25 Best Fairy Garden Plants and Flowers
If you’ve been thinking about starting a fairy garden, you’re probably wondering what the best fairy garden plants and fairy garden flowers are to use in your garden.
Whether your building an outdoor fairy garden or trying your hand at indoor fairy gardening in containers, this guide to the different miniature plants and flowers for fairy gardens will help you decide the right one for you!
1. Irish Moss (Sagina Subulata)
I’m starting with Irish Moss because it’s easy to grow and one of the most popular fairy garden plants AND it flowers! It is a very small fairy garden plant – the picture above is VERY zoomed in!
Irish Moss goes by many different names, ranging from Scottish Moss to heath pearlwort – so if in doubt use the scientific name of Sagina Subulata when ordering.
It is a low growing perennial plant native to the British Isles, though it grows in a number of climates, including the chillier northern US. While some people may consider it a weed, it’s tiny flowers make for a pretty plant in your fairy garden!
2. Bugleweed (Ajuga Reptans)
This perennial flowering ground cover plant is a beautiful choice for many fairy gardens with its blueish purple flowers. It grows well in garden zones 3-8 and does best with full or partial sun.
While not as popular as Irish Moss, I definitely think it should be included in more fairy gardens!
It grows to be about 6-8 inches tall and blooms between May and June, making it a nice choice to pair with other flowers that bloom later on in the season.
3. Silver Sparkles Plant (Pilea Glauca or Pilea Libanensis)
Silver sparkles, is a tropical perennial plant with bluish green leaves that have a silverish hue that sparkle, hence the common name “silver sparkles”. It’s like this plant has already been coated with a sprinkling of silver fairy dust!
This plant does not do well in full sun, so it makes for a great plant for indoor fairy gardens and miniature gardens that are not subject to the hot sun. It only needs watered about once a week.
Planted outdoors, it does better in warmer climates as it is a tropical plant, but many people in garden zones 5 and 6 have reported some success with it. If you do plant outdoors in northern climates, you’ll likely have to replant it each year.
4. Floss Flower (Ageratum)
Ageratum is a plant native to Mexico and produces bluish purple flowers that are soft and poofy. From a distance, they almost look like pom poms! These delicate flowers are why it is sometimes more commonly known as a “floss flower”.
Fully grown, this plant reaches a height of 6 to 8 inches, making it a nice choice for fairy gardens in a number of scales, depending on the desired effect in your garden.
Those of us who live in colder climates will have to stick to growing this one indoors or only as an annual in the summer months – but if you are in garden zones 10-11 you could plant it outdoors no problem and it will come back year after year.
5. Cranesbill Flowers
There are several varieties of cranesbill flowers, depending on the color and whether it is a hybrid plant. Known for small single petal flowers and delicate leaves, most varieties of this fairy garden flower will bloom all summer long, adding a beautiful pop of color to almost any fairy garden.
In order to keep these plants from mounding too much and turning “bushy” it’s important to divide them every so often. This is done quite simply just by taking a shovel and cutting them in half and transplanting the other half of the flower to a different spot in the garden or gifting them to friends and family members.
6. Rosemary
Rosemary is not an obvious choice for fairy gardens, mainly because it’s used as a culinary herb. However, if you’ve ever grown it in a small flower pot you may notice it sort of resembles a pine tree!
Rosemary bushes can get quite large {between 3-5 feet wide and tall!} – so this is a garden plant that will require some regular pruning. The bonus is you’ll have a fragrant plant and plenty of rosemary to use in your cooking!
Indoors, the plant generally won’t grow so large – outdoors it is best suited for warmer climates with a good bit of sun.
7. Thyme
Thyme is another herb you may not have thought about growing in your fairy garden. Again, this is one you’ll want to prune regularly, but you’ll always have plenty of fresh thyme to use for cooking!
This plant is very easy to grow indoors and always looks nice in a fairy garden!
