Fairy gardens are miniature landscapes full of charm and whimsy. They spark the imagination of both children and adults, whether placed outside in a sunny garden bed or brightening up a cozy indoor corner.
These playful gardens let people of all ages design enchanting worlds on a small scale. They invite creativity, storytelling, and hands-on gardening.
Fairy gardens are popular because they mix natural elements with imagination, making them a fun hobby for families or individuals.
Choosing the right plants is important for a fairy garden to look beautiful and last a long time.
Outdoor fairy gardens do well with hardy, drought-tolerant plants like sedum, hens and chicks, creeping thyme, and miniature roses. These plants can handle Colorado’s sunny, dry weather.
For indoor gardens, lush plants with small leaves, such as baby tears or polka dot plants, create a magical look and grow well in containers.
Rosemary and Corsican mint are also popular because they look like tiny trees and smell nice, adding extra charm to any fairy garden.
If you want to try fairy gardening, the Denver Botanic Gardens has hands-on workshops where you can make your own magical miniature garden.
Melissa Gula, who manages children and family programs, leads workshops in which participants build miniature landscapes meant to attract magical visitors, such as fairies.
Unlike traditional step-by-step crafts, Gula’s “make and take” fairy garden workshops are designed for children to lead and focus on their own ideas.
The goal is to encourage kids and families to imagine a garden a fairy might enjoy or plant.
“We start off by getting kids to think about what a garden fairy might need. A place to sleep? A place to play? We relate it back to human needs,” Gula said.
The process is open-ended. Prompts such as “What might fairies want or look for in a garden?” inspire wild ideas and creative results.
The workshops provide a mix of store-bought craft supplies and natural materials, such as dried leaves, pinecones, and acorn caps, along with recycled items like bottle caps and shredded paper.
The youngest participants, ages 5 and up, are encouraged to let their imaginations run wild.
“There’s always a kiddo who surprises me by creating something I never would have thought of,” Gula said.
From elaborate fairy treehouses to tiny seed packets for fairies to plant, the creative possibilities are endless.
Plants are carefully selected to fit the garden’s size and grow well.
Hardy, slow-growing plants such as rosemary, Corsican mint, and creeping thyme are easy to care for and add a sensory touch. Gula notes that rosemary looks like a miniature pine tree.
The workshop gardens begin in small 10×10-inch containers, making them easy for young gardeners to handle.
Although the program is mainly for children, adults often enjoy it too.
“Itap interesting to see how into the project the adults get. It gets their imagination going,” Gula said.
Some families work together and let the kids take the lead, while others buy multiple kits.
You can create fairy gardens indoors or outdoors. At the Denver Botanic Gardens workshops, the materials provided are for indoor gardens.
With hardier plants and weatherproof decorations, outdoor fairy gardens can be just as magical, especially in Colorado’s dry, sunny climate.
Drought-tolerant plants such as sedum, hens and chicks, creeping thyme, and miniature roses do well outdoors. Indoor gardens benefit from lush baby tears or polka dot plants.
The most enchanting aspect of fairy gardening, Gula said, is that there’s no right or wrong way to do it.
“A fairy to one person might be different to another. Use your imagination — it doesn’t have to be a fairy, it could be any creature from your mind.”
Denver Botanic Gardens plans to hold additional fairy garden workshops in August.
Whether you’re 5 or 50, all you need is a bit of soil, some creativity, and a belief in magic to make your own fairy garden.
Sara B. Hansen is a Denver-based freelance writer.
