Skip to main content

Add whimsy and magic to your yard with these lovely fairy garden ideas

If you’re a fan of fantasy, whimsy, and fun, then you’ll love fairy gardens. These little gardens are perfect spring projects that can add a little extra color and life to your home and garden. Making fairy gardens is a fun activity for the whole family, and you can easily tailor them to fit your personal tastes and aesthetics.

There are garden kits you can use to build one, but it’s also easy to make your own. If you’re looking for inspiration or assistance in making a fairy garden for your home, then you’re in the right place! We’ve got tips, tricks, and inspiration to help you get started.

What is a fairy garden?

Fairy gardens are miniature gardens decorated and designed to look like they belong to fairies, gnomes, elves, or other small magical creatures. You can make them in containers or set them up as part of a traditional garden. They typically include little pathways, small houses, and other decorations. Some people decorate their fairy gardens with small fairy figurines, colorful rocks, little signposts, and furniture, such as benches, swings, and bridges.

If fantasy creatures are too whimsical for your taste, you can also design your fairy garden for birds, squirrels, or other small woodland creatures. You can even decorate it with little ceramic or clay animals. Another idea is to theme a different way, such as building your garden around a dark, gothic manor, made to look like Central Park in New York City. Or, decorate it like a miniature version of the rest of your garden. Your only limit is your creativity!

What plants suit fairy gardens?

It’s important to consider the scale of the plants you choose in relation to the house or other decorations. Using small plants keeps the scale consistent and makes the garden look more natural. Small plants can be used for the lawn or garden inside the fairy garden.

Larger plants look massive next to the other decorations and may make them difficult to see. If you’re creating a fairy garden in a traditional garden, then planting large plants at the edge of it can put the fairy garden in perspective and make it look somewhat hidden or secret. Medium-sized plants look large in comparison to the decorations, but are less likely to throw off the balance of the garden. You can use medium plants inside the fairy garden, taking the place of trees or large shrubs.

Another thing to consider is what kind of care each plant requires. Since the scale of a fairy garden is small, the plants are often closer together. Using plants with similar care requirements makes your garden easier to care for, as there is less room to care for each plant individually.

Here are some great choices for a fairy garden:

  • Miniature ferns
  • Moss
  • Succulents
  • Creeping thyme
  • Clover
  • Floss flower
  • Sedum
  • Wood violets

Container vs. traditional fairy gardens

You can design a fairy garden in a single container (or multiple containers, to create a fairy village) or incorporate it into your existing garden. Both have their benefits. Containers can be moved, allowing for easier care and space conservation. Container fairy gardens also make great gifts! However, you’re limited to the size of the container or containers you’re using.

Incorporating your fairy garden into your traditional garden or yard gives you more room to spread out. You can also use preexisting landscape elements, such as trees, hills, or water features, and design your fairy garden around them. However, it’s much more difficult to move them. If you decide you want to change the location of your fairy garden, you have to move each piece and plant individually.

Decorating your fairy garden

What size and theme your fairy garden decorations are is entirely up to you, but there are a few things to consider. First, think about how much space you’re willing to dedicate to your fairy garden and how small you want the decorations to be. Larger decorations take up more room in your garden, but smaller ones make the plants look much larger by comparison.

Next, consider whether you want to buy or make your decorations. In either case, make sure the decorations are suitable for the outdoors. If you decide to buy your decorations, thrift stores often have ceramic houses and figures that you repaint to fit your garden’s theme. You can also find them online or in other home goods stores. Fish tank decorations and dollhouse furniture are also viable options.

You can make your own decorations by sculpting them from clay or carving them out of wood. It can also be fun to collect and repurpose natural materials, such as rocks, leaves, twigs, and seeds. You can sew or glue these together to form houses or furniture. Make sure to use nontoxic glue, paint, glitter, or other decorations, especially if your fairy garden is part of your traditional garden or yard.

Making a fairy garden is a cute and creative way to have fun in your garden. You can make them to match any personality or aesthetic, and you can easily create more than one. You can even design an entire fairy village in your garden if you like! Fairy gardens can be as simple or complicated as you want. Why not make one for yourself and see how you like it?

Editors' Recommendations

Cayla Leonard
Cayla Leonard is a writer from North Carolina who is passionate about plants.  She enjoys reading and writing fiction and…
Gardening 101: 7 easy seeds to grow in cups for a tiny, adorable, and low-maintenance indoor garden
How to choose seeds to start inside of cups
Two hands side by side, one holding seeds the other holding a seedling

Many gardeners start seeds indoors during the last weeks of winter or early spring to get a head start on the growing season. Vegetables, flowers, and even fruit trees can be started this way. If you want to start your seeds indoors, but don't have anything to plant them in, why not try growing your seeds in plastic cups?

Recycling these cups provides the perfect temporary (or even permanent) homes for your plants, and you'll get the cutest container garden in the process. In this guide to easy seeds to grow in cups, we'll explain how to choose your seeds, care for them, and avoid common pitfalls.

Read more
Looking for a garden planning app? These 8 will simplify your growing season schedule
Apps that will help your vegetable garden thrive
Apps on a phone

With the arrival of the growing season, you may have big plans for your garden in the coming months. However, you may not know how to make your dream home garden a reality. If that's the case, then a garden planning app may be the solution. There are a multitude of apps available covering topics that range from what to plant to how to lay out a garden.

The best part? Many have low upfront costs, while most are outright free. You may encounter a few that require a subscription fee, but we promise that the convenience and help that they provide are worth the cost. With just a swipe on a touchscreen, you can have a garden planning app guide to help beautify and organize your space.

Read more
Not sure how often to water seedlings? Here’s everything you need to know about starting seeds
Your guide to taking care of new seedlings before you plant them
Rows of plant seedlings in wooden box garden

Gardening is a relaxing hobby and a great way to brighten your yard. If you aren't sure how often to water seedlings or when you should transplant them, then these questions can take some of the relaxation out of gardening. There are a few ways to grow plants, from sowing the seeds directly into your garden to buying an already-mature plant. Arguably the most popular way, though, is to start your seeds indoors.

The beginning is easy, but what happens when your plants start sprouting? Whether you’re just starting your garden or trying out a new way of gardening, here is everything you need to know about taking care of seedlings.

Read more