Gardens don’t have to be serious and staid. Introduce a little fun into your landscape. Possible themes include irresistible garden gnomes, garden angels, and fairy gardens.

One need not believe in mythical fairies in order to create a fairy garden. In Europe there is a rich tradition of fairly folklore. However it is absent in the U.S.

Wherever you garden you can have a fairy garden. No matter how small the garden space, this is an appropriate theme. You could even have a fairy garden in a pot. This approach enables apartment dwellers and those with condos that lack large outdoor growing spaces.

If you aren’t sure where to begin with a fairy garden, just start small. Create a container fairy garden.

The first step is to choose several compatible fairy garden plants. There are certain plants that have long been associated with fairies, such as the foxgloves and some other ones that are mentioned by Shakespeare. Select species that are suited to your growing conditions whether it be full sun or full shade.

Some of the herbs have long been associated with fairies, so they would be great for fairy garden plantings in containers. In addition to the
usual species associated with fairies, you can also add some miniature conifers or bonsai-sized plants. These are generally small enough to be in scale with a fairy garden.

Foxgloves are typically biennials. However there are a number of varieties that do bloom the first year if the seed are started early indoors. Generally a true biennial blooms the second year and dies after it goes to seed.

If you want instant blooms in your fairy garden, buy large pots of foxglove plants from a nursery or garden center. These will generally already have flower buds when you buy them.

A fairy garden can be decorated with all sorts of fairy-sized garden accessories and accents, such as tiny little arbors, miniature stepping stones and decorative paving as well as fairy figurines.

For those gardeners with large outdoor space available, it is possible to create magical fairy gardens with all sorts of miniature landscape features. One would typically see some of these miniatures in railroad gardens.

I particularly like the small decorative concrete houses. These are available in a wide selection of architectural styles from simple cottages with thatched roofs to Victorian mansions. It all depends on how much space you have available and the amount of money you’re willing to spend. These miniature houses are by no means cheap.

As inexpensive alternative is to buy some of the decoratively shaped bird houses in a craft store and paint them with outdoor paints. Do-it-yourself types can even build their own fairy houses. These houses can be decorated with miniature furniture, tiny pots, and the like.