How to create a fairy garden (2024)

FAQs

What is needed to make a fairy garden? ›

(Choose a few fairy garden figurines you like best to start your fairy garden and add more later.) Stones, pebbles, marbles, gems, sea glass, wood slices, sand, twigs, moss, popsicle sticks, twine, etc. (Use the items you like to make the fairy garden the way you want it to look.)

Rocks—fairies are attracted to all kinds of shiny stones like agate, quartz, or crystal. Use them to decorate your garden and give the little ones a place to sit. Shiny things—fairies love to look at their reflection, so include shiny things like a mirror or a dish of water in your garden design.

It is best to put it in an area where you can view it up close. Many fairy gardens have small accessories and small details that are best enjoyed up close. Once a location is chosen you can begin the fun. The easiest is to place your largest feature first.

Fill your pot/container with potting mix and plant your plants. I prefer to plant the tallest plant (miniature tree) towards the back of the pot, shrubs to the side and ground cover at the front. TIP: You might like to play around with the arrangement of your plants while they are still in their pots.

Add soil or sand, and build your garden using found objects such as pine cones, sticks and stones, or miniature decorative items you've made or purchased at a craft store. Stick with a certain theme, such as a cottage garden, the beach or the woodlands—or not!

In literature and art, garden fairies serve as powerful symbols of innocence, wonder, and the magic of the natural world. Their presence in stories and paintings often evokes a sense of nostalgia for childhood, when the boundary between reality and imagination was more fluid.

Favorite foods include nectar, morning dew, flower buds, honey, nuts, fruit (especially berries of all kinds), fresh baked bread, fruit jams and jelly, syrups, candy, and fruit pies. Some are also quite fond (addicted even) of alcohol, especially wines and sweet liqueurs.

A fairy garden is actually a great option to place in hard to grow areas. Other than some small garden plants, most items that make up a fairy garden will be things that don't need to worry about direct sunlight or good soil. Fairy gardens are a great place to let your creative juices and imagination run wild.

Another Welsh legend explains why foxgloves bend and sway so gracefully. It has nothing to do with the wind, but that as the flower is sacred to the fairies, it has the power of recognising them, and indeed all spiritual beings who pass by, and that it bows in deference to them as they waft along.

What flower represents fairies? ›

Foxglove used to be known as goblin's gloves in the mountains of Wales, where the flowers were worn by hobgoblins. In Scandinavian lore, foxglove is associated with both foxes and faeries, for the faeries taught foxes to ring the bell-like flowers in warning when hunters approached.

Fairies have a particular liking for foxgloves and cowslips. It is said that the Fairy Queen even sleeps in a soft bed of fragrant thyme! Those searching for "fairy sight" will want to plant lavender or rosemary.

Add your base layer

You can use a thin layer of rock at the bottom for additional drainage or just skip straight to soil if you have a pot with proper drainage already. The soil you use will depend on what kind of plants you are using. For succulents and other more tropical plants, we suggest using a more aerated soil.

"Fairy gardeners can create their own DIY fairy homes and accessories by finding interesting stones, twigs, leaves, flowers, and trinkets outside in nature and around the house,” says Chung. Hobbyists will twist and shape these found items into tiny chairs, tables, sofas, and other minuscule pieces.

For most types of fairy gardens a standard soil recipe is two parts commercial soil, one part peat moss or compost. Never use soil excavated from your outside garden as container plants are pickier and that dirt might be prone to weeds. Fill the container halfway with the soil mixture and get ready to plant.

Caring for your Fairy Garden

Now how are you going to keep this wonderful little garden thriving? Always water gently, but thoroughly using a small container with a spout. If your garden is inside a good watering once a week is enough. If it is outside then it may need water every day.