How to create a magical fairy garden!

I love fairy gardens. I think they're super cute, plus the attention to detail just amazes me. I love all those tiny little benches, houses and signs. They are just so whimsical! I think my favorite thing about fairy gardens is that they can be anything you want. 

My new one is just a little woods scene but I've seen farm scenes, and garden scenes with little potting benches and greenhouses. I just picture the fairies playing in the gardens and planting flowers. I've seen a glamping scene and a tiny tea party. The fairy garden I made last year for my porch even had a water feature! 

When I decided to put a fairy garden inside my house I knew exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it to look, but finding the pieces took a bit of time. I obviously needed fairy houses, signs and whimsical little statues but I also wanted a little 'stream' and a gold lined path. 

I decided I was going to need a fairly large container to fit all the things I wanted to. Luckily there are tons of planters available now, so I headed out to grab one and a few supplies to make this adorable fairy garden!

How to make an indoor fairy garden

You'll need:
Planter or larger sized container
Soil. I used Miracle Grow potting mix
Plants.
Bubble wrap.  (recycled is fine!)
Fairy accessories:
  White sand and blue glass pebbles for water
  Moss for path
  Rock chips for path edging
  Small light set and a few twigs.

You'll start by putting several layers of bubble wrap in the bottom of your planter. Stagger them a little, bubble side down. This helps with drainage but is so much lighter then the layer of pebbles many people use. Trust me, the bigger the container the lighter the filler should be. You'll thank me if you ever have to move it!

Add a layer of soil. Situate the plants where you want them to be and fill in the soil around them. You'll want to choose plants that won't outgrow the container too quickly. I happened to have a few small flowering plants that I brought inside for the winter, so they went into the fairy garden. 

You'll want to water lightly before adding accessories or the soil will sink down unevenly making your houses and such look tipsy. After watering add more soil where needed to level things out. 

I added a piece of moss for a walkway. I got my moss from the woods (perk of living in the middle of nowhere I suppose) but you can buy preserved sheet moss on Amazon or in craft stores. Since mine came from the woods I soaked it in a bucket of water for about 5 minutes to get any creepy crawlies off. Moss is easy to cut with a pair of sharp scissors or garden shears. If it's fresh, soak it first as this also removes tiny rocks that make it hard to cut. 

If you bought preserved sheet moss you don't have to do anything but cut it to size. Once you have your moss the size and shape you want, place it where you want it in your fairy garden.

I wanted a gold edged pathway so I added some vase filler that I had bought at Target. I can't find it online but there are lots of other gold rock chips to choose from. Your local Target might have it. Or go with whatever color you want. I'll probably do purple next time!

Next I decided where my little bridge and 'water' was going to go. I used white craft sand as the base for the water, since light blue glass pebbles on dirt don't really look like anything. Just pour the sand where you need it and kind of smooth it out with your fingers. After you get the sand in place then place the pebbles on top of it and you'll get more of a water look. 

Now you'll add all your fairy accessories. I have a little fairy house, some little red & white mushrooms, a cute little sign and an adorable little bench. Now, while I did link all the accessories so you can find them online (or similar ones) I did find some of them at the Dollar Tree. I also saw some cute ones at Dollar General so you don't have to break the bank with this project. 

Last thing I did was break two twigs so they had a Y shape at the top and were the same size. I sunk them in the dirt at the back of the planter so they were just above the roof of the fairy house. Then I strung a set of battery operated star lights between them. I also got the lights at dollar tree, though I'm ordering these LED fairy string lights for my next fairy garden.

You'll need to water your plants regularly of course, and if you used real moss it will need watered too. I just pour a little water on it when I water the plants and it's doing fine. 

My fairy gardens usually last at least a few months before the plants start to outgrow the containers. If you want it to last longer you could always choose miniature plants for your fairy garden...but that's a whole 'nother post!

~L

Still looking for Fairy garden ideas? Head over to Back To Our Roots and check out the broken terracotta pot Fairy Garden that Cery made. Super cute! 

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