Wizard & Fairy Gardens

What, did you think I forgot to indulge in a little bit of crafty fun since I began this fitness journey?

Nah!

Well to be honest, we didn’t just make these gardens with the kids.  I actually have had them adorning my back porch sitting area for months now. 

Fairy gardens are cute for little girls, because they can put their little fairies in their little homes, with tiny little gardens, walkways, and a plethora of girly decorations.  But what do you do if you have a boy? 

You make a super cool wizard garden to attract any wizards that may keep terrible bugs from ruining garden beds.  THEN, have them protected by military dudes and trucks of all sorts.

Thank goodness for the examples I found ALL OVER PINTEREST.  Fairy gardens were a hot DIY project this year!  Aren’t these tiny accessories so cute?  Not shamed to admit that they were out of my price range; I’m too frugal to buy already-made furniture.

 

We made 4, one for each kid.  (For some reason I didn’t get a picture of the fourth one.)  Anyway, I hate to pic a favorite, (hope this doesn’t make me a bad parent) but I am tickled with my idea for the boy’s wizard garden.  Take a closer look!

Nothing girly to see here.  We’ve got military-style vehicles, army dudes, a sniper up on the watch tower, someone launching a grenade…it is all there.
Pretty sweet digs, huh?  

My favorite part is the spot light that comes on at night.  Solar-powered and surprisingly bright!  I’d like to think I’m pretty clever. (sheepish smile)

The girls’ gardens were darn pretty cute too.  We pretty much raided my craft closet!

 They had so much fun making them.  The gardens are slowly beginning to fall apart, as gardens usually do with the change of seasons.  Watering them was my fault; I honestly forget that the gardens are out there.  They don’t need much watering, which is probably why it slipped my m ind to water them every so often.  And whenever the kids sneak out onto the porch, they take a marble here, a button there, and before I know it, an entire path is missing.  

Oh well, kids will be kids.

Here is the nursery that we visited, which inspired me to make these fairy gardens.  Aren’t these tiny furniture pieces so cute? (These fairy garden sections can be found at nearly every garden center/nursery.)

There are MANY ways to make these, but I went the frugal route since I was making four. And, well I like to be frugal.

What you need (on a frugal level):

Oil pan (Dollar Tree)
Top soil

Solar lights (Dollar Tree)

Military vehicles (Dollar Tree)

Military dudes (Dollar Tree)

Bag or two of decorative marbles (Dollar Tree)

Succulents (3-4 per garden is good to start)

Buttons, tooth picks, twine, other embellishments

Bird House (not necessary, but found at thrift store for $1-2 a piece)

Fill the oil pans with the top soil.  Plan out where you want the succulents.  Plant those by digging a slight hole, about 2 inches deep, burying the roots of the plants and watering them.  (Make sure the soil is moist) When I pull any plants out of their cartons, I like to shake off most of the dirt around the roots.  I want the roots to have newer dirt instead.

The other part is the fun part.  You and the kids (or maybe just you) can get as creative as you want.  It is so much fun to watch these little gardens come to life.  The kids will definitely enjoy this.  The hard part for me is getting them to understand that once these are built they aren’t for playing in.  

You can make these as elaborate as you want, with cute homemade embellishments.  Raid those craft closets for random pieces to adorn your gardens!  Maybe you want more succulents too.  

So many possibilities.  I can’t wait to do this again next year!