We love to help our customers find new ideas for gifts for people who garden or love the outdoors, and a recent shipment really got us excited – fairy garden accessories! A completed fairy garden, or a kit with all the bells and whistles, is a unique, fun and perfect gift for any age and anyone with a love of nature and an appreciation for a bit of whimsy in their lives.
What is a fairy garden?
A fairy garden is a miniature garden that consists of small landscapes filled with small live plants, mini hardscapes, and accessories such as dollhouse-sized fences, tables, chairs, swings, houses, etc. Fairy gardens were given their name originally because they were designed to “attract fairies” to people’s gardens by giving them a fairy-sized home or play space to move into. Children love them for their whimsy and child-sized fun, but adults love them for the challenge and fun of creating miniature live gardens and creative landscapes on a scale that works in any space from backyards to balconies.
What do I need to build a fairy garden?
One of the best things about fairy gardens is they can be built out of practically anything. Flowerpots and plants, birdbaths and buckets, old chairs, old boots, anything goes! (Just type in a search for “fairy gardens” in Pinterest and you’ll see what we mean).
Once you choose your container, however, the basics of building a fairy garden are these:
- Start with container that has drainage holes
- Put a layer of pea gravel in the bottom to help with drainage
- Add an appropriate amount of potting mix on top
- Select and plant small plants and succulents
- Add fairy garden accessories such as fairy houses, tables, chairs, fences, etc.
- Finish your garden by using elements such as pea gravel, pebbles, twigs or marbles to create “hardscapes”
Ideas for plants and accessories to use in fairy gardens
For fairy garden accessories, visit us at Luis’ Nursey and check out the large shipment we just got in. There are so many cute ideas and it will help you decide on your theme. Then ask our landscaping pros to show you ideas for the perfect kinds of plants to use in your fairy garden. Be sure to let them know if you plan on keeping your fairy garden in full or partial sun, shade, indoors or outside. Here are a few popular plants often used in fairy gardens:
- Ferns
- Dwarf or mini cypress, spruce or conifers
- Boxwoods
- Baby tears
- Ornamental strawberry
- Wooly thyme
- Miniature roses
- Calendula
- Rosemary
- Tiny violas
- Succulents
- Small bonsai trees
- Ivy
- Hens and chicks
- Irish moss
Finally, the fun part – accessories! Finish your miniature landscape with things like mushroom stools, benches, houses, fences, rock walls, swings, and even little fairy lights. Get kids involved with building popsicle-stick fencing or use a bunch of blue marbles to create a pond or swimming pool feature.
We’re excited about all the fun possibilities of fairy gardens as gifts for friends and loved one – or even gifts for yourself. Please check out all the accessories and plants we have in stock for creating fairy gardens at our main store, Luis’ Nursery, at 139 S Mariposa Ave. in Visalia, CA.
