I had wanted to a year or so ago, but could not find what I needed. Amber just told me this week Hobby Lobby has a whole aisle devoted to fairy garden things. Mine will be outside. Yours is really cute.

Sue

This post was edited by Marilyn_Sue on Fri, Mar 28, 14 at 16:23

I like it!

It would be fun to have one outside, but we just have so much wind here, that I think it might be trouble. I saw one done in an old wheel barrow..that appeals to me, but it took me so long to get in gear to do this one, that I probably won't do another one.

I just made one with some gnomes and a wishing well from Hobby Lobby. It doesn't look quite as good as yours, Maybee. Love the birdbath and that little pink plant. Is the moss real?

I'll try to take a picture of mine later.

Yes, the moss is real. I got it from the east side of our barn...you can also get it from the timber. I would love to see a picture our yours, socks. I think everyone who makes one, makes them a little different.

Very nice job! I had some teensy terra cotta pots about the size of a thimble that I sent to a friend who made a couple of Fairy Gardens. Can't remember where or why I got them.

I really like yours.

So you put these outside? Is it in a flower pot?

I have two. One by each door, back patio, front porch. I got my houses at thrift stores. Mine are more villages. I love them. One is in an old wash tub. I am curious to see what plants come back. I used moss, baby tears and a succulent.

This is one that I bought already made. I got it a couple of years ago. The flowering plants didn't last too long. I now have moss in it and need to fix it up some more. I have it on my front porch.

I love these and want one! :)

We have a local mom and pop shop that sells the stuff to make fairy gardens. When I first saw it, I thought it was silly but the idea has really grown on me and I think they are adorable.

There is a shop down in San Juan Capistrano, that sells all of the mini plants and goodies, tons~~they do classes, I want to do, one where you make it in a bird cage~~I have been looking in thrift shops for a cage. I think they are popular, so hard to find right now.

Yours are all too cute. How often do you have to take out an over grown plant?

If you visit the garden junk forum here at GW you can see several that folks there made.. Really neat stuff and ideas there. There's a gallery too.

Your garden is cute.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden junk

Here's one of the fairy garden galleries

Here is a link that might be useful: Gallery

I love it! You did a great job, Maybee and the scale looks really good. LOVE the gazing ball.

Since a birdcage was mentioned check out this awesome chandelier made from a birdcage.

Here is a link that might be useful: birdcage

Those are all so cute!!

I like the idea of the old tub with the Fairy Village in it, but again...I'm afraid it is so windy here, that I would have problems with it. One year I put mulch all around the plants around our house and every bit of it blew away...I then put rocks down instead. I'm going to keep mine inside....I have a spray bottle and spritz it every day...I will do this until I am sure the moss is going to live.

I had so much trouble posting this picture! Anyway, here's mine. I think it needs fine-tuning It looks all jumbled, needs to be organized. Maybe the plants and rocks are not to scale, too big. That's a little mouse on a rock in the center. Lower right is a birdbath, but I put a marble in it. I let my grandkids help me water, and they love that.

{{!gwi}}

Actually, the set-up was a gift to me, but I think the container is way too deep, so I water with caution. No holes in the bottom either.

All the little gardens are really cute! Like doll houses for adults! lol

I love all of the fairy gardens. I've contemplated making my own. I've got the supplies for it except the plants. I think it would start to look ratty pretty fast if I had an outdoor one. Katkat would destroy an indoor one.

My fairy village is no work at all. No more than any other outside potted plant..probably less even. I water when needed and snip plants back if they get too tall. I am always out dead heading and pulling weeds. The 30 seconds every few weeks I tend to my fairy garden is no big deal at all. I dug all my plants from what I already had growing around the house. The front porch moss didn't survive due to the few hours of afternoon sun it did get but the back yard garden did well. I do not suppose the tree will come back..but I have plenty to replace it with.

Succulents are a good idea. Maybe I will try that with mine this year.

Here is one that I made back last summer. Unfortunately, the kalanchoe beside the house that I used as a shade tree is almost dead. To the right of the house is some cactus that resembled pine trees. Dead. Also, I had scrounged up some moss. Dead.

Apparently this pot does not drain well. I never should have used such a deep one. When I first discovered how wet it was, I punched holes and drained out a good gallon. That was back a couple of months ago. It has not been watered since.

When the weather warms, I will probably replant.
The trailing jade has an aphid problem. I'm so over it. :)
Sorry for the bad cell phone pic.

Moonie, you are so funny. My kids say that: "I'm so over it!"
I hope you'll fix yours up when you feel in the mood to do it because it won't take much.

