30 DIY Fairy Garden Ideas to Add a Magical Touch to Your Backyard

Traditionally, adding a safe space for fairies and other fair folks in your garden will bring luck and magic to your life. People are falling in love with these miniature gardens and their magical inhabitants! So, if you have been considering adding some whimsy and a little good fortune to your yard, look no further: here are 30 of the best fairy garden ideas.

1. Fairy Carriage. While planning your fairy garden, don’t forget to give your tiny pals a carriage or wagon to get from house to house. This adorable wagon is made from recycled bark and sticks, but you could also make one from an old glass jar or small pot.

Tree House with Wooden Steps and Carriage Fairy Garden Ideas

via @ancient_gnome

2. Light It Up. Choosing fairy houses with light features is a great way to keep away fae with ill intent and add a soft, dreamy ambiance to your fairy garden. You can do this by purchasing a fairy house with lights included or by lining your garden paths with solar lights that will kick on when the sun goes down.

Landscaping Flower Bed with Rocks and Fairy Garden

via @newjerseygardenfairy

3. Reuse and Recycle. Your DIY fairy garden doesn’t have to be an expensive project. Old toys like this bus or chipped tea cups that were headed for the trash bin can be easily repurposed into a flower pot or space for a few live plants.

Fairy Garden Doors and Upcycled Planter

via @oregongardening

4. New Life. One of our favorite fairy garden ideas is turning broken pots into tiny landscapes and homes. This broken flower pot has become an adorable home and yard using just some sticks, soil, and a small birdhouse. Kids will love helping build these as you can really let your imagination run wild.

Brocken Glay Pot Multi Level Fairy Garden

via @marjolein_eleonora

5. Twinkle Twinkle Little Garden. Hanging strands of tiny twinkling lights, or “fairy lights,” is a popular way to decorate backyard patios. So why not do the same for your fairy friends? Adding strands of solar-powered LEDs to your fairy landscape brings whimsy to the space. In the tutorial linked below, Little Tudor on the Prairie explains how to add the lights like these step by step and his fairy garden is full of stunning tiny detail you would love to copy.

Fairy Garden with Tiny Lighting Tutorial

via Little Tudor on the Prairie

6. Rethink Fairy Garden Container Ideas. It is common to let fairies settle in flower pots and beds or in other cozy nooks in your garden. But why not let them live downtown and also double as a front door decor? Use a classic wooden planter or a galvanized metal bucket if your home has a rustic vibe to it.

Front Door Decor Fairy Garden in a Wooden Planter Box

via @typewisewhatnotshop

7. Incognito Cottage. At first glance, it is easy to miss this traditional fairy garden tucked away amid the foliage and other planters. A fairy garden doesn’t need to be a statement piece or take up a bunch of room. Instead, we love how this one is sweet and simple, with just a few tiny accessories incorporated into an existing garden.

Mixed and Matched Plants and Flower Pots with a Seamless Fairy Farden

via @lucyslifeinpictures

8. Modern Aesthetic. While most fairy gardens are full of cutesy homes and whimsical decor, don’t feel constrained by this aesthetic. Your garden can be any style you choose. For example, this home looks more like a modern fairy condo than a rustic cottage, with its clean lines and bold colors. Note that this fairy garden skillfully decorates a column on a terrace that could otherwise be an eyesore.

Decorating a Column on the Balcony with a Modern Condo Fairy Garden

via @typewisewhatnotshop

9. Sloping Fairy Village. Creating a fairy village with a charming pebble path is a great way to landscape your sloping backyard. It’s also a great project to keep the kids busy for an afternoon, and they will love using it for all their little creatures.

Fairy Houses and Dry River Among Real Flowers

via @houseintheheights

10. Tiered Garden. Another excellent use for clay pots is to build a multi-leveled fairy community. This gardener used different-sized pots to create distinct areas, adding lots of charm and character without taking up a bunch of extra space.

Multi Level Fairy Garden Using Clay Pots

via @emmapurtan

11. Faux Water Features. This cute fairy garden comes with its own miniature river. Using chunks of crystals or fish tank pebbles in aquatic colors allows you to create a pond or stream for your garden without the hassle of an actual water feature.

Fairy Garden with DIY Landscaping and Little Creatures

via @tonya.2926

12. Beauty on the Budget. Your local dollar store is an invaluable asset in your frugal adventures and planning of your DIY fairy garden project. They carry almost anything you could need, from clay pots to fairy homes and decor, and even fake plants if you aren’t interested in caring for live ones.

Easy DIY Fairy Garden Using Broken Pots

via @robinnanne

13. Afternoon Activity. Consider taking an afternoon and painting some clay pots to give your fairy garden a personal touch. This is a great activity that the whole family can take part in. Plus, your fairy pals will appreciate the attention to detail and the care you put into their space.

DIY Fairy Garden Using Stacked Colorful Tiny Clay Pots

via @mrspandbcreations

14. Stunning Centerpiece. An excellent fairy garden house can really pull your project together. Whether you are building a sweet and imaginative space or something more rustic to attract forest fairies and maybe a gnome, the right house is a must. A Little Fur in the Paint has some of the most stunning fairy house examples, and using pine cones for roofs is an idea everyone can copy!

