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Fairy Gardening is Irresistible
Fairy gardens are all the rage! And why not? They provide so much enjoyment for children and adults alike. They have universal appeal. And perhaps I should really be calling them “miniature gardens” instead of “fairy gardens”—no fairies required. There’s just something magical and whimsical about “fairy garden” over “miniature garden” so I am sure I will keep calling them fairy gardens.
I made my first fairy gardens in 2013. As we don’t have a very big yard, I decided to make mine in pots. And because I wanted people (including me!) to be able to see and enjoy the little scenes, I placed them lining the walkway leading to our front door.
It is a delight to watch kids discover them!
This is one of the first fairy gardens that I created. I searched long and hard for fairies that I liked. And that frog playing the fiddle! Well, being a violinist, I had to have him!
If you haven’t tried fairy gardening yet, let me persuade you to get outside and plant a fairy garden!
Here are My 9 Top Reasons to Plant a fairy Garden
1. Fairy Gardens Are Easy to Contain
Fairy gardens, by their very nature, are intended to be small. I tend to imagine fairies about 4-5 inches tall, so a garden created for them would need to be on a corresponding scale. This means that they don’t require a large piece of ground or space to store one.
A fairy garden can be tucked away in a little corner of your yard. Maybe next to a tree, or by your fence. Just a couple of square feet is all you need to start creating your tiny world.
I love the little fairy doors that some people attach to a tree trunk as the focus of their fairy gardens. Here are two that I love from Etsy sellers.
And if your bent runs to all things Harry Potter like mine tends to: Harry Potter Platform 9 3/4 Tiny Door
Or you can do like I did and create your gardens in a pot. Just one pot and a little dirt. A small container fairy garden can easily be kept on a patio, a table, or even a plant stand. And it’s portable! You can move them around if you like or if the occasions demands.
2. Fairy Gardens Are Easy to Make
Here’s another compelling reason to plant a fairy garden—you don’t need a lot of supplies to make one. If you like you can purchase commercial fairy garden accessories, but you don’t have to. You can use natural and upcycled materials to create homes, benches, stepping stones, and other things to adorn your miniature garden.
If you do choose to create a fairy garden in a pot, it can be put together in less than an hour once you have all the supplies. That is one hour well spent to enjoy a whimsical garden all summer long!
In How to Make Simple Enchanted Fairy Gardens, I give an overview of the whole fairy gardening process. If you’re a beginner, I suggest you start there. I offer tips for choosing a theme, fairies and other embellishments, a pot, and plants for your fairy garden.
3. Fairy Gardens Are Manageable
By manageable, I mean how much work will a fairy garden take throughout the summer? Unlike a full scale garden, fairy gardens don’t require hours and hours of work to keep them looking well-groomed. Just a little water, a little sunshine, and a little pruning from time to time and they’re happy.
And do prune. Even small plants grow—you don’t want them taking over your pot! Keep your fairy gardens looking their best with a snip here and there—trimming back leggy plants and deadheading flowering annuals.
4. Fairy Gardens Are Accessible
Anyone can create a fairy garden that they can enjoy. Anyone! Physical limitations that may make it difficult or impossible for someone to work in a traditional garden won’t restrict the fairy gardener. Everything can be raised up onto a table or bench to working level.
Even the homebound can enjoy creating a fairy garden. Though many fairy gardens are outdoor gardens, fairy gardens can also be brought indoors. Order fairy garden accessories online and choose easy-to-grow houseplants instead of annuals or succulents.
I actually have an indoor plant I haven’t killed. I am planning to transplant it next month and am searching for the perfect fairy. When I finish my indoor fairy garden, I’ll post about it.
5. Interacting with Nature is Good for Your Health
It is well documented that being outside in nature is good for us emotionally. It is also good for us physically. Try this. Type “emotional benefit of being outdoors” into your web browser and see what comes up.
Here are a few snippets that I found.
Being Outdoors Reduces Stress and Anxiety
From ontarioparks.com
Stress is relieved within minutes of exposure to nature as measured by muscle tension, blood pressure, and brain activity. Time in green spaces significantly reduces your cortisol, which is a stress hormone. Nature also boosts endorphin levels and dopamine production, which promotes happiness.
Being Outdoors Gives You a Mood Lift
Lifting your mood and lowering anxiety are two ways being outdoors may be good for mental health. When in nature, people may experience a more positive mood and better cognitive function. Memory improves, as does the ability to focus. Some people also experience a boost in creativity.
