Fairy gardens offer spot for fun, imagination
A set of little wings. Ceramic fountains. Tiny versions of ornate cottages and brick walkways fit for the English countryside. These are just some of the whimsical decorations in fairy gardens.
When such miniature decorations are paired with similarly diminutive plants, these gardens — aimed at luring fairies — can captivate the imaginations of children and adults.
“I think it is in our DNA,” said Brenda Williams, a master gardener at Pesche’s Greenhouse in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. For the past four years, she has been teaching 4H students to create fairy gardens.
We have the itch to garden, she believes, to satisfy a lingering part of our hunter-gatherer past.
“That gene is still very present in modern people who no longer need to garden,” Williams said. And designing a little fairy abode turns a garden into “a living artwork.”
Fairy gardens’ appeal is similar, perhaps, to that of Japanese bonsai, the ancient practice of grooming small trees inside containers. In the U.S., fairy gardens first surged in popularity in 1893 because of the Japanese Pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair.
No two fairy gardens are the same. Some people use creative containers, especially antiques — a wash tub, bird cage or desk.
“I tell people to imagine something in your head and try to recreate it in a pot, or whatever,” Williams said.
The gardens can be designed underwater or with silk plants if the creator is more of a “set and forget” type of plant person, she said.
Often, fairy gardens are a creative bridge between adults and children.
Jayme Tortorelli Benko, a 37-year-old mom from Denver, saw photos of fairy gardens online and wanted to make one for her young daughter, Alora. In a large pot, Benko put a ceramic flower with a resting fairy, some rocks and an assortment of potted plants. Creating the garden was about spending time together, Benko said, adding, “Kids love magic.”
Fairy gardens are also part of a larger DIY movement. Victoria Hannley, a 39-year-old mother of three who runs the DIY blog “Dazzled While Frazzled,” made her first fairy garden with items left over after her daughter’s birthday party and some empty soup cans.
“It makes me think back to the days when I had a dollhouse,” Hannley said. “You’re able to take everyday stuff you have and make something with it.”