Beginner faery gardens can be tricky, especially if you’re not the world’s best gardener. It can pretty hard to grow plants from seeds. Most of the time I just go to my local garden center and pick out some baby plants. If there’s one thing faeries love, it’s plants! You should definitely have some green stuff around.
I have a bell jar terrarium next to my computer, and the succulents there are growing like crazy. More than likely, it’s because they’re in an east-facing window. But I also water them exceedingly rarely. Most of my other plants get mad at me, but the succulents love it. If you’re a forgetful person with an east-facing window, you could try succulents!
Succulents are perfect for fairy gardens. I don’t really have a specific garden for my faeries, per se. Faeries kind of live wherever they want in my house. My gardens have always been a little more overgrown and never quite as fancy as some I have drooled over on Pinterest. That’s all right though; some faeries love order, and some love chaotic disorder!
Beginner Faery Gardens
Despite what Pinterest pinners will tell you, your garden doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Some faeries will appreciate small decorations, like colorful pebbles or even a fancy pot like this one here. I’ve mixed small gemstone chips into my pebble pathways. Sometimes, all they want is a little house, and I have several fairy houses sitting out for my fae friends to relax in.
Here’s an easy thing to get started. It’s not for everyone, and growing from seed can be hard, but a terrarium tends to be the best way to get those babies started! I received this as a birthday present, and finally decided to plant it. Eagerly, I tore into the box and pulled out all the ingredients.
Always Read the Directions
The directions were the best part of the whole project. Not only did they explain how to put together the container, but they gave instructions on how to care for the flowers, where to plant them, and why fairies like them. The best part? Their fairy mythology was spot on. It wasn’t a frilly Disneyfied Tinkerbell fairy history. Granted, it also was not the dark and rather scary fairy history either, but it gave good and accurate information.
I emptied the perlite into the bottom of the potting container, and went looking for potting mix. Instead of coming with potting mix, the kit came with two dried out-looking hockey pucks. “What are these?” I asked myself. Oh, apparently they are germination disks. The next step said to fill the terrarium base with 4 cups of room temperature water.
But wait! Perlite is supposed to stay at the bottom of the bowl, and this stuff floats. Don’t worry, it all worked out in the end. I managed to scrape most of it off the disks and get it to the bottom of the container. It won’t matter that it’s mixed in with the soil, because perlite helps to aerate potted plants, so that the soil doesn’t get too heavy.
My hands got pretty dirty during this process. Why bother with gloves? A little dirt never hurt anyone. I can’t wait to do more gardening in the summer. There is just something so satisfying about playing in the dirt, especially when creativity is involved!
I shaped a little path into the dirt, and even made a fairy mound (you can see it there on the left side). Then I started to add the fairy gravel. It came with the tiniest bag, and I thought I would use it all up and still need some more, so I grabbed my own bottles of crystals to add. Turns out the crystals I added weren’t necessary, as I had plenty of gravel to go around.
According to the directions, I had to decorate first, figure out where I wanted to put everything, and then plant my seeds. I decided to find some more stones and some other decorations. “Who wants to come live in my fairy terrarium?” I yelled, as I dug through my stone collection. More stones than I actually needed ended up volunteering, but that worked out anyway.
The fairy figurine is set up on the mound so that she can look out of the terrarium once everything was set up. Then I gave her a “crystal ball” to gaze upon too. The orange stone near the center right is a herkimer diamond, which attract fairies as well. I put away the stones I didn’t use with an apology; but maybe I’ll stick them out with my other plants once it’s warm enough to put them on the balcony.
Faery Seeds
Next come the seeds. The kit came with four different types; Great Blue Lobelia, Clover, Thyme, and Evening primrose.
Look at how dang small these seeds are! I tossed all of them in the soil for good measure. There were only four clover seeds, and they were barely twice this size. It is amazing to think that everything a flower needs to grow is contained in something so small.
Then I put the seed markers near where I planted them. They’re separated for the most part, but that way I can tell them apart when they grow. I can always adjust that later, or maybe get some different seeds!
Evening Primrose went right next to my fairy, right on top of the mound where she can gather the dew as she pleases. These plants like moist, well-drained soil and cooler weather (they are a spring flower after all). Apparently they emit a phosphorescent light at night while blooming. How cool is that?!
Thyme! Apparently in the 1600s, Scottish Highlanders would drink thyme tea to prevent nightmares. It is considered to be a magical herb that is used in love spells (which is obviously why it’s a staple in French cooking). To prevent it from becoming woody, trim the flowers off once they have bloomed. Hmm. Not sure if I would want a woody plant in my terrarium or not. We shall have to do some more research and find out
I think clover is most associated with leprechauns (the wee folk!). Four leaf clovers are known to break fairy spells. I remember one summer at summer camp I found tons of four leaf clovers. Nary a one before or since. I like to believe that was the summer of magic. Apparently clover will germinate in a week and is easy to sprout. I hope it takes over the spot that I planted it!
Then I watered my seeds (sprinkled water over the dirt with my fingers) and slapped the lid on. Mini ecosystems are so cool!
Finishing Up
And there you have it. If you don’t have your own kit, don’t worry. You can use lots of different things to make your own fairy gardens. There are a lot of different plants that attract fairies too; a good rule of thumb is that if butterflies like it, fairies like it.
But let’s face it . . . faeries like any kinds of plants. Just be sure that your plants are non-toxic, in case any of your animal or human companions are plant chewers.
Happy planting!
