Fairy gardens are magical places for children and adults alike. Use these easy fairy garden ideas to learn how to start a fairy garden today!
Learn how to make a fairy garden with this easy Step by Step tutorial. A miniature DIY fairy garden filled with gnomes, fairies, and cute little fairy houses offers children, and adults, an enchanted play space to develop their creativity and imagination. Miniature gardens also make a lovely addition to any porch, deck, backyard, or garden space.
A few of our more popular fairy garden ideas include a winter wonderland, 3 easy beach-themed ideas, and a fairy garden in a tree stump. Learn how to make a fairy garden, inside or outside, with the fairy garden supplies and quick and easy do-it-yourself instructions listed below!
Related: Beach Fairy Garden Ideas
Related: Fairy Garden in a Tree Stump
What is a Fairy Garden?
A fairy garden is a decorative miniature garden usually grown in a container or other small space. They are magical gardens filled with small plants and accessories.
They can be created as static garden to imagine into, or a mini garden to play with and enjoy. Either way, a fairy garden offers an enchanted play space or “small world” that children (and adults) can use to develop their imagination and creativity.
There are many lessons to be learned in the garden, and fairy gardens are no exception. Make a miniature garden with your children so they can begin to learn the basics of gardening and plant care.
DIY fairy gardens also make a fun sensory play area for kids. Manipulating and playing with the soil, plants, accessories, and figurines provides much needed sensory stimulation to the developing child.
We also use our mini garden as a self-regulation strategy in our home. Imagining into, or meditating upon, a fairy garden is a wonderful space for children (and adults) to calm down and learn to find focus.
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Related: Painted Rock Fairy Houses
How to Start a Fairy Garden
When I was pregnant I envisioned all of the things that I would do with my daughter. Starting a DIY fairy garden was at the top of the list.
I wanted to create an enchanting space filled with wonder and magic. A place to imagine into. A place to escape.
When my daughter began to enjoy imaginative play I knew it was time to create the miniature garden I always wanted. For her of course! 😉
Related: Kids Outdoor Activities
Fairy Garden Supplies
There are many DIY fairy garden supplies to choose from. We recommend starting small with just a few plants, accessories, and figurines. Continue to add miniatures and fairy accessories that you would like to include slowly over time.
- Container or space to grow your fairy garden. We used a half wine barrel for this tutorial. More container ideas, from small to large, are listed in Step 1 of the tutorial.
- Potting soil
- Peat moss (optional)
- Small plants from your local nursery. We used two small bonsai trees, Corsican Mint, Scotch Moss, and Mini Blue Isotoma.
- Gardening Trowel
- Fairies, gnomes, wizards, fairy houses, and other fairy garden accessories and miniatures.
- Stones, pebbles, glass gems, sea glass, wood slices, sand, moss, etc.
Related: How to Plant Flowers
Step by Step DIY Fairy Garden Tutorial
Learn how to make an indoor or outdoor fairy garden by following the easy step by step gardening tutorial listed below.
The final picture in this step by step photo collage is of how our mini garden looked after it had been growing for 3 months.
Full descriptions of each step in the creation process can be found below the photo tutorial.
Related: Fairy Winter Wonderland Small World
Step 1 – Choose a container and location for your DIY fairy garden
The type of miniature garden you create will depend on where you want to plant it. You can grow one inside or outside, the options are endless!
There are many places and types of containers you can use to plant a fairy garden. We used a real oak half wine barrel for this DIY tutorial.
We also put a fairy garden in a tree stump, created a small winter wonderland, and have lots of desktop beach fairy garden ideas that you can try!
A few more big and small fairy garden container ideas are listed below.
Fairy garden container ideas:
- Planter
- Small pot
- Old wheelbarrow
- Round tabletop planter
- Garden dorado planter
- Raised flower planter
- Half wine barrel
- Raised planter
- Patio garden bed
- Small garden bed
- Amish wagon garden planter
- Birdbath
- Tabletop or Desktop Beach Themed Ideas
- Next to a tree, tree stump, house, or shed
- A special spot in the garden
- Any other space suitable for fairy’s and gnomes to find a home.
Step 2 – Pick Plants and DIY Fairy Garden Accessories
Miniature gardens can be created as static gardens to imagine into, or they can be made to play with and enjoy. Choose plants and accessories that will work for the fairy garden that you would like to create.
Our faerie garden was made for my daughter to play with and enjoy. If you look closely you can see a bit of dirt on each of the fairies. My daughter loves to move them around and chit-chat with them as she plays.
Your plant choices will also depend on the location of your mini garden, the climate, and your purpose or theme. We used two small bonsai trees, Corsican Mint, Scotch Moss, and Mini Blue Isotoma. Ask your local nursery for help with choosing the types of flowers and plants you will use.
