My outdoor fairy garden

Isn’t there something strangely satisfying about creating miniature little worlds? Who doesn’t love tapping into that world of childhood wonder, imagining a world of mystery beyond our reach?

If you’ve been following my blog, you will remember the indoor fairy gardens I created last year. (If you missed it, you can read about it here.) That fun—albeit challenging—project resulted in two beautiful displays that now grace my living and dining rooms.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2019.

This year (with the onset of warm weather), I thought I’d experiment with an OUTDOOR fairy garden to see if I could spruce up the look of my garden, which I’ll admit was beginning to look neglected. 

In a previous blog, I showed off my raised flower bed in my backyard, where I grow mint, sage, and chives. I had also attempted to grow rosemary and carrots in the back corner of the flower bed, but neither attempt succeeded, which left me with an awkward space that was crying out for some love. So I thought I’d play around and have fun creating an outdoor fairy garden in that spot because…well, why not?!

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Before beginning, I had to take stock of my supplies to see what I had on hand and what purchases would need to be made for this project. I knew I wanted to reuse my resin mushrooms, a resin bridge, and a resin fairy swing in this outdoor garden—all of which I had previously purchased for the indoor fairy garden versions. (I can’t remember if they were bought from Factory Direct Crafts or Michaels, but both sites have a good selection of resin fairy garden items.) I also knew I wanted a water feature, and found perfect blue/blue-green flat glass gems in my craft drawer. I didn’t want to spend too much money on this project, so I used the  Fairy Cottage  (which I built for one of my indoor gardens) as a stand-in for a resin cottage (to be purchased later) that will be more suitable for outdoor weather.

Handcrafted Fairy Cottage. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2019.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2019.

All I needed for this project was plant life to add depth and interest to the empty garden spot. My local Lowes had some interesting plants, and I found the following specimens:

Sunny Border Blue Speedwell Veronica spicata “Sunny Border Blue”
​White Pampa grass 
Coleus
Succulent Jade Plant Ogre Ears
Succulent Rainbow Bush Manny

Each was chosen for its intriguing characteristics and contrast in shape, color, texture, and size. The grass was the tall “willowy” feature that would fill the corner of my flower bed and hang over the fairy house. The coleus provided a nice splash of magenta amongst all the greenery. (I needed to be careful to nestle the coleus behind my sage, though, because that garden area can get a lot of sun, and this plant doesn’t like full sun.) The ogre's ears were just a no-brainer…I mean, it’s “ogre” ears! I chose this succulent, the rainbow bush manny, and the Pampa grass because they are relatively drought-resistant. Finally, the Sunny Border Blue just added a nice splash of purple into the mix.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Ogre Ears. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Succulents and Coleus. Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Before planting, I carefully studied the spot to “see” where the house should sit. I wanted the house to sit back a bit and be nestled into the plant life so that it would look like it had been there a long time, and once that decision was made, the rest was easy.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

The grass was planted in the corner to fill that space and provide an overhang in front of the house. The rest of the plants were arranged opposite the grass to create a pathway or clearing between the two plant groupings, leading the eye back to where the house stood. I threw some mulch down (which I took from another part of my yard) and then started “sculpting” the clearing to make room for a stream. 

Glass gems were arranged in a line in the gully to create the stream effect, and the resin bridge was straddled over it. The resin mushrooms, ivy vines, and pinecones were placed under the grass canopy next to the house. There was a small spot still left to fill, so my spoiled little fairy got a resin swing to sit on under the shade of the grass canopy.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

Photo by Diane M. Lilly, 2020.

This whole outdoor project took an hour, but it sure was fun! I just sat there for a few moments, trying to imagine my fairy friend sitting by the stream, enjoying the sound of gurgling water and watching her bug friends playing in amongst the plants. Unfortunately, my fairy's wooden cottage is not weatherproof, so I will have to find a suitable resin house as a replacement or make something myself out of flower pots…but that’s a project for another day! 

I would love to hear about your fairy garden projects, so please feel free to share in the comments below…If you have images to share, visit my Facebook page and share in the comments. Happy gardening!

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Related blog posts you may want to read:
My fairy house project
Spring makeover for my indoor fairy gardens