Over the next three weeks I’ll be taking a break from posts about the renovation.  It’s music festival season, so progress is unlikely.  However, it’s perfect time for quick DIY projects!

Today my Mom wanted to make a fairy garden.  Last year it was all the rage and the pieces sold out quickly in our small community.  This year she would emerge victorious and scoop up the dollar store finds before they all disappeared.  (Sometimes its competitive at the Dollar Store, okay?  I can never get seasonal stickers for my music studio either, as they’re always sold out!  Small town problems, end tangent.)

We started with a pot with peat moss and 4 plants from Misty Gardens.

Next were the Fairy Garden finds from the dollar store.  They were $2-$5 each.  If your dollar store doesn’t carry something like this, be prepared to pay $5-$40 per item elsewhere.

Then the items from the dollar store that weren’t as obvious.

Rough out where the plants and bigger stuff will go.

Once you’re happy with your basic layout, take everything out and put the plants in.  Then add your larger items, and lastly, your finishing touches.

Here’s the finished product:

I ended up not using the glitter because we didn’t have moss to put over the dirt.  All in all, this was a simple and easy project that I assembled in about 15 minutes.

Considering making your own?  Here were Mom’s approximate costs:

• Planter: $12  Something like this Planter Bowl would be cute.
• Dirt: Free. Expect to pay $3-$5 per bag.
• Plants: $5-$8 per plant.  I saved money by splitting one plant so it looked like she had 5.
• Fairy Items: $2-$5 each.  You can get this Miniature Stone House from Amazon for $5..
• Other items: $1-$5 each.

Don’t be afraid to use what you have around the house!  I’m eyeing up some succulents in my windowsill and an empty blue planter at my house.  I know someone who has some left over lady bug stickers and sparkles. . .

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.