Drought Tolerant Fairy Gardens

The popularity of fairy or miniature gardens is evident with whole Pinterest boards dedicated to them as well as nurseries having entire sections filled with fairy garden furniture and accessories.

During a recent visit to California, I visited the J. Woeste Nursery, which had taken a slightly different direction with fairy gardens. Theirs were decidedly drought tolerant and planted with succulents.

Each fairy garden was well-designed, each with their own unique mixture of succulents and moss for grass.

I was told that the nursery had a specific designer who created these miniature succulent worlds.

No two were alike.  From the houses used to the combination of succulents and the container itself – each was a truly unique creation.

I must admit that I had a hard time tearing myself away in order to look at the rest of the nursery, as I was so captivated by these miniature, drought tolerant gardens.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t fit one in my suitcase.

However, if I decided to make my own, there were a lot of different fairy succulent gardens to be inspired by and the nursery had a large selection of succulents available to assist in my endeavors.

Besides miniature succulent gardens, the nursery was filled with other unique examples of succulents being planted in unexpected ways.

A large variety of succulents were available for customers to use to in their own gardens, whether planted in the ground or in a favorite container.

If you ever find yourself in the charming town of Los Olivos, California, you must stop by J. Hoeste Nursery to see the fairy succulent gardens along with its other treasures.

Have you ever thought of planting a fairy garden? If so, I recommend the book, Gardening in Miniature.  It teaches you how to make your own miniature garden, in easy steps.  There are also a number of inspiring ideas to help you on your way to making your own.  I reviewed this book in an earlier post, which can be read here.

Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."