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Fairy Gardens
Do you love fairies? Fairy gardens are the perfect way to invite the fairies to come visit you, and you needn't have a large yard or require lots of space to do this.
Simply find a nice inviting corner of the porch or patio, and add the necessary elements that will entice the fae to stop and stay awhile.
Fairies love nature and all things that are beautiful. They are especially attracted to sparkly things or shiny mirrored objects that they can see their own reflection in.
Here is a list of the most basic things that should be placed in all fairy gardens.
WATER
Fairies love water - whether it is gently moving, or still and quiet.
A still body of water such as a pond allows the fae to gaze upon their own reflections - something they are quite fond of doing. If you haven't the yard or space for a pond, look for a lovely shallow basin and situate it amongst lush plants and pretty flowers.
You may attract the fairies to your water by choosing a brightly colored basin, or a shiny metal one.
If you prefer to stay with a softer color pallette, then choose a basin that has been glazed for a subtle, glistening effect.
Moving water is also fine, as the fairies love nature and the sound of a tumbling waterfall will be music to their ears.
There are many smaller versions of waterfalls to be found, so a lack of space need not keep you from adding this feature to your fairy garden.
If you choose to add moving water to your fairy space, be sure to add in some other element for it's reflective purpose, such as a gazing ball.
SHINY OBJECTS
Here your imagination can really take over, as there is really so much to choose from.
A gazing ball is the object most often thought of, but you can certainly lend even greater enticement to your fairy garden by dangling shiny prisms and crystals, adding small mirrored objects, even mirror fragments will do the trick, if you use them to create something that the fairies can safely gaze into.
See the bottom of this page for directions on two easy objects that you can make from common items laying about your house.
FLOWERS AND PLANT LIFE
This would seem obvious, since we are talking about gardens, but lest you are tempted to use silk flowers or artificial plants -
I would strongly advise against this! Nothing could kill your careful planning and placement of fairy-attracters faster than a plastic bush or flower!
If you feel you have two brown thumbs, don't despair! There are many plants and flowers that will thrive without any special care other than regular watering. Ask at your local nursery for advice on what will do best in the spot you have chosen.
Be prepared to let them know whether you are looking for indoor or outdoor plants. Let your nursery worker know how much sun that area gets, especially if it only gets strong sunlight at one particular time of day.
If you are planning an outdoor garden, decide on a particular area to be used. Avoid feeling overwhelmed by limiting your plans to just one area at first, rather than spreading things out across your whole yard and then trying to fill up all the in-between space.
Focus on one small area and create the lush look that fairies love. The photo at the top of this page gives an example of this technique.
You will easily fill your space by adding a few well-chosen plants, a water basin or fountain, a gazing ball or other shiny reflective objects, and perhaps a nice statuary object.
Now you've created one small but perfect space in your garden that both you and the fairies will love!
You can continue adding one small area at a time, each time concentrating your fairy objects into a smaller area, and before long, your whole yard may look like a fairy paradise, if that is your goal!
Remember to keep your eye open for flowers that are noted for attracting butterflies and hummingbirds. This will usually be noted on the care tag that is attached to your plant - or ask that helpful nursery worker!
MUSIC
Last, but certainly not least, add a musical element to your fairy garden by adding windchimes, or anything else you can find that makes soft, natural sounds.
Include every tone you can, from the higher pitches of slender metal chimes, to the deep mellow sound of bamboo reeds.
You can easily find windchimes that will provide not only a lovely melodic sound, but the extra boon of sparkly glass crystals and colorful glass or painted metal!
Place your windchimes everywhere possible - be creative!
If you placed moving water somewhere, try to hang a bamboo windchine somewhere nearby...
both you and the fairies will relish the combined sounds of the tumbling water, and natural reeds gently bumping against each other.
Bringing the music of nature into your garden may also include placing a bowl of birdseed somewhere, to attract songbirds and many other feathered-friends into your fairy sanctuary.
Where to Find Fairy Objects
The wonderful thing is that fairies are enjoying a huge surge in popularity!
No doubt popular fantasy artists like Amy Brown, Jessica Galbraith and Brian Froud have helped to create the current fairy-awareness.
(Although I continue to love the classic flower-fairy art of Cicely Mary Barker more than anything; maybe I'm just sentimental!)
Look for fairy statuettes, fountains, gazing balls, et al, just about anywhere you may shop.
From specialty shops and gift stores, to large chain department stores, craft stores, and even garden nurseries - everyone is carrying items that can be implemented in your fairy garden.
Just keep your eyes open wherever you go for things that reflect and shine, dangle and sway in the breeze, or create lovely natural sounds.
Before you know it, you will have a fairy garden that is sure to bring many a wee creature happily into your vision!
Here are two easy and inexpensive fairy-attracters that you can make yourself:
Glass Jar
Try taking broken shards of mirror or bright glass and dropping them into a small glass jar.
One with a lovely or unique shape is especially nice; or look for the little jars used for preserves which are cut to look like expensive crystal.
Fill your small clear glass with the broken mirror or glass pieces, or use the small glass marbles sold in craft stores if you prefer.
Close up the top with a lid.
If your chosen container does not have a lid, use a cork stopper (these can be purchased at craft stores in various sizes, or cover the top with shiny aluminum foil and seal it closed by wrapping with string or brightly colored yarn.
Find a nice little niche amongst your plants or near your water basin to situate your shiny fairy-attracter!
Mirror Sculpture
Here you take a single mirror fragment or several pieces - you can remove the mirrors from old powder compacts to serve this purpose as well.
You will need anything that can be shaped and then allowed to harden. Quick-set cement, plaster-of-paris, clay-dough and the like. You can make your own clay-dough by simply mixing flour, water, and a bit of salt until it is a nice un-sticky consistency.
This can be shaped into anything you like - even a little figurine - and then allowed to dry. But you'll probably need to add a few coats of glaze after it dries if you plan on placing it outside, and even then, I would keep it out of direct exposure to the elements.
An orb can be covered with pieces of mirror or glass pebbles all around.
You could also quite easily shape your own small basin - rectangle, bowl shape, etc. - and place your shiny objects along its outside. If it is shallow, mirror pieces along the inside would be very pretty.
Just be sure to push your pieces into the material deeply enough to ensure they will not come out later.
If you form a shallow basin out of concrete and set it with mirrors or glass, you can later fill it with water and set it anywhere inside the garden for a extra appealing fairy-attracter!
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