Fairies Flutter By Butterflies in this Garden Full of Winged Wonders

When I was planning my fairy gardens this spring, one of the themes I was most looking forward to doing was a butterfly sanctuary. I tend to get really excited about very specific themes, and this one was easier to pull off than some of my other ideas, because there are a LOT of miniature butterfly accessories out there to choose from. Since they are both magical winged creatures that can be found dancing around your flowers, butterflies and fairies go together like gnomes and mushrooms! I quickly realized the butterflies in my garden would need extra room to spread their wings thanks to three large pieces – the butterfly house, large pink butterfly bench, and butterfly-shaped gate with hinged wings – so I planted two fairy garden containers and put them on plant stands of different heights for vertical interest. The plants in this garden have done really well this summer. It’s turned out to be one of my easiest fairy gardens to maintain.

Fairy garden construction day was May 30. I used two flower pots which sit out on my deck year round. Even though temperature extremes are hard on plastic containers and they’ll eventually wear out after several seasons, leaving pots out over the winter is a good way to see what plants will come back in the spring so you don’t have to entirely replant the container from scratch and can buy fewer plants. In the photo below you can see the square container already had a beautiful pink chintz creeping thyme back in bloom, with tiny lavender flowers climbing over the edge. There was also a small patch of Irish moss next to the thyme. The rest of the pot had dead growth and weeds I cleared out and then I topped it off with fresh potting soil to make way for new plants.

The round container had a little bit of Irish moss and a different variety of creeping thyme that was starting to come back. This thyme had a lot of brown on it and hadn’t fully greened up yet but I knew it would probably rebound nicely, which it did within a few weeks. Compare the two photos below to see how it took off and grew over the summer! The first photo was taken on May 30 and the second on August 28.

I added three new plants to the butterfly fairy garden pots: Jewel of Desert Garnet Ice Plant, Bishop’s Form Cranesbill, and Platt’s Black Brass Buttons. The cranesbill is my favorite flower in this fairy garden. The big pink flowers bloomed all summer long, springing up around the accessories and fairies as lovely natural accents with a nice pop of color. This was my first time planting cranesbill but it won’t be my last! Here you can see how the cranesbill flowers bloomed around the little fairy figure.

While sun-loving ice plant is gorgeous – the bright pink flowers are so perfect it doesn’t look real – the blooms close up by 4:00 in the afternoon, so I don’t get to enjoy them as often as the other flowers since they’re in bloom while I’m working. I’m usually not outside to enjoy my fairy gardens until the evening, although I do have a good view of them outside my windows.

Pratt’s Black Brass Buttons is such a different, interesting plant unlike any other you’ll find in a fairy garden. Its fern-like leaves and dark color with green tips give it almost a spooky feel. I’ll have to remember to use it in a Halloween fairy garden.

The entrance to the butterfly sanctuary is through a whimsical butterfly gate, with stone-look pillars and hinged lavender butterfly wings that actually swing open and closed to let visitors in. Next to the gate I tucked a little gnome with a butterfly perched on his hand against some rocks. Once you step inside, butterfly stepping stones lead to a bright pink metal butterfly bench where fairies can rest and watch all the butterflies flutter about. A yellow butterfly house is next to the bench. Towards the back of the garden, a fairy with a couple of birdie friends stands next to a metal sign topped with a butterfly that says Leave a Little Sparkle Wherever You Go. I actually layered two signs to create it – the brown metal butterfly stake, and the sparkle sentiment which is from my unicorn fairy garden I had a couple years ago.

The centerpiece of the second level of the butterfly sanctuary is the brightly colored metal Butterfly House which features a yellow roof embossed with a butterfly pattern and five butterflies flying around inside. A fairy stands at the entrance to the Butterfly House where a butterfly has landed in her hands. Behind the house is a flower fence and two more little butterfly houses on poles. Three butterfly chairs, a butterfly bath and stepping stones complete the garden.

Altogether there are 23 butterflies flying around this garden. Can you spot them all? I hope your flowers have been attracting lots of beautiful butterfly visitors this summer!