Are you looking for a way to get your kids excited about gardening in time for the growing season? Get them started on planting and watering early with this fun gardening kids activity.
“Fairy Gardens” are miniature indoor or outdoor landscapes embellished with plants, stones, mosses, and all kinds of other natural and manmade objects – your child’s imagination is the only limit! Here’s how to get started.
These whimsical little gardens are gaining popularity around the country, which means that your local garden store or nursery will likely have plenty of suggestions for what you should plant. In general, mosses, succulents, and hardy, crawling foliage all do well in fairy gardens. Aim for a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Now for the fun bit! A fairy garden can be decorated with any objects your child finds special or meaningful. Agates, fool’s gold, shells, and other colorful natural baubles your child has collected on trips and hikes all look fantastic, and pathways and other landscaping can be created from glass pebbles, sticks or sand.
All it takes is water, sunlight, and a bit of love! You’ll need to follow the light-exposure and watering instructions specific to your plants (ask at the garden store or nursery when you buy, and be sure to hang onto any instructions that come with the plants). Fairy gardens should also be pruned as needed. Enjoy this kids activity for months to come, tend to the garden and make it fun!
You can opt for a low-slung pot with a wide mouth, or you can think a bit more creatively! Your child might want to repurpose a wooden box, lined basket, birdhouse or an old glass container/jar. Some people even create fairy gardens at the bases of large backyard trees.
These whimsical little gardens are gaining popularity around the country, which means that your local garden store or nursery will likely have plenty of suggestions for what you should plant. In general, mosses, succulents, and hardy, crawling foliage all do well in fairy gardens. Aim for a variety of shapes, sizes and colors.
Some plants to try: Spike moss, baby tears, fairy fern, small cacti and any kind of succulent.
Fill your container with fresh, moist potting soil to within about an inch of the top. If your container doesn’t have a hole for draining, be sure to add a layer of rocks at the bottom to aid in water drainage. Use your fingers to dig a hole large enough to accommodate each plant’s root system. Place a plant in each hole, cover with soil, water generously and press the soil firmly down around the plant to secure its position in the dirt.
Now for the fun bit! A fairy garden can be decorated with any objects your child finds special or meaningful. Agates, fool’s gold, shells, and other colorful natural baubles your child has collected on trips and hikes all look fantastic, and pathways and other landscaping can be created from glass pebbles, sticks or sand.
A few pieces of sturdy dollhouse furniture (think chairs, benches, and tiny trellises) add a touch of tiny realism, and small statues and animal or fairy figurines may also find a perfect home nestled among the miniature flora and fauna. Pictured below is an example created by Katie Kautz Dill, using a miniature bird bath!
Photo Credit: Katie Kautz Dill; fairy garden created by Katie Kautz Dill.
All it takes is water, sunlight, and a bit of love! You’ll need to follow the light-exposure and watering instructions specific to your plants (ask at the garden store or nursery when you buy, and be sure to hang onto any instructions that come with the plants). Fairy gardens should also be pruned as needed. Enjoy this kids activity for months to come, tend to the garden and make it fun!
Check out this tutorial from See Jamie Blog on how to make your own fairy garden furniture!
Want to read more about gardening? Try these books!
Green Start In the Garden, Garden Safari Vegetable Soup and Gardening Lab for Kids.
Photo Credit Bottom Left: Katie Kautz Dill; fairy garden created by Kate Henson.