8. Sage
While we’re talking about culinary herbs, we might as well also throw in sage to the mix! Sage is well known for its textured silvery green leaves as well as its culinary and herbal qualities.
Sage is a perennial that grows in zones 4 to 8 and loves full sun. This is another one of those plants in your fairy garden that you might need to prune regularly as the plants can get to be between 1-2 feet tall! Fortunately, there are so many ways to use sage that it probably won’t be an issue!
Growing indoors can make it easier to keep it in check size-wise. 🙂
9. Chives
Many people do not realize that the very same chives you may use to season potatoes or other foods actually blossom pretty pink flowers between May and June.
They grow an average of about 12 inches tall, making them a nice selection for most fairy gardens.
Pairing them with other flowering plants that flower through June-September outdoors can give you a nice arrangement all spring and summer long!
10. Baby’s Tears (Soleirolia soleirolii)
Baby’s tears is another great ground cover plant for fairy gardens, though as many of the ones we’ve mentioned does better in warmer climates outdoors. A member of the nettle family, this plant usually only grows to be a few inches tall.
For us in colder climates, it can be planted as an annual or it can be a great addition to an indoor container fairy garden! This plant loves the shade, making it perfect underneath a shady tree or indoors where light is sometimes an issue.
12. Ice Plant (Delosperma)
This plant offers beautiful pink flowers and is a relatively low growing flower. Native from Africa, these plants ironically do not love cold climates, but are long blooming so make for a nice choice to still have flowers after your initial spring flowers are done.
These plants really like full sun and require a fast draining soil. This is something to consider when planning what plants to put in your container garden or when combining them with plants that love a good wet place.
In containers, these plants can give a “cascade” effect where they trail over the edges of the pot. This can add a lot of charm to a container fairy garden!
13. Dusty Miller Plant (Artemisia stelleriana)
Dusty Miller is an interesting plant because it has whitish silver leaves and blooms small clusters of yellow flowers. This can add some variety to your garden if you’re looking for different colors besides the usual greens and pinks.
This fairy garden plant is relatively easy to grow and is surprisingly a member of the sunflower family. It blooms small yellowish flowers from June to August, making it a great choice to pair with your spring blooming flowers.
The plant can grow between 11-17 inches tall, which makes it a nice choice to put near the back of a fairy garden. As a member of the sunflower family, it’s not surprising, this plant enjoys plenty of sunshine and water.
14. Angel Vine/Maidenhair (Muehlenbeckia complexa)
This small and delicate vine native to New Zealand goes by many different names, including angel vine, maidenhair vine, fairy vine, mattress vine and others.
The plant blooms succulent flowers and prefers full sun. In order to get seeds with this plant, you’ll need both a female and male version of the plant.
Angel vine requires a good bit of regularly watering with well drained fertile soil. This is something to consider when planting with other plants, especially if the other plants prefer less water.
It does very well in containers, and as you can see above will trail out making for a nice effect for your container fairy gardens.
15. Rose Stone Crop (Sedum spurium)
Sedum spurium is not a commonly known plant but it is a hardy ground cover and one of the very few types of succulents that does well in even in colder regions over winter.
It requires fertile soil with good drainage and can thrive both in full sun or partial shade. It’s rose colored leaves make it a great fairy garden succulent plant!
16. Sea Thrift (Armeria maritima)
Sea thrift is another popular fairy garden flower that produces pretty pink flowers. The flowers can be a bright vibrant pink as shown above or a pale pastel pink, depending on the variety.
A perennial plant, the flowers bloom between mid and late spring, though sometimes they will produce additional flowers later in the season after the first initial bloom.
Sea thrift requires full sun, and the worst the soil the better for these beautiful flowers. They grow to be about 6 to 12 inches tall and wide, and can be divided when necessary.
17. Snake’s Beard (Mini Mondo Grass)
Mini Mondo Grass, also known as Snake’s Beard or Dwarf Mondo Grass, is a great choice for both full sun or shady spots. The leaves will be darker in the shade.
