Fairy gardening, as well as miniature gardening has opened up a new world of creativity for me as a landscape designer!
Although I've created miniature container gardens for many years, I've never had so many people request them as they do now.
Fairy and miniature gardens are a huge TREND!
What a wonderful way to dive into the wonderful world of plants, especially small plants.
Shirley Bovshow presents "Fairy Gardening" on the Home & Family Show!
I shared some of my fairy garden designs on the Home & Family show, (Hallmark channel) today I'm posting photos for a closer view.
Miniature and Fairy Gardens
My mini gardens are full landscapes scaled down to a container!
The best part of fairy and miniature gardens is that you can tell a "story" by mixing in props with your plants.
A mini garden can look like a "real" landscape with walkways, arches, statues, houses and stone walls.
The most memorable mini gardens are "themed" with interesting characters and settings that making them conversation starters.
I mixed accessories bought at a specialty store, such as Wholesale Fairy Gardens, and materials that I have at home.
Think outside the box for accessories- use your kid's toys, a ceramic cookie jar, anything that won't be damaged by water.
Shirley's Miniature and Fairy Gardens Before and After
Many of my miniature gardens feature materials destined for the trash that I upcycle into planters and accessories.
Before: Broken Clay Garden Finial
I never cry over broken garden accessories, including this adorable finial that split in two!
From it, I was able to create two new planters for miniature gardens.
AFTER: Miniature Garden with Succulent Cuttings
The top part of the finial is now a petite planter for succulent cuttings.
Everything about this garden is free, including the shell that props up the planter on one side!
Do you see it?
AFTER: Miniature Garden: "Fairy Sitting on Swing"
The large section of the broken finial is now a whimsical miniature garden planter with staked ceramic fairy swing and fairy from Wholesale Fairy Gardens.
The swing support is made from parts of a plastic plant hanger that were clipped at the top and adorned with a sign that reads, "Believe."
Do you "BELIEVE?"
After: Close up of Miniature Fairy Garden with Swing
Hanging a swing from a planter that offers nothing to hang from took some ingenuity.
I was able to create a "tepee" support system by cutting off parts of a plastic plant hanger and crossing them at the top.
Before- Wood Crate Turned Miniature Garden Planter
We received glassware as a Christmas gift that was boxed in this rustic wood shipping crate.
I knew the moment I laid eyes on the wood crate that it was destined to be a wood planter!
Before- Broken Hanging Candle Lantern
Wait till you see what I did with this broken hanging lantern!
After- Rustic Painted Wood Planter and "Glass House" for Miniature Garden
This is one of the mini gardens I presented on the "Home and Family" show.
The theme of this garden is "Motherhood."
"A cautious mother-bird keeps watch over her eggs as a cat, sitting on a chair, waits for an opportunity."
I'm not expecting this wood planter to last forever, water will slowly cause it to decompose.
I drilled holes at the bottom of the crate for drainage and then painted the wood in two colors, brown with sage green trim.
Perfection was not necessary.
There's another recycled material in this miniature garden.
Notice the "glass house" where the little bird is sitting with her eggs?
That used to be a hanging candle lantern.
It's filled with moss, ceramic eggs, a bird figure, and a succulent plant that spills from inside!
I Use Plant Cuttings To Save Money!
All the plants in this miniature garden are cuttings from containers.
I spent no money to make this.
I had all the materials at home!
The mini pond and chair were given to me.
You can do the same.
Start looking around!
Before- $4 Dollar Plastic Cement-Mixing Trough
YUCK!
I would never use an ugly plastic container like this one, "as is!"
Plastic is challenging to paint, so I used a primer called "Bin" as a base coat so that the paint adheres to the plastic.
I also drilled holes for drainage and then painted with acrylic paints in brown and sage green.
The large opening makes this an ideal "tabletop" size to create a larger miniature garden like the "Good Neighbor" themed garden I made with it.
Miniature Garden Houses- Two Sources
I had a pretty cookie jar that I bought at a garage sale for $1 dollar that matched the size of an "official" miniature garden house.
Putting them together was a natural.
The cookie jar read, "The Old Sweet Shop" so I made a sign for the other house that read "Ye Old Dentist."
The name of this miniature garden is "Good Neighbors!"
Take a look at the details including miniature hardscape and layout.
After- Large, Wide Planter for a Miniature Garden "Village!"
The paint is rustic but effective!
Infuse a little humor into your mini gardens.
"Good Neighbors" theme is funny when one house is a candy store and the other is the dentist office!
Fairy Garden Sphere- Where Fairies Live!
This is the fairy garden orb I made on the Home and Family Show.
A moss-clad, grapevine orb is an ideal "fairy hideout!"
Cascading wire vine softens the edges of the planter and artistic stepping stones lead to the hideout.
