The very first question you’ll probably have when you start your first fairy garden is “What can I put my fairy garden in?”
Fairy garden containers can be made of anything that can hold soil. They can cost as little or as much as you like, or cost nothing at all if you want to up-cylce an old milk carton or vegetable packaging as your container. They can be as fancy as a vintage teacup or as rustic as a wicker basket. The best part is, you can be as creative as you like when choosing and decorating the perfect container for your fairy garden.
Below, are 20 amazing fairy garden container ideas – many of which are free and things you probably already have at home.
1. Birdbath
A birdbath that’s suitable for a fairy garden planter can cost less than £20 and will make an elegant container for your fairy garden. They won’t need much potting soil to fill as they tend to be shallow but you will need to add some holes for drainage.
Although very beautiful, unless you chose a heavy stone birdbath, they’re not ideal for children’s fairy gardens as some can topple easily so enthusiastic children may pull them over!
2. A plant pot
This is the most obvious and easiest options for an indoor our outdoor fairy garden. Plant pots come in plastic or terracotta and are available in a multitude of sizes.
Terracotta plant pots make great starter containers for children as they are easy to source and fill and they can paint or decorate the outside of the pot too. Making a plant pot fairy garden will be a full afternoon’s entertainment for the kids!
3. A teacup
The cutest option for a fairy garden container, a teacup will be the perfect bijou residence for indoor and outdoor fairies. Although tea cup fairy gardens can be placed outdoors (they make a charming centre piece for an outdoor table) it’s best to bring them in during adverse weather so they don’t get blown away!
You can use a delicate vintage teacup, or something a bit more plain (like the brown coffee cup in the image below) if you want the garden to be the star of the show. You can add a tiny sign, a ladder, a bench or anything you like! Just remember to make a hole drainage hole in the bottom of the tea cup before you start planting (more on this at the bottom of the page).
4. A bucket
Most people will have a bucket laying around their garden, and even if it’s got a hole in it doesn’t matter as it’s going to have a new lease of life as a fairy garden! Metal buckets tend to look more attractive than plastic buckets but it’s easy to paint or decorate the side of a plastic bucket to make it more fairy-friendly.
You can even cut the bucket up and create a multilayered fairy garden like this gardener has in the tutorial below – genius!
5. A goldfish bowl
Whether you have an old goldfish bowl or a terrarium, both work very well for indoor fairy gardens. All you need to make one is:
- a goldfish bowl – either from a pet shop or you might find one at a charity shop
- gravel to fill the bottom
- soil for the plants
- small succulent plants
- gravel, sand or stones to cover the soil
- accessories, including a fairy of course!
Goldfish bowl fairy gardens are ideally suited for indoors for obvious reasons, they’ll fill with water if it rains outside!
6. A tree stump or trunk
A tree trunk or stump can make the ideal fairy garden environment. Although not strictly speaking a container, it provides a really lovely natural backdrop for your fairy garden. All you need to do is add some accessories such as a door, steps, bunting and fairies to create a beautiful fairy oasis in your garden.
7. A basket
A fairy garden in a basket makes the most wonderful gift and it can be customised to suit the occasion – red flowers and love hearts for Valentines, tiny pastel coloured eggs and fluffy chicks for Easter and miniature pine trees and a dusting of snow for Christmas.
You can spray paint a basket any colour you want, or leave it in its natural shade. Baskets come in all shapes and sizes and are easily found at car-boot sales or charity shops where you can pick them up for next to nothing. If you’re using real plants in your basket, then you’ll need to make sure you line the inside of the basket with sheets of plastic (bin bags or carrier bags will do!) with drainage holes in it so that the potting soil doesn’t come out of the gaps between the basket weaves.
When you’re planning what type of basket to use as your container, remember that it will be heavy once it’s filled with rocks and soil so if you’re planning to give it to someone as a gift, choose a smaller basket!
8. A treasure chest
I made an indoor artificial garden out of a decorative treasure chest I picked up for just £3. This garden is small but there’s no reason why you couldn’t use a full-size chest or suitcase as a fairy garden container.
I filled this one with sand and soil repurposed fro an old fairy garden and added lots of gaudy accessories as my five year old daughter was in charge of decorations!
You can view the full tutorial for how to make an artificial fairy garden in a treasure chest here.
9. A cooking or serving pot
Again, most people will have a cooking pot (or even an old pan or baking tray) that they no longer use and can repurpose as a fairy garden. The decorative qualities of a cooking pot will obviously vary but if you find a pretty pewter cooking pot or a painted serving pot this would make a charming base for your fairy garden.
10. Plastic packaging
This isn’t as weird as it might sound at first! Up-cycling plastic packaging, such as the plastic containers mushrooms come in, is a great way to make a fairy garden for next to nothing. I made two different miniature gardens out of old mushroom packaging and although mine were artificial, you can easily poke a couple of drainage holes in and use them with real plants too.
The brown plastic from the packaging I used makes the perfect backdrop for a fairy garden container as it lets the contents take centre stage.
You could also use milk cartons or Tetra Paks with the sides cut off. You can even make a fairy house out of an old detergent bottle, just like this crafter below has done (skip to 0:36 in the video below).
11. A glass jar
Who doesn’t have a glass jar in their house? A glass jar is one of the most readily available and charming containers for a fairy garden. Obviously they vary in size greatly and you might be better off choosing a large pickle jar if you want to avoid anything too fiddly. Mason jars can be bought for a few pounds each and they make particularly cute containers for fairy gardens.
