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HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY GARDEN AFFORDABLY

What little girl, or big girl, wouldn’t love their very own magical fairy garden?

When I got the idea to make a fairy garden for my daughters upcoming birthday, I gasped when I realized how costly they could be.

I wanted to make a fairy garden on a budget.

With a little bit of creativity and some fantastic finds, I present to you our DIY fairy garden.

fairy-garden

HOW TO MAKE A FAIRY GARDEN

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Once you have spent some time looking at fairy garden ideas online or at greenhouses and have an idea of what you want, you are ready to start.

fairy-path

My first tip when making a fairy garden or fairy house is to first consider things you may have around your home or yard.

WHAT DO YOU NEED FOR A FAIRY GARDEN?

A tree trunk would make a great container, as would a wooden box or even old, broken flower pots would do.

Bark, stones, old pieces of wood, string, golf tees, marbles, popsicle sticks, and miniature toys would all offer a great start.

make-fairy-garden

Next, go to a dollar store.

You would be surprised how much you can find there.

Bags of dry moss, little ceramic figurines, wooden sticks, birdhouses, decorative stones etc, you really can pick up a lot for a few dollars.

fairy-oasis

WHAT ARE THE BEST PLANTS TO USE IN A FAIRY GARDEN?

Greenhouses are great for finding miniature plants, but sometimes they come with a high price tag.

Consider getting herbs like creeping thyme and consider looking at supermarket garden centers to compare prices.

There are many great plants for your fairy garden.

If you plant perennials, they come up from the ground the following year, and you can replant it in the fairy garden and save yourself a few dollars the next year.

little-girl-fairy-garden

Once you have all the basics, if your budget allows, get yourself a few special items to give it the final touch.

We bought the little bird bath and the little chairs from the greenhouse.

I also decided to splurge on the container since I did not have anything on hand that would work.

I found this metal container on clearance because it had a broken handle.

fairy- bird-bath

In total our Fairy Garden cost:

  • fairy house – $1.25
  • dry moss – $1.25
  • blue rocks – $1.00
  • ceramic mushroom – $1.00
  • plants – $11.47
  • tiny bird house – $0.25
  • birdbath – $4.00
  • chairs – $4.98
  • container – $13.00
  • tree trunk, popsicle sticks, rocks, wire etc all found at home – free
  • Total cost: $38.20

So if I would have found an old container, this fairy garden would have all been possible for about $25.

I think that is very reasonable.

dollar-store-fairy-garden

Here are some other fairy gardens I saw at local greenhouses when I was looking for inspiration for mine.

This first one was taken at Oakridge Greenhouse.

fairy-house

And this one was taken at Sunshine Greenhouse.

big-fairy-garden

My daughter has about 2 months until her birthday arrives, but it was a lot of fun making a fairy garden together.

You never know, a fairy or two may decide to make this fairy garden home when the birthday is finally here.

You may also like this post on FAIRY GARDEN & SALT DOUGH FAIRY GARDEN ACCESSORIES:

diy salt dough fairy garden is perfect all year around. No real plants in this fairy garden.

These Salt Dough Handprints are also a lot of fun to make!

salt dough

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Carole Dube

Sunday 8th of May 2016

You did a great job, I was thinking of making one myself. They are so beautiful!

Jody @ Mommy Moment

Sunday 8th of May 2016

Thank-you - it was so much fun and my girls absolutely love it.

Kristy. Vassell

Sunday 1st of May 2016

Thanks for the great fairy garden ideas. They are so popular right now but retail ones are super expensive. We made a low cost gerarium with a large glass bowl from Michaels, ivy and climbing plants from our local garden centre and fairy statues from the dollar store....super fun activity!

Kathryn

Thursday 28th of April 2016

So CUTE!!! Where did you find the container you put everything in? It is the perfect size and just what we have been looking for.

Jody @ Mommy Moment

Friday 29th of April 2016

I picked mine up in the clearance section at winners.

Anna Johnson

Friday 11th of December 2015

So cute and so much fun! I'm sure my boys would like to help make one! Thanks :)

Elizabeth Matthiesen

Thursday 21st of May 2015

A job well done I'd say. I've never heard of fairy gardens before, they all look amazing :-)

Jody @ Mommy Moment

Thursday 21st of May 2015

Thanks Elizabeth, I love how fun they are for children. My daughter loves to play and dream and make up beautiful stories while playing in the fairy garden. I also love the responsibility it teaches (watering and caring for it).