Make a DIY fairy garden out of a tree stump. There are many ways to make a fairy garden with a tree stump. Below we share how to make a DIY fairy garden with a stone stack planter next to a tree stump.
Make a fairy garden in a tree stump with this step-by-step DIY garden tutorial. This nature-scaped fairy garden how-to offers a fun way to make a fairy garden in or next to a tree stump with the natural items you find in your yard or garden.
Miniature gardens like this DIY fairy garden in a tree stump offer a magical play space for children and adults to develop their imagination. Small gardens are also wonderful outdoor sensory play areas for children to learn about plant care and develop the sensory system. You might also enjoy our other Fairy Garden DIY Step-by-Step Tutorial to learn how to plant and grow a fairy garden in various containers.
Related: DIY Outdoor Art Table and Mud Kitchen
How to Make a Fairy Garden in a Tree Stump with a Stone Container
Make a DIY fairy garden out of an old tree stump! There are as many ways to make a fairy garden tree stump as there are tree stumps. And this particular tree-stump fairy garden has a beautiful beginning and a sad ending filled with hope. My brother created this fairy garden from an old stump and some garden rocks he dug up in my mother’s backyard.
Unfortunately, a wildfire known as the Campfire burned the entire town of Paradise, CA, down on November 8, 2018. And unfortunately, it took this miniature tree stump garden with it. The good news is that it is regenerating, even though it has been completely abandoned, and is growing again, sending its message of hope, magic, and renewal each time we visit our family property.
Related: How to Make a Fairy Garden
DIY Fairy Garden Tree Stump Supplies
- Tree Stump
- Potting soil and/or compost
- Peat moss
- Small fairy garden plants and flowers from your local nursery.
- Gardening Trowel
- Fairy garden accessories or small children’s toys: Fairies, gnomes, wizards, fairy houses, and other fairy garden accessories and miniatures.
- Stones, pebbles, glass gems, sea glass, wood slices, sand, moss, etc.
Related: Fairy House Painted Rocks
Tree Stump DIY Fairy Garden Step-by-Step Tutorial
This step-by-step DIY fairy garden tutorial teaches how to make a miniature garden in or near a tree stump. But unfortunately, we no longer have any pictures of my brother making this tree stump garden because they were burned in the wildfire that also burned down this fairy garden. So the only pictures we have left of this tree stump fairy garden are those I took with my cell phone a few days after my brother made it.
It took me a long time to write about this DIY fairy garden because of the tragedy that overtook it just a few short months after it was made. You can see a picture of our family property after the fire HERE.
I took these photos after my daughter completed adding fairy garden accessories to it. Instead of fairies, she chose to add a few simple animal toys and a small toy tractor to the fairy tree stump that my brother made.
1. Envision how you’d like the Fairy Garden to look.
- Every tree stump is different; therefore, every fairy garden tree stump will be made differently. So spend some time looking at the tree stump and imagining how you would like your fairy garden in a tree stump to look.
- In other words, think of the old stump as a cloud in the sky. What fairy garden do you see made around, on top of, or within it?
- Visualize how you would like your fairy garden tree stump to look, and then collect your supplies and create your DIY fairy garden around the tree to match the picture of it in your mind’s eye.
Related: How to Grow a Sunflower House
2. Gather DIY fairy garden supplies.
- Once you have decided on the type of garden you want to create next to the tree stump, gather the fairy garden supplies you would like to use to make your miniature tree stump garden.
- We recommend starting with just a few plants and accessories. In our experience, less is more, and quality is more important than quantity. More garden materials, container options, and “how to” suggestions are in the supply section above and How to Make a Fairy Garden.
3. Make, clear, or build a space to grow a fairy garden on, in, or next to the tree stump.
- As rare fig farmers, my mother and brother dug several holes on our family property to plant a small fig orchard. As they did so, they dug up a lot of rocks on the property. But they didn’t know what to do with all the rocks and stones until my brother had a brilliant idea. (Maybe some of the magic of my daughter’s fairy garden rubbed off on him.)
- First, he built a stone container and turned the old rotting stump they couldn’t remove into a fairy garden. In other words, he used the rocks he dug up to build a stone container to hold more soil next to the old tree stump, making even more room for plants, fairies, and gnomes to find a home.
- In doing so, he solved not one but two problems in my mother’s backyard. What do we do with all these rocks, and what do we do with that old stump in the yard? Make a fairy garden in a tree stump with a stone container–I told you it was brilliant!
How to Make a Stone Container:
- Starting at the base, stack river rocks or garden stones in a circular formation, layer by layer, to make a container to hold more soil, as shown in the photograph below. (In this case, the stacked stones provided more growing space for the tree stump fairy garden).
- Add soil and water a little bit at a time to the stone container.
- The soil and water layers will slide between the balanced rocks and help solidify the rock structure, similar to how an adobe house uses mud.
Related: Rock Balancing Stone Stacking Art
4. Mix soil into the tree stump garden.
- The dirt in your yard is dead, while the soil is rich and alive. We recommend creating a mixture of organic potting soil, peat moss, and compost to add to your fairy garden to help the fairy garden plants grow.
- My brother added his homemade soil mix into the hole and crevices of the tree stump and to the stone-stacked container that he created near the tree stump.
Related: Composting at Home: What, Why, and How to Compost
5. Add plants to the tree stump fairy garden.
- Plant a few small fairy garden plants in the organic soil you have added to the container or space you have created or cleared in or around the tree stump.
- Ensure you leave plenty of room to add fairy garden accessories and create scenes.
- For more information, pop over to look at how to make a fairy garden.
6. Add fairy garden accessories to complete the DIY garden.
- My brother left the decision of the types of fairy figurines to put in his tree stump fairy garden up to his niece (my daughter.) Which I thought was yet another one of his brilliant ideas regarding this cute DIY tree stump garden.
- But instead of adding fairies, she added a few toy turtles, a lizard, some simple woodland animal toys, and a small toy tractor to the DIY fairy garden that my brother made. And it looked just as wonderful as fairies and gnomes! (I told you he was brilliant.)
Tree Stump DIY Garden
Make a miniature fairy garden from an old tree stump in your yard or garden. Fairy gardens are fun for both children and adults to make.
They also make wonderful outdoor sensory play spaces for children. Click on the link to learn more about how to make a DIY fairy Garden!
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
More Ways to Learn in the Garden
More DIY Outdoor Play Areas for Kids
- How to Make an Outdoor Chalkboard
- DIY Outdoor Art Table and Mud Kitchen
- Best Backyard Sandboxes for Kids
- How to Grow a Sunflower House
- Best Sand and Water Tables
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