Fancy DIY Fairy Garden House with Pine Cones Roof

via A Little Fur in the Paint

15. Gorgeous Greenery. This gardener has built an outdoor fairy garden that looks like it stepped out of any small country town. The white picket fence adds some grace, and the lawn could easily be replicated with a small piece of turf or some low-maintenance moss.

Fairy Garden in an Old Wheelbarrow with Much Greenery

via @minifairygarden

16. A Home on Wheels. If you can’t quite decide where to set up your DIY fairy garden, make it mobile. An old wheelbarrow is a great garden solution, allowing you plenty of space to design your tiny garden and adding some rustic charm to your project.

Old Wheelbarrow Fairy Garden with Real Flowers and Rock Path

via @bemandfam

17. Miniature Garden. These tiny teacup gardens are one of our very favorite whimsical fairy garden ideas. Their delicate beauty would make a magical addition to your home decor. They are also easy to make and would be a fun project or party favor for a child’s birthday.

Vanessa Craft Miniature Fairy Garden in a Cup

via Vanessa Сraft

18. Flower Ded Upgrade. Adding a little fairy magic to your yard can be as easy as adding a fairy cottage or two to your flower bed. Here you can see the gardener simply built a small stone path and added some fun mushrooms to their existing foliage.

Backyard Flower Bed with Rock Edging and Faity Garden Features

via @muddygirlmedia

19. Double Duty. These gardeners have found a great way to welcome not only fairies to their yard but feathered friends as well. Turning an old stump into a fairy home and attaching a birdhouse as the roof can attract magic while decreasing the number of bugs.

Painting Old Stump as a Fairy Home

via @morningoutside

20. Fairy Doors. There is a long tradition in folklore of fairies keeping doors in the forests to travel between realms. Building your own fairy door is a great way to turn your yard into a magical space. It can be as simple and small as some popsicle sticks glued together, a large ornate door for a human-sized fae, or anything in between.

Decorating Backyard Tree with Fairy Doors Stones and Lights

via @just_a_shuswap_girl

21. A Little Earthy. Fairies aren’t the only way to add some magic to your yard. Gnomes are your guys if you are looking for something a little more sturdy and rustic. They work remarkably well with toads, birds, mushrooms, and the natural greenery of your space.

Gnome Home covered with Different Types of Ivy

via @ladeebugrocks

22. Gnome Home. Instead of tearing out that old stump in your yard, consider turning it into a gnome home. With just a little imagination and some wood glue, you can turn an eyesore into the highlight of your outdoor space. And the idea of a dry river that actually fills with water when it rains is worth a million!

Backyard Old Stump Gnome Home and Dry River for Under Gutter Drainage

via @brittser86

23. Outdoor Retreat. Many of us love our outdoor space; why would your fairy friends be any different? This tiny fire pit area in a flower pot is a great way to invite your small pals to take a break from tending the flowers and enjoy the day.

Flower Pot with Tiny Animals and Fire Pit with Real Plants

via @minifairygarden

24. Gnomes Galore. If you have some extra paving stones lying around after your last project, they will make great stepping stones for your gnome or fairy garden. These have been combined with smaller rocks to make a lovely walking path to the gnome abode.

Old Stump Turned into Gnome Home with Miniature Stepping Stones

via @mchaseradio

25. Old House Fairy Garden. You can build an enchanting garden by just adding a house front to a tree and some tiny river rock landscaping. Your fairy space doesn’t need to be all real flowers and lush lawns too. This tiny home is adorable with its fake mushrooms and drought-resistant greenery.

DIY Fairy Cottage and Garden

via @kateouttacompton

26. Whimsical Wagon. We’ve already mentioned wheelbarrows, but wagons are another excellent option for making a large container garden. This gardener has done an impressive job of building their fairies a quaint homestead complete with a covered patio and lush plant life.

Landscaping a Wagon with a Fairy Collage

via @teeliesfairygarden

27. In Their Element. You can have a magical fairy garden just by adding a few decorative items to an old stump or interesting rock formation on your property. Using the natural elements of your outdoor space is both cost-effective and respectful of the little folk.

Decorating Old Stump with Succulents and Fairy Garden Elements

via @sladami_kobiety

28. Adorable Abode. We love the way this gnome house blends seamlessly with the natural landscaping. The gardener has created a sod roof and a little patio area with small flat stones for the gnomes to gather. The only artificial element is the adorable blue fairy door.

Decorating Large Stumps as Gnome Home

via @menziescierra

29. Fierce Faries. Is the idea of fairies too sweet for you? Well, your garden, your rules. Set the scene and play with it as you wish. Let a few fierce-looking guardians to your fairy’s front stoop to secure your new outdoor fairy garden from intruders like spiders and wandering cats.

Unusual Fairy Garden with Lego and Scary Toys

via @strangelandfairygarden

30. Cute Container Garden. A window box or raised planter makes the perfect container for a mini garden. Sprinkle in some fairy accessories and maybe a tiny tree and, voila, your very own fairy garden.

Box with Succulents Inspired by a Fairy Garden

via @staci.ann.blank

With so many sizes and styles out there, you should have no problem making your DIY fairy garden a unique and enchanting place that brings your household joy. Hopefully, some of these great ideas have left you feeling inspired to get started on your magical journey.