With three boys, I never had much hope for getting my kids interested in dollhouses. But recently, in our favorite local garden center, we came across something better: fairy gardens.
Apparently, these miniature gardens are developing a cult following. While it may seem a bit twee as a grown-up hobby, it’s a terrific activity to do with kids. Like dollhouses, you can create a pretend world, but this is a much more magical, mystical, living world, with growing plants and water and other natural items amid little figurines.
If you have a child who’s firmly against anything to do with sprites in gauzy, pastel dresses, know you need not make “fairy garden”; you can, as we did, make a wizard, elf, or gnome garden, with magical men and spooky little plants, like cactuses and interesting vine-like ground cover.
Fairy or Wizard Garden How-To1. Find a tray, pot, or a base that is at least four inches deep. If you want to make a larger fairy garden, consider a galvanized tub or even a wheelbarrow.
2. Fill with several inches inches of good potting soil and, if desired, some moss.
3. Decorate your garden with 2-3 small plants per square foot. Make sure the plants have similar sunlight and water needs. Miniature succulents and ground cover plants work well.
4. Use or purchase miniature figurines at a garden store or online. Our local garden center, Volante Farms, sells products made by Georgetown Home and Garden (including the cool wizard, below left). Plow and Hearth, Enchanted Garden, and The Fairy Garden Store also have a great selection. Pet stores also sell little cottages and colorful rocks in their fish section.
5. Use found rocks, chipped pottery, or tiles to make pathways or other designs throughout your garden.
6. Let your child place the tray in his or her windowsill, the kitchen, or in a protected area outside, and set a spray bottle or little watering can nearby as a reminder to keep the soil moist. Make a watering schedule he or she can stick to.
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