Kids in the Garden: How to Make a Fairy Garden

Our back garden is a constant work in progress and we recently decided to tackle a small area between the cubby house and trampoline. The relatively small space wasn’t being used and with no defined purpose it had become overgrown with grass and weeds while we tried to decide what to do with it! One afternoon while we were at our local hardware/garden centre I had the idea to transform it into a small fairy garden and stage area, a perfect solution given that it is right in the middle of the ‘kids zone’ part of our yard.

Being that we were already at the garden centre, we bought nine pavers and some paving sand straight away and took them home to get started.

Immy helped to prepare the space for paving and particularly enjoyed helping to cement an edging around the pavers to hold them into position, decorating the side that leads out onto our lawn with a collection of coloured fairy stones.

Once the area was paved we turned our attention to choosing plants, collecting accessories for the space and making our very special bird bath.

We selected child friendly plants – using lots of herbs (rosemary, parsley, oregano and basil), interspersed with pops of colour and interesting textures thanks to marigolds, lavender and dahlias.

Incorporating a few pots into the garden space adds an additional element of interest.

We had fun gathering, choosing and arranging accessories in the space. Some, like the mushrooms, owl, ladybirds and gnome, we already owned. The ducks, garden marker characters and yellow fairy house (originally a lantern) are from our local hardware/garden centre.

This beautiful butterfly (a gift from my Mum) has found the perfect home on the side of the cubby.

And, of course, every fairy garden needs at least one fairy looking over it.

Our fairy garden provides the perfect platform for encouraging lots of imaginative play outdoors and is popular with Immy and all of her friends.

Do you have a neglected space in your outdoor area that could be transformed into a child friendly garden?

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Christie Burnett is an early childhood teacher, presenter, writer and the editor of Childhood 101. More importantly, she is a Mum who believes wholeheartedly in the value of children learning through play, the importance of quality early education, and the togetherness of family.

Read more of Christie's adventures at https://childhood101.com.

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Cheryl says
May 4, 2013 at 3:38 AM

Everyone should have a fairy garden, they love the spice thyme, and they love glitter, and they love gnomes also. They will leave you little treasures if you look for them, such as a feather, a shoe lace, a shiny gem, a flower. They will also come around more often and especially love children laughing.
Faigie says
May 4, 2013 at 4:19 AM

I never heard of child friendly plants, how cool. I definitely heard of non people friendly like poison ivy but, that's a great link to find out about those child friendly plants
Deb @ Home life simplified says
May 4, 2013 at 8:12 AM

I love this so much Christie! We lost one of our chooks last month and have been debating adding more to keep our remaining one company. she is old though and has not laid an egg since her friend died. I was planning to talk to hubby and the kids this weekend as i don't think we should replace her - we have a dog now (who killed the chook accidentally) and i would love to reclaim that space in the garden - this would be a wonderful way to transform that corner - thanks for the inspiration for something very do-able! wish me luck talking to the family
Margaret Elvis says
May 6, 2013 at 12:40 PM

That is so creative and so beautiful. You have a wonderful imagination and your two little girls are going to benefit from it throughout their childhood. They are very fortunate that you are their mum. x
lisa says
May 7, 2013 at 3:57 AM

this is a lovely little space you have created
Maxabella says
May 7, 2013 at 9:41 AM

So very sweet - a lovely place for kids to play. My girls have many fairy gardens and I love them all to bits. They make me happy too. x
Rebekah @ Justfordaisy says
May 15, 2013 at 4:28 PM

This looks wonderful! I'd like to sit there too! :) I'm inspired to add to our outdoor playscape!
michelle says
July 18, 2013 at 11:59 AM

Thank you for the wonderful inspiration. We have a small area of our garden which we are looking to transform and this post has given me a great starting point. thanks again

Kids in the Garden: How to Make a Fairy Garden

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