Have you heard of the latest trend in gardening? It is called Fairy Gardens or Miniature Gardening. To my delight, a friend on social media recently wrote a post about this new gardening trend. She commented on how her family was going to plant a container garden with a fairy house, flowers, and accessories. A couple of days later there was another post with a picture of the garden they planted. The post also included a comment, "What do you think Linda Ann?"

I thought the garden was wonderful! The related color scheme of the pink and purple flowers was bright and cheerful. My thoughts are that any activity that includes the family working together and enjoying each other's company is a positive experience! Then I realized my former student was asking me about the product, the fairy garden. I looked at the image she posted and I knew the scale of the items was incorrect since the size of the bridge was twice as big as the cottage. The Dianthus was so tall it resembled a tree. So with the image of her creation in mind, I posted the following comment, "You have discovered the purpose of fairy gardening...just having fun."

I wrote what I felt, not what was written in a textbook. If you are interested in the design aspects of miniature gardening or if you want your garden to look realistic, here are some tips related to scale. In a landscaped mini garden or large pot, the scale is usually 1:12, where 1-inch equals 1-foot. This is a large-scale garden. What scale should a gardener use when planning a container miniature garden?

For tabletop gardens or smaller pots consider using a medium or 1:24 scale, where a .05-inches equals 1-foot in real life. The scale of 1:24 is smaller than 1:12, so this scale works well for container mini gardens. How would you use this scale when planning your fairy garden? Measure the doorway of your cottage to determine its scale. Most real life doors are 7.5-feet high, so the scale of a 3.75" doorway would be 1:24 or some may call it half-sized. Keep this scale in mind when selecting plants and accessories for the fairy garden.

If you were planning to purchase a chair for your 1:24 scale mini garden, here are some tips. One way to determine the realistic miniature size, find the measurements, in inches, of a life size chair. Let's say the chair was 48-inches wide x 36-inches high. Divide each of those numbers by 24 to calculate the 1:24 scale of the chair. You would want to purchase a 2-inch wide x 1.5-inch high miniature chair.

Another way to calculate the correct scale is to measure the chair in feet. The chair in our example would be 4-feet wide by 3-feet high. Next take this number and divide it in half to determine the 1:24 scale in inches. Once again the mini chair would be 2-inch wide x 1.5-inch high. If you search online, there are printable paper rulers or conversion charts that are helpful to determine the correct size.

When determining the scale calculations, focus also on the elements of design. The real life item that is used, as a guide to find the size of a mini, will need to be in proportion. For example you wouldn't use the measurements of a bridge that spans an ocean if you were looking for a bridge to cross a small creek. Keep in mind that the purpose of Fairy Gardening to have fun and delight in the joy of gardening. For those times where realism and scale are important, spend some time learning about the elements and principles of design. Your friends will say, " Wow! I am in awe of your fairy garden."