A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Fairy Gardens

Does anyone have a fairy garden? I would like to get some ideas for one in a limited space. I am new here. I don't know if this subject has been covered before

What is a fairy garden? I'm always interested in learning about the different types of gardens. How small is your space?

A fairy garden is a miniature garden to attract airies to your yard. I've seen them on old chair seats. You use tiny plants and little miniature items, bridges and such for decoration. Really cute.

Fairy gardens are like having a doll house. You can have one in a large trough or a flower pot or on the ground in an unexpected place. You can recreate a village for them. I am curious to know what plants other people have used in theirs. You can spin a whole story for children around them. When my children were little we use to ask the question about bird tracks,"Are those really bird tracks or were the gnomes out?" gnomes are said to wear sticks on the bottom of their boots to resemble bird tracks so that they can not be detected. Fairy gardens create a wonderful world of imagination for children while teaching them about gardening at the same time. Serenity

i seen miniature gnomes online and thought about doing that, i got the idea when i seen dianes rock pile, she got a bridge with 2 little willys on it. :)

yea i just noticed we got the grams back!!

i checked that site out with the mimi gnomes! $30-$100 bucks for one! outch!

cant wait to see every ones pics, its a cute idea!

Thanks for the response. I am anxious to see your pictures. I am sure there must be books on the subject somewhere but I have yet to find them. I am also looking for a source for reasonable priced fairys. The ones I have found so far start at ten dollars for a small one. That kind of makes you want a leprachun garden instead with with a pot of gold. The fairys and accessories I have used in the past are begining to show their age. I am going to try Patio Paint to revive them. Has anyone had any experience with that product?

Serenity

Our fairy garden is under some exposed roots of an ancient maple. The floor is corsican mint and creeping thyme. A lot of the miniatures were found in the aquarium section of pet stores.Another good source is a cake decorating store. Some items came from a miniture dollhouse store. We use a tiny sea shell for a pond. Flat pebbles for a walkway. Stand some stones on end for walls. Any of the dwarf herbs can be trimmed to resemble shrubs and trees. Cut off a branch of rosemary, remove some of the lower leaves, stick it in the soil and maintain it as a tree. We found a dwarf lady's mantel in the alpine section at a nursery.

Every fairy garden needs a flat stone turned sideways with the word "Believe" painted on it and placed at the entrance. This bit of info was passed on to me by a 4 year old "expert" in all things fairy. Fairies also prefer the color pink and don't like to wear shoes.

My husband hopes at the start of every spring this is finally the time "that eyesore under the maple goes".

www.FineFairyHouses.com may have a book source

Herbalyn
Thank you for the information. Your fairy garden sounds like the things a childrens book are born of. I would love to see a picture of it. Four year olds make the best advisors. I have one of those plus an 8 month old, an eight and a 10 year old, all grandaughters. They all have an interest in this project. I will check out the web site.
When my daughters were little I made a stuffed turtle that when you took off the cover had an inner core that was the bottom of the forest. There was a pocket for gnomes and all of the things that they like. We said that the turtle was dreaming and if you could look inside, you could see what he was dreaming about. Fairies were not popular then. We still have the turtle and the memories. I hope my grandaughters will remember the fairies when they are older.
Serenity

whoo hoo! i got two little 2inch gnomes at the ceramic shop! only a couple bucks!!! she said she has more minitures in the greenary, ill check it out when i have more time,
do you have a ceramic shop near you? you can paint em yourself!! and its cheap! lol
herbalyn! those are some great ideas!

Serenity - What a novel idea with the turtle. That gives me an idea for a clay fish planter with a removable top that's been collecting dust.

Will have to take and post a few photos of the fairy garden as summer progresses (ha ha!!) My experts are of the grand niece variety.

Sibyl- I walk by a ceramic shop weekly, will have to stop in. We cut fairies out of magazines, glue them on foam board, modge podge them and glue them on sticks to place in the garden. Ceramic would be more long lasting as our "fairies" sometimes "escape" to other gardens.