The pot I was given is deep too. It's not necessary to be so deep. When we had our one rainstorm this winter, it filled up like a bog. I put it on its side to drain, and it seems ok. Didn't punch holes. No telling what's going on in the bottom though, could be nasty!

These are all so darn cute! I think I'm going to have a Spring Break project now. :)

I couldn't find just the right pot. It's kind of early around here to buy any sort of pot that I was wanting. I ended up with the "bottom" of a large pot. You know...the pot they use to set a bigger pot in to drain excess water into? It isn't quite as deep as I was wanting and has no drain hole in it. I put rocks in it to drain, but that might not be good enough. Now, having said that..it "might" work. I'll just have to wait and see. You don't want a pot too deep or your plants with outgrow your garden...you want to keep them small. I don't "water" mine...I spritz it..hopefully it won't get to boggy. You need to keep the moss moist every day for the first month at least..until it takes hold and grows. I also didn't want to pay big bucks for a pot. I got this one for $3.00 because it had a little knick in it. I am going to be on the watch for a pot just a little deeper..just in case this one doesn't work. I was looking on Pinterest and many of theirs were in shallow pots...so time will tell.

It would be a good idea to look up fairy garden images to see plenty of different examples. You can find lots of wonderful miniature accessories in lots of themes. I think that you'll see that less stuff is best!

I've seen wonderful little 'gardens' in antique serving bowls, candy dishes, one of those wooden bowls used to serve nuts, etc. I've got several simple, pottery bonsai containers, glazed and not, that would be perfect. You can find bonsai containers in all sizes and shapes on line for very little money.

Most of the fairy gardens I've seen are for indoor display....not for the direct upen sun, wind, and rain. But you still have to select plants, living breathing things, that will do well in the amount of light you can provide.

There are soooo many plants that can be kept small with an occasional snip here and there with a pair of scissors. A good garden center is the best place to find an assortment of miniature plants. Try to remember to match plants with the amount of available light.

Moss isn't required though it sure looks great. Moss is difficult to grow inside. But you can find sheet moss or dried moss that totally looks alive.

Don't forget that natural elements are what make these little displays so charming. Twigs, bark, pebbles, shells, aquarium gravel, sand, interesting seed heads, and tons of other things are the magic in a fairy garden.

Look in aquarium stores or areas in stores, they have lots of miniatures.
I have seen some really creative uses of random items in the little gardens.
That's what I like best seeing the creativeness.

Good suggestion, Raven. Those little things at Hobby Lobby and other places are crazy priced, so have to watch for sale or get a coupon. Or thrift shops. I like the creativeness too, because I have very little myself! It's so rewarding to do it on a budget, which is why I was using succulents. Just stick them in the ground.

Mine is outside on the patio table with an umbrella, so it gets bright light but no direct sun.

This was on my facebook feed sometime back and I saved it for inspiration. My granddaughter loves fairies.

Keep the photos coming! I love all of them. My Fairy Garden was bought completed last year at a high-end garden shop. I'll be adding more to it this year.

got to send these to dd2 to see...that was one thing when they had an house the kids had strawberries with nomes I bought...but now that she's in a condo and her x had no imagination I'm afraid they'll never have a kid garden....

I just saw some recently that used Gourdes as the little houses they are so stinking cute. And they had made furniture out of little twigs glued together, chairs and a table. One had for the house a chunk cut out of a medium sized tree limb about 4" tall they glued twigs on for windows and a piece of bark cut out for a door and for the top of the house they made it cone shaped and covered it with silk leaves off of a plant and glued them on in layers like shingles. It was great. They had used a white river birch branch but any chunk cut out of a limb would work.

I have never made one but seeing so many of the creative ideas is tempting me. I need to get my table set up and start making a bunch of my garden totems and garden plate flowers for our Garden Club sale which is next month.
I really enjoy doing those too once I get all set up and going. It is the setting up my table and getting all my goodies together that I don't like. But they go together so fast it is really rewarding and kind of addictive.

This is my totem that I made when I first started it is still in my atrium today looking pretty.

Love them all, I'm working on a very large one, I need so many things. No where near ready for pics

Raven..I love your totems. I know what you mean about getting all the components together...I've been working at getting this Fairy Garden together for quite a while and was getting discouraged. I wanted a fairy in my garden, but she had to be just the right one ( yes, I'm a little Obsessive/Compulsive) and I wanted her to be doing something. I have another fairy and she is dancing, but I probably won't put another garden together. Yes they are all different and I think they sort of convey the person's personality who makes them. I would have a hard time selling a totem if I had put a LOT of thought into what was to go into it...(hard to put I to words)

I feel left out of the loop! Had never even heard of these, but LOVE them!!!