Fairy gardens or Miniature gardens are fun for people of all ages.

They are a great kid friendly project that will capture your imagination and get your green thumb growing!

Fairy gardens are containers filled with small scale sized plants, and accessorized with tiny houses, furniture, paths, ponds, pebbles, mushrooms, animals, etc., and of course fairies, gnomes, and even the odd dragon! It can be as small as a flower pot, or as large as a secluded corner in the flowerbed, and can be indoors or outdoors. The fun thing about fairy gardens is that you can let your imagination go.

Fairy gardens are easy to create, and the choices are endless.

The first choice would be to decide whether you want an indoor garden or an outdoor garden. Outdoor gardens can be made in any type of container or be directly planted into the landscape. Rock gardens, under a tree, a shaded area, or a flower bed would all make ideal spots. One of the setbacks to creating an outdoor fairy garden is our long snowy winters, and leaving the accessories outside to the elements which can be damaging. Another option would be create an outdoor fairy garden in a container, this way it can be brought indoors over the winter months.

Anything can be used as the container, provided it has drainage. A flowerpot (new, old, or broken), old watering can, rain barrel, wheelbarrow, garden pail, basket, wooden crate etc. When you have the container picked out, fill it almost to the top with a good quality potting soil. The next step is choosing plants, for either a sunny or shady location. Ideally you want to pick out small sized plants that grow slowly and do not get too large, so that they don’t take over the garden. Some favourites include creeping thyme, oregano, rosemary, tagetes, many of the sedums, moss and plants that can be trimmed easily.

The next step is picking out the accessories, and this is where you can really have fun. You can create little garden paths with small colourful pebbles, and sand. Make a pond using a tiny vessel and filling it with water.

When you have all materials, it is time to play around. Position plants where you want them to go, as well as the accessories and draw out where you want the paths to go. When you have decided where everything is going, it is time to plant. Plant the plants to the same depth they were in the pot. After the plants have been planted water them in, then start creating the paths and adding the accessories.

Indoor fairy gardens can be made using any type of container. Flowerpots, terrariums, cement logs, wicker basket, glass bowls, etc., are all ideal containers, or anything you may want to use. Use small scale sized plants such as baby tears, moss, ivies, succulents, small ferns, or make it into a herb fairy garden, so that you can sample the plants. The same concept that was used to create an outdoor fairy garden is used to make an indoor garden. Use a good quality indoor potting soil and plan where everything should go before you plant.

Maintain a fairy garden as you would any other container garden. Fertilize and water regularly. Fairy gardens continue to be a huge gardening trend and there are lots of different accessories available at the garden centre. It’s a great way to get children interested in gardening and growing things, and a fun spring break project.

-Jos

Jos Van Hage owns and operates two Art Knapp Home and Garden Centres in Prince George:

• Highway 16 West at Kimball Road
• Highway 97 North at Northwood Pulpmill Road