Start with a few plants and items that will work in the space that you have available. You can purchase and/or make your own fairy garden accessories like these cute fairy houses. Choose features and elements that make your heart sing.
Step 3 – Add Soil to Fairy Garden Container or Location of Choice
Do not use soil from your garden if you will be planting your miniature garden in a container. Use organic potting soil for the best results. Dirt is dead while the soil is alive. Dark soil is rich with nutrients, while light dirt has nothing to give a plant to help it survive. If you make your own compost at home, mix some in with your potting soil to create a rich and healthy mini garden.
While potting soil has everything a plant needs to stay alive and grow into a healthy plant, not every plant likes the same soil type. Make sure you ask the staff at your local nursery which potting soil is best for the plants that you purchase for your fairy garden.
If you will make your fairies a home in the garden or next to a tree or structure outside, mix peat moss and potting soil with the existing soil before planting. You may even need to add a few soil amendments. Again, ask your local nursery for help.
Related: How to Plant Flowers
Step 4 – Arrange Minature Plants and Fairy Garden Accessories
Fill your container with potting soil and envision the scene that you will create. Arrange your plants and fairy garden accessories on top of the soil to see how it looks before planting. Play with the layout and how you will arrange your mini garden.
You want to create at least one scene in your faerie garden. If you have a large space, you can create several scenes. Think of them like rooms in your outdoor dollhouse. You can also create hills, paths, streams, rivers, ponds, caves, etc. These small garden features can work to divide the scenes and create interest.
We created a hill in the back of our half wine barrel. Before we planted, we decided to create a river wrapped around it, ending in a pond with a house on the beach. You can see how we started it in the step-by-step photo collage above.
Step 5 – Plant and Mold Fairy Garden Features
- Add water to prepare the soil to plant.
- Use a garden trowel to dig a small hole for each plant.
- Carefully cover the roots with soil.
- Continue to mold and create the scene by building streams, ponds, walkways, and other fairy garden features into the soil and surrounding area as you plant.
- Water the plants once they have all been planted and covered with soil.
If you have kids, allow them to help plant their faerie garden. You can see my 3-year-old daughter’s experienced gardening hands working in the step-by-step fairy garden photo collage above. We are raising a helper, so she has been learning how to garden since she learned to walk.
Related: 15 Ways to Raise a Helper
Step 6 – Finish DIY Fairy Garden Features or Scenes
Fill in the areas that you molded to be rivers, ponds, walkways, and paths. Any of the elements listed below can be added to finish these features:
You can see my daughter adding some glass gems to make a small stream in the photo above. She carefully placed every single gem, river, and stone in the garden all by herself. It was so sweet to watch her create her own fairy garden.
Related: Planting Sunflowers with Kids
Step 7 – Add fairy garden accessories and miniatures
Add in your fairies and any other miniatures or figurines. Start small to keep it simple at first. You can always make or purchase more accessories later.
We decorated our miniature garden with fairies, a wizard looking into his crystal ball, and a small house. We use the same fairies in our winter wonderland small world.
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Make Your Own Fairy Garden DIY
A DIY fairy garden makes a lovely addition to any porch, deck, backyard, or garden.
Fairy gardens make a lovely place for both children and adults to imagine into, and, are magical play areas that are perfect for imaginative and pretend play.
For example, quick and easy Beach mini garden ideas can be grown indoors on desks and tabletops, and are perfect sensory play areas for children (and adults) to develop their creativity and imagination.
Follow any of these fun easy fairy garden ideas to offer your children an enchanted play space to develop their creativity. Don’t forget to have a look at our faerie garden in a tree stump!
Another fun idea to paint rocks that look like fairy houses and place them all around your garden, or, in an unused area of your yard.
Other fun backyard play areas include outdoor chalkboards, sand and water tables, and mud kitchens. Click on the links to learn more about each type of outdoor play space.
Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!
I’m looking forward making fairy garden. thank you for these instructions.
I’m so glad you found these fairy garden instructions and tips useful, Deborah! You will love tending it!
I like how you said that making a fairy garden gives children a space to play and develop their creativity. My sons have been playing outside a lot lately. I think I’ll use gnomes and small furniture to make a fun space for them.
Thanks, Amy!
We have a bunch of gnomes in our garden now as well.. they are wonderful! We found a bunch of great fairy garden accessories at Dollar Tree. Hurry before they are all gone!
Good Day to All. I am retired and live in desert of Nevada. I use a lot of succulents and I look forward to making a Fairy Garden, as I have acrage and lots of time. thanks for your encouragements. connie
You’re welcome, Connie! A succulent fairy garden would be lovely! We’d love to see some pictures of yours if you make one!