Obsessed with Fairy Gardens? Here's How to Make Your Own

DIY Fairy Garden in a Box 01:34

Give a little magic with this DIY fairy garden kit.

Related To:

Keep this whimsical display for yourself or give it to a friend. Watch the video above to get inspired, then create your own fairy garden arrangement.

Even more cute and clever crafts>>

15 Fairy Garden Ideas

See All Photos

Two-Story Fairy Cottage

Fairies aren't good at building homes, says Betty Earl, author of Fairy Gardens: A Guide to Growing an Enchanted Miniature World, so give them a whimsical cottage, beach house or castle to live in. Here, a path lined with thyme "bushes" leads to a two-story dwelling. A fragrant dwarf conifer stands guard at the edge of the house.

Photo By: Photo by Betty Earl / B.B. Mackey Books

Fairy Furnishings

Furnished gardens have lots of fairy appeal. Give your tiny visitors a cozy retreat with a twig-styled pavilion and bench. Here, a thimble-sized pot holds a pinch of greenery and a button fern cascades over the roof.

Photo By: Courtesy of Jeremie Corp.

Dwarf Boxwood Fairy Garden

Dwarf boxwoods like 'Wee Willie' are excellent for fairy gardens says Nicholas Staddon, Director of New Plant Introductions for Monrovia Growers. At some point, he says, most plants will outgrow these miniature settings, but you can often maintain the size you want with careful, selective pruning.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Fairy Picnic Garden

Fairies love picnics. This summery scene uses a spotted lungwort, or pulmonaria, and lady ferns behind the colorful flag banner. An ajuga with purplish-green leaves grows to the right of the tiny grill, while a sedum-type plant spills over the edge of the full-sized one.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Fairy Garden Flowers

Keep the scale, colors, and proportion of your fairy garden in mind when choosing flowers. Also consider how much light and water your location gets. This hardy geranium, Erodium foetidum, also called Heron's Bill or Storksbill, needs a sunny spot.

Photo By: Photo by Betty Mackey / B.B. Mackey Books

Winter Fairy Garden

Tiny, red ornamental peppers pick up the colors of peppermint-candy tables and chairs in this wintery fairy garden. Photographed at the Independent Garden Center Show, the garden is planted with a tall, gold cypress in the rear bowl. In another bowl, gnomes in red and blue hats are flanked by dwarf boxwoods.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

'Little Ollie' Dwarf Olive

Don't forget to provide some shade in your fairy garden. 'Little Ollie' is a dwarf, non-fruiting olive tree with deep green leaves; when the wind blows, they reveal a silvery-green underside. Give it full sun and train it, if desired, into a topiary.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Fairy Cottage

To make your fairy garden feel magical, put it slightly off the beaten path, says Fairy Gardens author Betty Earl. Welcome the wee folk, and encourage them to stay around, by giving them a home on a tree stump, in a ferny nook, a hollow log, or even in a basket or container.

Photo By: Photo by Betty Earl / B.B. Mackey Books

Container Fairy Garden

Let children help create a container fairy garden for a tabletop or apartment balcony. This one uses ferns, spider plants, a polka dot plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya),and a small New Guinea impatiens. If dwarf plants aren't available, prune the plants to keep them in check, or replace them when needed.

Photo By: Courtesy of P. Allen Smith

Fairy Hammock Garden

Like hard-working gardeners, fairies enjoy an occasional nap. The grass-like plant in this little garden is liriope; the variegated plant in the background is a creeping fig. A sedum grows behind the fairy blowing a kiss. Moss and ferns complete the scene.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

'Berry Bright' Saxifrage

Add vibrant color to a woodland fairy garden with 'Berry Bright' saxifrage. This herbaceous perennial thrives in full to partial shade and blooms when the weather is cool, from late fall to winter. Use it in containers or in the ground.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Fairy Garden Forest

If you can't put your fairy garden in or near the woods, grow your own forest. Here, two large cypress plants add layers of interest to the scene. Grass-like tufts of foliage are ophiopogon. A variegated hosta grows behind the pine cone house while a boxwood sits near the brown rock on the right. Remember to use plants that have the same requirements for sun and water in your mini-forest.

Photo By: Courtesy of Monrovia

Seashell Fairy Cottage

Not all fairies make their homes in the woods. Some reside near lakes or oceans, where an abundance of seashells can be used to shingle the roof. This fairy keeps a scallop shell outside as a handy water basin. The cottage walls are made of mortar and pebbles.

Photo By: Courtesy of Betty Earl / B.B. Mackey Books

Daffodil Fairy House

Some fairies prefer temporary housing. If other materials are lacking, try fashioning a retreat from flowering plants like these daffodils.

Photo By: Courtesy of Sally J. Smith/Greenspirit Arts / from Fairy Homes and Gardens / Schiffer Publishing

Hydrangea Fairy Garden

A little magic is always welcome in a fairy garden. Here, a dwarf hydrangea, 'Bobo', welcomes fairies to open a door in a tree trunk and design their own hideaway.

Photo By: Courtesy of Proven Winners

Keep Reading