A guest post by Renée Meier
Fairy gardens are all the rage at the moment. They are essentially an ornamental garden space, populated with small items befitting a fairy.
Fairy gardens are a great idea for kids as they:
- encourage outdoor play
- inspire imaginative play
- help develop an interest in plants and gardening
I decided to build a fairy garden for my daughter when I found her fossicking around in my herb garden!
There are some gorgeous ideas for these types of gardens on Pintrest and whole online stores dedicated to fairy gardening. You can even now find fairy garden items in toy shops and discount stores.
Your fairy garden can be as simple or elaborate as you like and it doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You may choose to follow a theme to style your garden or it could be an eclectic arrangement. There really are no rules.
It is a good idea however to have a rough idea of how you want your garden to look before you start, particularly if you are starting from scratch. This will help you decide what plants to get and where to put them.
I went for a mermaid/ocean theme as we live close to the beach and my kids are forever bringing home shells, sea glass and pebbles.
Here’s what you need to get started:
A planter, plant pot or even a space in an existing garden bed – I used an old trough planter that was in our yard.
A range of plants – I went for a mix. There are a couple of succulents that look like coral, a lavender plant for fragrance plus a marigold for a splash of colour and to deter any bugs.
Some coloured stones, shells or gravel to add interest – I used a variety of items to create different zones in our garden. I had some blue stones and glass shapes from a fish bowl that I used to create the sea. I then added sand and shells to create the beach. I finished off with some white stones from the discount store to fill in the remaining space. We also had some quartz rocks and a large shell lying about so I used them as features.
Fairies & accessories – I ordered the fairy door, window, mermaid and pathway from an online fairy shop. These were my big ticket items for this garden. The unicorn I picked up from the markets for $4!
My daughter has since added extra shells. She loves to play with her figurines and My Little Ponies in the garden as well. Her brother has now requested I make him a dragon garden and I imagine it will become the setting for many Lego mini figure and Marvel superhero adventures
About Renée
Renée is a freelance writer, perpetual student and aspiring novelist. In her spare time she’s the sole parent to 3 rambunctious little people. She survives predominantly on coffee and squishy hugs.
Hi there gorgeous mama! Sign up to the Kid Magazine weekly newsletter to receive beauty, style, recipes and parenting tips plus special offers and more!
