Fairy Garden (or Elf Garden)

Fairy Garden
(or Elf Garden)
Create a mini-Fairy
Garden just for kids!

In the shelter of a large,
shady tree, design a
miniature world where
fairies and elves will visit.





What You Will Need:

• Shady 3x3-foot garden spot
• Rocks
• Sticks
• Moss
• Shade-loving plants
• Trowel
• Toy animals, fairies, elves, or dolls

What You Do:

• Decide where the edges of your garden will be, then mark the edges with a tiny wall of rocks or sticks.
• Use stones to make paths within the little garden.
• Build miniature houses by stacking sticks or stones log-cabin style.
• Cover the houses with moss.
• Fill the rest of the space with shade-loving plants. Try annuals such as Impatiens, Coleus, Polka-Dot Plants, and Violas; or perennials such as Dwarf Ferns, Dwarf Hostas, and Violets.
• Water garden as needed, occasionally pick the weeds, and watch your plants grow. See if you can spot a fairy or an elf!

Additional Ideas and Tips:

• For added decoration, make small signs to post in your miniature Fairy Garden. For example, "Fairies Welcome".
• If you do not have space in your yard or garden, plant a miniature Fairy Garden in an old wagon or wheelbarrow, and place it anywhere in your yard.
• Decorate your miniature Fairy Garden with natural items found in your yard or collected from travels: sea shells, acorns, seed pods, dried berries, pieces of old terra-cotta pots (be careful of sharp edges).
• Use milkweed fibers to make soft beds for the fairies.

Fairy Garden Plans — This link opens a PDF file (1.9 MB) of very detailed plans for building a Fairy Garden, for the serious gardener. We've including this link to give you ideas of things you and your children can design into your own garden.