Glass jar miniature gardens can either contain real plants, such as succulents or you can fill them with pebbles and moss for the base and just add your own fairy accessories. You can either leave the glass upright or fill it and display it on its side – if you do display the jar on its side, just make sure you secure the jar to the surface’s on so it doesn’t roll away!
12. A bonsai planter
A bonsai planter is the perfect space to create a teeny fairy garden as you already have your main feature – the bonsai tree! All you have to do is add some miniature fairies and you’ve got a ready-made fairy garden.
13. An old shoe
Another great option for up-cycling old rubbish is to turn your old shoes into a fairy garden container. Ok, so there won’t be a lot of room but it’s a great way to add a fun feature to your garden. Just fill with soil and add some appropriate plants, some fairies and accessories and you’re done!
14. An empty glass bottle
This one might be a bit tricky for an amateur gardener to do as the the neck of a bottle is obviously very thin so it can be a fiddly job without the right tools. Gardens in bottles do look wonderful though and would make a fantastic gift for a green-fingered friend.
The beautiful miniature garden below is by LittleGreenPlants on Etsy and would be an adorable addition to any terrarium or fairy garden collection.
15. An old drawer
A drawer from a cupboard or chest of drawers is the perfect depth and shape for a fairy garden. Some drawers even have decorative handles or finishes to make them an even more charming fairy garden container.
If you’re planting real plants in the garden then you’ll need to drill a few holes in the bottom of the draw and add a layer of stones for drainage. You may want to treat the wood before you fill it as well if it’s going to be an outdoor fairy garden.
Although for most fairy gardens the drawer is flat and filled, you can actually make a fairy garden with the drawer standing on end too, for a tall, dramatic fairy garden. This stunning fairy garden below is made by LeRoseFamilyJewels on Etsy and features the drawer container standing upright to create a unique shadow box display.
16. A wheelbarrow
What better way to make a portable fairy garden than in a wheelbarrow? You could use an old full-size wheelbarrow or if you don’t have one and have a bit of money to spend, you could buy a kids’ wheelbarrow for around £20. Kids’ wheelbarrows are much smaller than adult ones so are easier to fill and maintain when used as planters.
It doesn’t matter how worn out your wheelbarrow is, as the more rustic the better it will be suited to a whimsical fairy garden. In larger wheelbarrows you’ll be able to add a multitude of accessories including fairy houses, camper vans and lighting!
17. A fish tank
Old fish tanks are great for indoor fairy gardens as you can see the garden from the side as well as the top. As above, you could use a round bowl for your fairy garden but a fish tank will give you much more space to play with. A fish tank fairy garden is very similar to a terrarium so why not fill it up with different coloured layers of sand, cactus and succulents?
18. An old tyre
Tyres (or tires in the US!) are ideal for up-cycling into fairy gardens as you can stack them on top of each other to make a taller garden or line a couple up next to each other and make a little bridge to join both gardens. You can revamp the sides by adding paint or by picking plants which will cascade down the side of the tyre.
You can use a full-size tyre or do what we did and up-cycle an old wheelbarrow tyre into a super cute seaside fairy garden.
19. An incandescent lightbulb
Incandescent lightbulbs are the official name of the round lightbulbs that have slowly been phased out in most places. This one isn’t for the fainthearted, but if you’re confident with your miniature gardening skills then you can make a miniature fairy garden in an incandescent lightbulb. You could even hang it up when it’s complete to make an interesting interior design feature!
20. A wooden photo frame
Box photo frames provide the perfect wooden planter for a miniature garden, provided you find an appropriate material to back the frame with. You could use the plastic glass that comes with some photo frames or attach a piece of wood cut to size to the back of the photo frame.
These make adorable ornaments can can be used with real or artificial plants.
For a similar look to a fairy garden in a photo frame, take a look at these gorgeous miniature gardens from PostedPotsandPlants on Etsy. The kit comes with everything you need to grow your own miniature garden and the kits are small enough to be posted through the letterbox, making them the ideal gift for a loved one.
Adding drainage to a fairy garden container
Whatever container you use for your fairy garden, if it contains real plants then you’ll have to add a few drainage holes to the bottom of the container and put some rocks on top of these to prevent soil from leaching out.
If you’re not sure how to add drainage holes then I’d recommend reading this handy article as it gives loads of advice on making holes in containers made from a range of different materials.
Now you have a good idea of the type of container you’ll use for your fairy garden, the next question is…
What do you put in the bottom of a fairy garden?
When you make a fairy garden, you’ll need a few things to fill the bottom with, including:
- Potting soil or compost
- Stones to use as a drainage barrier in the bottom of larger planters
- Smaller stones to create different height and texture on the surface of the fairy garden
- Gravel, sand and/or pebbles to create paths and water features
- If you’re using a basket be sure to line this with a plastic liner, or use an inner pot before adding the soil
The above applies to fairy gardens that will be home to real plants, no matter what container they are in. If you’re creating an artificial fairy garden, you can still use potting soil, compost or sand, but you won’t need to worry about drainage. You can find out more about making an artificial fairy garden here.
For more information on making your fairy garden fabulous, check out some of my previous blogs:
10 Easy DIY Fairy Garden Ponds, Streams And Rivers To Try Yourself