A Great DIY Project: Fairy Gardening with Sun River Gardens

Earlier this month, Sun River Gardens hosted a Fairy Garden Clinic. When we found out about this fun DIY project that has been gaining popularity on Pinterest and Instagram, we RSVP’d right away. We were excited to build our own fairy garden and get great tips from the pros at Sun River Gardens.

Fairies 101

Fairy Gardening goes back to the Medieval Ages, where people believed fairies brought prosperity, good health and a better life. Fairies wear flowers for clothing, have magical powers, and usher in each season, protecting and nurturing flowers, animals, plants and trees. They like to dance and move in the shadows and would rather sing and play than work. They dwell in fragrant herb gardens and can be a great help in maintaining a beautiful yard and garden.

Knowing this, I was really looking forward to building a fairy garden (or two) to welcome fairies and their magical powers into our yard.

Sun River Gardens did a fantastic job preparing for the clinic. They set up tables covered with burlap sacks and placed terracotta pots at each station. There were a bunch of examples of finished Fairy Gardens to give us ideas and two professional gardeners to help answer our questions. They also had tons, and I mean TONS of cute décor for us to buy. It was hard to pick from all of the great choices.

Fairy Gardening Step-by-Step

Garden Container

Choose and prepare your container. If you are lacking creativity, check out the hashtag #fairygarden on Instagram for hundreds of fun, inspirational ideas. Fairy Gardeners are using toolboxes, teapots, wheelbarrows, wine barrels, bird baths, and even old wagons as fairy gardens. Be creative!

The gardeners at Sun River recommend placing a layer of charcoal at the bottom of each pot or container to suck-up additional moisture. Then, they fill the rest of the pot with potting soil- nothing too dense- just light and fluffy potting soil with a fertilizer.

Décor

You can use all kinds of small, miniature furniture and decor for your garden- from benches to bathtubs  to arbors. We decided to make two fairy gardens, and we chose a bridge, gate, arbor, bench, mushrooms, stepping stones and bird bath.

Greenery

Inside or out? Decide where your garden is going, and choose plants that make sense for the location. We decided to build outdoor gardens, and used begonia, angel vine, moss, and ivy.

Place your plants in your container first, making sure to leave room for the décor. Place your plants carefully into container, without planting them too deep. Press the soil down around your plant to be sure it is snug.

Decorating Your Garden

This is where you can get really creative. Create living spaces for the fairies with places for them to play, sit, swing and rest.  It was so fun seeing all the different landscapes that people came up with. For some great ideas, we recommend checking out Fairy Gardening on Facebook.

Maintaining Your Garden

Sun River professionals recommend watering your garden carefully with a small container. If you use too much water, too quickly, you can upset your decorations. If your fairy garden is located outside, daily watering is recommended. If you live in a climate that gets cold in the winter, feel free to bring your fairy garden inside and welcome a little magic into your home.

Good luck fairy gardening and a special thanks to Sun River Gardens. If you have a fairy garden and would like to share, send us a picture and we will post it on Facebook.

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