As it is not a true “grass”, this grass does not grow very tall (between 6 to 10 inches) and does not need mowing, though of course you can always give it a trim as desired.
It’s a very tolerant plant, but does require a good bit of watering. Between June – August it will produce small flowers that turn into fruit.
18. Blue Moneywort (Lindernia Grandiflora)
Blue moneywort is a beautiful flowering low ground cover that is native to the Southeast United States. It only grows to be between 1 to 3 inches tall, making it a perfect choice for smaller scale fairy gardens.
While it is only hardy in zones 7-11, it can be planted in containers as long as you pay careful attention to water it regularly. As a pond plant it definitely likes damp soil!
This is another plant that will cascade over the sides of the container as it spreads. If it gets out of control, it is easy to divide.
19. Miniature Daisy
Miniature daisies are much like full grown daisies – though they grow much smaller at only about 2 inches tall. They will grow very much like a weed – even growing in hard to grow soils like clay.
One of my favorite things about these flowers is they bloom for a good 4 weeks typically!
They do not require a ton of water, and do not like full sun at all – this is very much a full shade plant!
20. Chickweed
While chickweed is often considered a nuisance to those who want meticulously maintained lawns, I always get excited when I see these tiny little white flowers pop up in our back yard because it means spring is finally here!
They are very much a “weed” so will grow well in terrible soil. They seem to grow best in partial shade where we live. Their flowers bloom in early spring and grow typically between 1 – 3 inches tall.
21. Zebra Haworthia
For an exotic looking plant in an indoor fairy garden, zebra haworthia is a great choice. The plant does not grow very tall and is characterized by its striped leaves.
Just like most succulents and cacti, this plant does best in well draining cactus soil and only needs watered every few weeks.
It’s a great to pair with other succulents, but you would probably not want to mix it with other plants that aren’t in the succulent family.
22. Johnny Jump-Up (Helen Mount Viola)
Johnny Jump-Up is a beautiful dainty flower for fairy gardens that only grows to be about 6 inches tall. Characterized by heart shaped petals of yellow and violet, this is a great way to add some color to your miniature gartden!
If growing from seed, these plants can take awhile to germinate, but the wait is worth it! They require rich soil with plenty of sunshine and regular watering.
One nice thing about these flowers is they bloom from spring to fall, meaning you’ll always have nice flowers in the summer months. It’s also a hardy perennial plant, meaning you can plant it once and forget about it!
23. Polka Dot Plant
If you like the idea of adding colorful leaves to your garden, polka dot plant is a great choice! These low growing plants can be found in green and white varieties as well as pink and green varieties.
They can grow 1 – 2 feet tall, so these are best suited for larger scale fairy gardens or planted towards the back of the garden area.
Teeny tiny flower blooms can occur anytime in the summer months, though they are generally short lived and hard to notice!
These are a good indoor plant or outdoor plant in shade and prefer rich soil with good drainage and a good bit of regular watering.
24. Asparagus Fern
Asparagus fern can grow quite large and bushy, but regular pruning will keep it under control to stay fairy garden sized.
This plant is characterized by its wispy green foilage and does well in containers with fertile well draining potting soil.
25. Violets
Last but not least, we have violets on our list, mainly because they are my son’s favorite flower and they add a lot of color to fairy gardens!
You can find many different varieties of violets, some growing smaller than others and in a wide range of colors and shades.
Violets are considered to be annuals or bi-annuals, but they typically self seed so you don’t always need to replant them each year. They do best in rich fertile soil and can be grown as a ground cover or even planted in containers.
I hope this list of different fairy garden plants and fairy garden flowers inspire you to start planning your own fairy garden! There are so many great choices here that you are sure to find something you love to make your miniature garden exactly as you envision it!
Do you have a favorite fairy garden plant? What fairy garden flowers do you like best? Share your experiences and thoughts in the comments section below!
