When setting up a large-scale fairy garden, there are many elements to consider. Which miniature plants will you choose? What fairy garden accessories will be included? Will there be a theme? Whether your miniature garden extends across your yard or occupies a humble corner, you always want to be sure that the most basic elements are in place before adding fairy garden accessories, fairy cottages, and decorative touches. When it comes to miniature gardening, you cannot get more basic than beginning with soil. It supports your fairy garden plants, serves as a base for your miniature houses, and is, quite literally, the foundation of a successful fairy garden. So, are you ready to dig in a project?
Getting Started with Soil Miniature gardens come in a variety of sizes and shapes. If you are growing a fairy garden in a container, you will want to use high-quality potting soil. Choose a potting soil based on the recommendations for specific plants you intend to use in your fairy garden. An organic black gold potting soil plus fertilizer is recommended for container fairy gardens. A cactus, which prefers dry roots, will want a different kind of soil than other flowers and miniature plants. Let your plants’ needs to be the guide.
If you are growing a large-scale outdoor miniature garden, you will use garden soil. The plants you choose for an outdoor garden will likely be slow-growing, dwarf, or miniature plants. They will appreciate your existing topsoil mixed with organic compost. Your outdoor soil may be loamy, or it may be a sandy or clay variety, depending on the location of your miniature garden. Be sure to choose miniature plants that are suitable for your particular growing zone and the amount of available sun.
Fertilizer and Mulch Throughout the year, you may want to add fertilizer, mulch, and other substances to your miniature garden. These amendments ensure that your plants bloom at their most significant, brightest, and healthiest levels. Organic mulches help smother weeds, and a favorite is fairy mulch, which is small-scale to fit in miniature gardens. Sawdust, fir bark, ground bark, and shredded tree leaves are additional options for organic mulch. Inorganic mulches include landscape fabric covered with pea gravel, gravel, and river rock. These hardscapes help to block weeds, but they will not decompose nor add nutrients to the soil like organic mulch.
When it comes to miniature garden maintenance, it may be helpful to get on a schedule. Ours looks like this:
In the springtime, just after the ground thaws, add fertilizer of your choice to trees, shrubs, and perennial beds. Some plants, such as rose bushes and azaleas, may need fertilizers that are formulated for their particular plant type. Avoid fertilizing on the spring days that are dry and hot. Wait for mild temperatures. Apply bone meal to blooming plants, bulbs, fruit trees, shrubs, and ornamentals in your fairy garden.
Throughout the summer, you can mulch plants to help control weeds in the fairy garden and keep the soil temperature moderated. We recommend high-quality hardwood mulches spread in a 2-3-inch later. Of course, in the summertime, you can expect to weed! Pull weeds before they flower or seed in your miniature garden.
Autumn is another chance to apply bone meal to blooming plants. Check the status of your mulch in your miniature garden and add more if needed. Then, after the first hard frost, apply fertilizer to trees, shrubs, and perennial beds. If any of the plants in your outdoor miniature garden are houseplants, you will want to bring them indoors during the winter months. Do not worry—you can move them back outside to your fairy garden when the weather warms up again in the springtime!
There you have it, the “dirt” on the soil in the miniature garden. With the right soil mixture, mulch, fertilizer, and regular care, your fairy garden is sure to flourish.
For Miniature Gardens in Containers: Use regular potting soil with no added fertilizers nor any water-retaining polymers. Any fortified soil like Miracle-Gro for example, will make the miniature garden plants grow way too fast AND that extra fertilizer may burn the roots on your conifers or baby trees.
For most types of fairy gardens a standard soil recipe is two parts commercial soil, one part peat moss or compost. Never use soil excavated from your outside garden as container plants are pickier and that dirt might be prone to weeds. Fill the container halfway with the soil mixture and get ready to plant.
Work a two to three inch layer of compost into the soil with a rototiller or shovel at least a month prior to planting. Smooth the surface so that you are ready to plant when the weather is appropriate. Also, consider having the soil in your garden nutrient tested through a certified lab before planting.
Loam is the ideal soil for most plants; it contains a balance of all three mineral particles and is rich in humus (what's left after organic matter decomposes).
My number one go to choice always. Compost has the important nutrients plants need, great soil building properties, microorganisms to improve and mediate undesirable soil, and you make it for free.
The single best thing you can do for your soil is to add organic matter. and the best organic matter is compost. Compost is simply once-living matter (leaves, kitchen vegetable scraps, garden trimmings) that has decomposed into a dark, crumbly substance.
Plant material: Leaves, straw, and grass clippings. Work material into the soil several months before planting to allow it time to decompose. Compost: Decayed plant materials such as vegetable scraps. Work it into the soil at least a few weeks prior to planting.
If your space is limited, or you want to grow vegetables but don't want to use raised beds, try a container garden. Use a five-gallon bucket as your container.Drill or punch 10 to 15 holes in the bottom to let excess water drain out.Fill the bottom with roughly 2 inches of gravel and top it with planting soil.
Turn the soil over to a depth of at least 12 inches. Add 2-3 inches of compost and turn it into the bed. Either cover the bed with a thick (3-4") layer of mulch or use a weed and feed to help keep weed seeds from germinating. Top dress with another layer of compost to keep down weeds and preserve moisture.
As a general rule, put tall veggies toward the back of the bed, mid-sized ones in the middle, and smaller plants in the front or as a border. Consider adding pollinator plants to attract beneficial insects that can not only help you get a better harvest, but will also prey on garden pests.
A lightweight soil that holds nutrients and moisture, yet drains well, is essential for good results. Garden soil is too heavy for use in containers. Soil substitutes consisting of mixtures of peat moss and sand or perlite or vermiculite, amended with lime and fertilizer, work very well.
Loamy Soil: The gold standard for most gardeners, loamy soil has a balanced mix of sand, silt, and clay. It retains moisture while ensuring good drainage and is rich in nutrients and organic matter.
Introduction: My name is Edwin Metz, I am a fair, energetic, helpful, brave, outstanding, nice, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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When setting up a large-scale fairy garden, there are many elements to consider. Which miniature plants will you choose? What fairy garden accessories will be included? Will there be a theme? Whether your miniature garden extends across your yard or occupies a humble corner, you always want to be sure that the most basic elements are in place before adding fairy garden accessories, fairy cottages, and decorative touches. When it comes to miniature gardening, you cannot get more basic than beginning with soil. It supports your fairy garden plants, serves as a base for your miniature houses, and is, quite literally, the foundation of a successful fairy garden. So, are you ready to dig in a project?