Being Outdoors Improves Your Health
And according to time.com, some doctors are even writing prescriptions for being outdoors in nature.
These “nature prescriptions” — therapies that are redeemable only outdoors, in the fresh air of a local park — advise patients to spend an hour each week playing tennis, for instance, or to explore all the soccer fields near their home. The scripts are recorded in his patients’ electronic health records.
So many of my friends dealt with the isolation of quarantining due to COVID restrictions by getting outside. They went hiking and biking and walking. It was a great way to get out of the house and spend family time out in nature.
I was sooo envious! I was recovering from a torn meniscus and couldn’t walk or bike. But even just being out in my backyard and soaking up sunshine was a mood booster. And working on a miniature garden is relaxing and just plain fun. So go outside and plant a fairy garden!
6. Fairy Gardens Are a Great Creative Outlet
Okay, this reason for planting a fairy garden in my favorite! Fairy gardens are an awesome creative outlet! I love choosing the fairies or other characters as well as the background and accessories. This is the time when the gardener/artist can let her/his imagination run wild.
Anything works in a fairy garden. You want dragons? Go for it! You want spacemen? Knock yourself out! Zombies? Why not! You want Baby Yoda? Absolutely! This is the time for experimentation and imagination and creation.
And if it turns out that you don’t like what you’ve produced, it’s on such a small scale you haven’t wasted much time or money on it. You can rip it all out and begin again. There’s nothing permanent here.
I think we all like a little make believe. Fairy gardens give us the perfect canvas for creating our own pretend miniature worlds. There’s nothing new about the joy of creating in miniature. Kids play with dollhouses and train sets and action figures and, for my kids, Littlest Pet Shop and Lego. And adults really are no different! My brother-in-law poses and photographs his Star Wars action figures, my mom collects dancing solar toys and lines them up on her windowsill, and I still build Lego sets.
Anne Ashberry wanted a full garden, but had a window box. She is credited for some of the first miniature gardens. Her gardens may be the inspiration for the modern idea of fairy gardens. Watch this short video to see all the things she created for her gardens without the benefit of pre-made accessories.
7. Each Fairy Garden Can Tell a Unique Story
This one is a corollary to the creativity aspect of fairy gardening. Most years I have 5 or 6 fairy gardens lining the walkway to my front door. Sometimes I like to coordinate them. They may all have fairies in an enchanted forest or they may all have jungle animals. But they don’t have to. Each miniature garden can be disparate and tell its own story.
You could have an enchanted forest in one and an urban cityscape in another. You could have a mermaid sunning herself on an island in one and a magical wizard school in another. Go ahead and switch it up! It’s fun to try out new themes and ideas.
8. Fairy Gardening Encourages Family Time
There is such a magnetic lure to miniature gardening that kids want to be involved. The first year I made fairy gardens, one of my daughters joined in and made a cute dragon cave in a lined wooden basket (see above). She picked out the cave. She picked out the dragon. She chose the basket. The fairy, er dragon garden was all hers.
The next year all three of my kids who hadn’t left home yet joined in. Each of their gardens was unique to their personalities. One daughter, JMoney, wanted a romantic-style fairy garden. She chose a fairy on a swan and put her in a glass chip lake surrounded by flowers. Lovely!
HDawg preferred to stick with her dragon theme from the previous year. She added two turtles in an aquarium gravel pond. Super fun!
And my son, GKatt, chose to use gorillas—his favorite animals—in a forest setting. It was delightful!
For a couple of years my daughters took over entirely. I bought the plants and they designed everything. I love, love, love this aspect of fairy gardening. It is such an easy way to spend time together and is another of my favorite reasons for planting fairy gardens.
I foresee fairy garden crafting with grandchildren in my future. 😉
9. Fairy Gardens Are Cute!
Yes, cuteness is absolutely necessary! A charming garden evokes emotion which is important in any artform. It grabs people’s attention and encourages them to participate vicariously. In and of themselves, miniature gardens are an irresistible invitation to linger and discover everything in the scene.
I do try to keep my fairy gardens simple, with one focal point. If you have too many things that draw the eye it can become confusing and overwhelming. Read more about this in How to Make Simple Enchanted Fairy Gardens.
Come back in a couple weeks to see my 2021 fairy gardens. I’ve got The Mandalorian figurines, Harry Potter miniatures, and these sweet little fairies that I found on Amazon. I can’t wait to design gardens around them!
Have I given you enough reasons to plant a fairy garden yet? If you’re ready to get outside and plant a fairy garden, click here for a full tutorial on creating your first fairy garden.
~ Lucinda
