hammocks or swings. After all, these whimsical creatures are playful little beings!
Ever wonder why these tiny little twinkle lights are called “fairy lights”? Turns out it wasn’t so they could cover fairy gardens, but these gardens definitely thrive on the concept! Adding fairy lights to your scene will not only add a magical touch, but it will also make your garden visible in the evening as well. They say that fairies most often visit in the middle of the night, so giving them a little bit of light is sure to entice them to come and enjoy your garden! A few fun lighting ideas include wrapping lights around the outside of your container, stringing them overtop of pathways, around buildings and alters or along pathways. Basically, anywhere you want to add some interest to your garden will do!
Much like the lighting, adding a water feature is another great way to add interest to your garden! Using real or fake water is up to you, but you get extra points from us if it’s real! There are also lots of options to make your “water” look real. You can use blue-coloured glass marbles or plastic stones, or you can also purchase tiny fairy garden ponds that are made to resemble water. These may even have little creatures of their own living in them! Adding ducks, turtles, fish or frogs to your pond also adds a nice touch. Another idea would be to add a mini boat either in your water feature or on the “shore” beside it.
You may realize very quickly how much you enjoy creating these tiny scenes. If this happens, you might even want to create more than one fairy garden! You can end up making a very creative showpiece garden if this happens! In the photo to the right, you can see how this person has created multiple fairy gardens and connected each scene by a small wooden bridge. This is a great idea and you can do it too! Connecting your different scenes with pathways or bridges really brings your gardens together and creates such a magical scene for any garden!
In conclusion, we hope you enjoyed reading about some fun tips on creating your very own fairy garden. These tiny scenes are sure to light up the faces of children walking past your home, or even adults who just enjoy miniature things! Adding a fairy garden to your home is said to bring your good luck, but even if it doesn’t, it is sure to add a fun conversation piece to any yard or home!
Looking for a way to boost your curb appeal with a larger garden? Check out these awesome tips for landscaping on a budget!