Find magic for your garden at the Fairy Garden Festival

There are many kinds of gardens and gardeners — gardeners who desire the incredible taste or the health benefits of freshly picked produce plant vegetable gardens, gardeners who put the needs of birds, butterflies and bees above a tidy appearance create natural gardens and those who crave order enjoy formal gardens.

What kind of gardener plants a miniature garden? A gardener who likes to have fun! Miniature gardens, including fanciful fairy gardens, are the latest trend in gardening for many reasons. The plants and garden ornaments are small so very little space is required — they fit just about anywhere. It's a great way to get kids involved in gardening. You can experiment with different types of garden design. And, the best reason of all, they're fun!

What are miniature gardens? They are gardens that include dwarf or miniature plants and garden ornaments that are in proportion so that they look like full-sized gardens in miniature. A fairy garden is a miniature garden created to invite garden fairies to reside. Gnome gardens are similar to fairy gardens, except that gnomes are the residents and caretakers of the miniature gardens.

If you are intrigued by the notion of welcoming fairies into your garden, build a fairy garden. They can be planted in small, secluded spots in your landscape where visitors will find them by surprise. Or plant one near the edge of a path or next to your patio where you can appreciate it daily. Mine is located between two streams feeding into a small pond. It's not hidden, but feels like a separate world guarded by the moving water.

If you don't want to plant a fairy garden directly in your landscape, plant one in a container. Hypertufa troughs, old wheelbarrows, and vintage washtubs are perfect containers for woodland or rustic fairy gardens. A large decorative concrete urn would be a suitable home for a formal fairy garden. Or create a fun and funky fairy garden in a brightly colored glazed pot.

Choose the style of your fairy garden. Will it be formal or rustic? Woodland fairy gardens use items found in nature for furniture and garden ornaments; formal fairy gardens include garden ornaments like urns and garden walls; and cottage fairy gardens are filled with flowers surrounding humble fairy abodes.

You can even give the appearance of wee ones living in your garden without building a miniature garden. Entice fairies from their enchanted world into your garden by placing a fairy door at the base of a tree. Fairy doors are available to purchase in many different colors and styles, or you can make your own. Once adorned and positioned against the trunk of a tree, fairies can easily pass back and forth from their magical realm and your garden.

Fairy Garden Festival

Learn more about fairy gardening at the Fairy Garden Festival at The Planter's Palette in Winfield from Saturday, June 4, through Sunday, June 12. Many fairy gardens will be on display throughout the festival.

Get your face painted from 9 to 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 4 and then help kick off the festival with a fairy parade at 10 a.m. All parade participants will receive a coupon for 10 percent off all fairy garden products that day.

Also on Saturday, June 4, moms, dads and daughters, grandmothers, grandfathers and granddaughters are invited to a fairy garden tea party from 11 a.m. to noon. First enjoy fairy-sized treats while listening to fairy lore from our resident garden fairies and then make a fairy garden to take home. Stay to decorate a magical fairy door that you can place in your own garden. This workshop goes from 1 to 2 p.m.

Throughout the week, more classes and workshops will be held. You can create a hypertufa trough perfect for holding a fairy garden. Beginners should register for the workshop on Sunday, June 5 from 1 to 2 p.m. Experienced trough makers wanting to make an irregular-shaped trough should join the advanced workshop on Wednesday, June 8, from 1 to 2 p.m.

Learn how to make fairy garden furniture with items from nature. Make a bed, table and lamp for your fairies at one of two workshops on Thursday, June 9, or Sunday, June 12, both from 1 to 2 p.m.

Learn how to decorate a fairy garden or decorate one of your own. Sandi Schmidt will show you how to create a themed fairy garden on Monday, June 6, from 1 to 2 p.m. Or make a fairy garden to take home at the Summer Fairy Garden Workshop on Saturday, June 11, from 10 to 11 a.m.

There is something for everyone ages 4 to 94. More information, including class descriptions and the cost of each class or workshop, can be found on planterspalette.com or by calling (630) 293-1040, ext. 2.

ŸDiana Stoll is a horticulturist and the retail manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040 or visit planterspalette.com.