What's New in Miniature Gardening and Fairy Gardens?

The art of gardening has been around for nearly as long as humans have roamed the Earth, but there is still always something new to enjoy. For those who are passionate about miniature gardening and fairy gardens, there are new themes, miniature accessories, ideas, and trends happening all the time! It does not take much to hit “refresh” on your garden. Perhaps you add a new miniature plant that changes the personality of your small-scale garden or decides to tell a story in your fairy garden through a new fairy house. As we gear up for fall and winter, now is a great time to start dreaming up new plans for container gardens, indoor gardens, and weatherization in the miniature garden. Let’s get started!

Trend Alert: Succulents

Some may have always appreciated succulents, but they are just beginning to hit their “prime time” in popular gardening. Succulent-only shops are opening in major metro areas, and you can even buy the tiny, easy-to-care-for plants online and have them shipped to you directly. The Internet is full of ideas for terrarium parties, air plant displays, and miniature succulent gardens. Another trend is faux gardening by adding realistic-looking Hen n' Chicks and Air Plants in your containers. If you want to expand your succulent collection, now is the time. In the west, the live miniature plants may survive the winter outside, but if you are expecting frost in your area, you may want to invest in some indoor planters during the snowy season. Snowman Planters and Penguin Baby Planters are equal parts seasonal and silly - simply delightful!

Pebbles, Glass, and Sand

Cooler temperatures may have you thinking about all-things snowy instead of lush and green. When redesigning or updating your miniature garden, consider a fresh ground cover. Exposed soil, grass, and moss are naturally beautiful, but there are new options that add a little “fairy magic” to the garden space. Fairy Garden Rock is a perennial favorite, especially for creating paths. Glass pebbles offer a little more glimmer and shine, which fairies will appreciate, and they come in a variety of colors. Blue, green, and even sunset shades of Variegated Glass Pebbles can be used as paths or even as a ground cover for an entire container garden. Use blue pebbles or glass to create imaginary water elements, such as a “bubbling brook” or “fishing hole.”  Consider fine white or black sand for the Zen cement plate gardens. Roll a sphere sensory ball in the sand to create peaceful designs in the sand. Once you start experimenting with pebbles, glass, and sand, your imagination will run wild!

New Accessories

One of the most enjoyable parts of building fairy gardens is choosing just the right miniature accessories for decoration and storytelling. Are you ready to add fresh features? You will fall in love with Standing Unicorns, which not only add fun with their rainbow tails and manes but hop directly on the unicorn trend. These magical creatures are an especially apropos addition to a fairy garden, as fairies and unicorns are longtime friends.

If your miniature garden has a more realistic feel, you might consider adding Neighborhood Bird Houses. That is right; these houses are even smaller than the miniature houses in your garden, as they are built for teeny-tiny birds! They rest on hooks that poke easily into the ground and float about the garden, ready for any bird friends that might approach. Sprinkle a little bird seed in your miniature garden and you may get some life-size birds to visit. These birdhouses look so natural and sweet when placed behind fairy houses or in a backyard garden scene.

It is time to get moving in the garden. These new miniature accessories and landscaping materials are just waiting to be added to your fairy garden. Truth be told, the fairies can get a little impatient too. As the saying goes - Out with the old, in with the new. We wish you happy gardening.