Succulent Roof, Edible Miniature Garden
Many of the plants in this garden are edible including the Swiss chard, chives, oregano and pansies!
The succulent on the roof are cuttings from my garden.
Fairy garden close up.
Fairy oversees the garden perched on a stone wall above the golden sedum lawn, stone walkway and succulent roof house!
The wheel barrel and small garden tools lets the onlooker know that this fairy is a gardener!
I hope you enjoyed some of my fairy and miniature garden design designs.
If you want to see step by step video instructions for making a fairy garden, watch my video from the "Way to Grow" series on Youtube.
"Make Your First Fairy Garden and Miniature Garden"
Can I answer any questions for you?
Shirley
My pleasure. Thank you for visiting EdenMakers.com
Love love love it…I am just at the planning stage of my outside fairy garden, using plastic foliage…I am now thinking of changing to real plants, it looks fabulous…
Thankyou for your inspiration
Thank you for sharing these ideas for fairy gardens! My daughter just made one for her 10th birthday and it turned out great. I have a question though. – See more at: https://edenmakersblog.com/?p=5140#sthash.LzB1RLUr.dpuf
Hi Bonnie,
What a wonderful idea for staying in touch with your grandaughter and bonding with her as well.
I’m happy to hear I could inspire you.
Stay in touch!
Shirley
Eddie, I am a grandma and I have a granddaughter that lives in another State. I got to visit her this year and I made her a Fairy Garden with some of Shirley's idea's. Ever month I have been sending her a little package addressed to her with something for her Fairy garden. She loves getting the packages and putting the item in her Fairy Garden. I feel this gives her a connection to her grandma and will be something for her to enjoy for years to come.
Shirley, Every year my Master gardener friend and I teach a garden class for seniors. We are always looking for new ideas. Next year we will have the class build a Fairy Garden and display it in the lobby where all the various classes can see an example of what we do. Thanks much, Eddie Rhoades & Ivan Tatum.
Hi Louise-
Thanks for visiting and for commenting. How about painting a gold little rock to look like a gold nugget or spray glue some glitter on a stone?
This shouldn’t cost much and you can call it “Fairy Rocks!”
Thank you for sharing these ideas for fairy gardens! My daughter just made one for her 10th birthday and it turned out great. I have a question though. She keeps asking me when the fairies will leave something behind for her so she knows they appreciate and love the garden. Do you have any ideas on something I could "leave" behind so she knows a fairy visited? Thanks!! Louise
Thank you Mare! I’ve got to visit your site now. Fairy and mini gardens are fun to create and I think they’ll be popular for a long time!
Your gardens are beautiful and full of mystery. Very enchanting. So many great ideas! Love the images, they are very inspiring.
HI Mary,
Thanks for your question. It’s easy to attach succulents to the roof in a mini garden.
1. Add a small piece of wire mesh to cover the roof of your little house.
2. Add moist sphagnum moss underneath the mesh so it’s secure.
3. Plant small succulent cuttings by inserting stem through wire mesh hole into the moss.
4. Spray with water and maintain by watering in this manner when the moss starts to dry.
Good luck!
First, I would like to say how beautiful and whimsy your gardens are. Thanks so much for sharing your ideas. Your creativity just flows. I have the exact same fairy house and I want to add the the succulents to the roof like you did. Could you please share your step by step instructions. Thanks.
Thank you Carole!~ I really appreciate your visit and your nice comment! More to come.
I really enjoyed your show on Home and Family. Now I am ready to try and start a new new project. A Minature Fairy Garden. The pictures are beautiful also.
Beautiful mini items! I can see you enjoy miniature gardens a lot. Hope your shop stays busy.
Thank you Nancy. I enjoyed seeing your mini gardens today!
Nancy, welcome to EdenMakers!
I enjoyed watching your video, you do beautiful work!
Please subscribe to Edenmakers for blog updates on more miniature gardens. I’ll be speaking at Walt Disney World, Epcot’s International Flower and Garden Festival on miniature gardens.
Photos to follow!
shirley
Love all the beautiful pictures.
Love all these amazing pictures. I have a really big miniature garden and gnome garden in my back yard, I’m in the process of replanting right now to get a head start. I have so much fun working in it, I do need to replant off and on as I find some plants to do well in center areas while others don’t. I think I live part time at the nursery. I love to see all the wonderful ideas people have. Love what you do with the broken items, I did the same thing with a broken bird bath, my husband was scared to tell me he broke it but right away I turned it into a planter.
Dear Garnette, thanks for visiting EdenMakers and your comment. I see you sell beautiful fairy accessories. How’s business?
Love your blog! So many creative ideas of re-purposing found materials. I especially like the “glass house.” I create Fairy kits and sculpt fairy accessories such as miniature shoes, tables, and pillows. If you have a chance to check out my Etsy shop, I’d love your feedback!