NEW! Now available! For $20 postpaid, buy Betty Earl's book, Fairy Gardens: A Guide to Growing an Enchanted Miniature World. This colorful book tells how to make and plant fairy gardens including the houses, accessories, and plants, plus little-known fairy lore. Buy with Paypal for $20 postpaid (USA addresses) by clicking the purchase button below. In Canada, add $5 for international shipping. Or email betty@mackeybooks.com for a descriptive order form.

Fairy Gardens: A Guide to Growing an Enchanted Miniature World, by Betty Earl, 76 pages, full color, 8.5 x 8.5 inches, ISBN 978-1-893443-50-1 Suggested list price $21.95. Intro, $20 postpaid to USA.

Fairy gardens are arranged with the kinds of miniature plants and accessories that might tempt a fairy to visit. In this illustrated book, Betty Earl tells what fairy gardens are and how to make and care for them, relates fairy lore and folklore, introduces the plants associated with fairies, and describes miniature plants for fairy and miniature gardens, indoors or out. There are 103 colorful photographs along with information on building or buying accessories for these delightful fantasy gardens. There is special info on making fairy gardens with and for children.

Chapter 1:  What is a Fairy Garden?

Chapter 2:  What or Who are the Fairies?

Chapter 3:  Creating a Successful Fairy Garden

            Children and Fairy Gardens

            Your Own Fairy Garden

            Locating Your Outdoor Fairy Garden

            Pick a Theme

            Fairy Houses

            Fairy Doors

Chapter 4: Combining and Adding Plants and  Accessories

            Plants for Outdoor Fairy Gardens

            Indoor (Dish) Container Fairy Gardens

            Fairy Garden Accessories

            Adding Fairies

Chapter 5:  Gardening with the Fairies

            A Sampling of Fairy Legends

            Flowers and Plants for Fairy Use

            Flowers and Plants Associated with Fairies

            Cicely Mary Barker’s Flower Fairies

Chapter 6:  Planting and Maintenance of Fairy Gardens

 Further Reading, Resources, and Index

REVIEWS

“So much about gardening is about inspiration and this book offers that page after page, photo after photo. I can’t see how anyone can get more than a chapter in because after just a few pages, I wanted to run out and make my own fairy garden. The great thing is that this book shows that there is no one set way to create a fairy garden—it can be a very personal creation to suit your own beliefs, style and garden setting. This is a great tool for any adult who wants to work with children to teach them about gardening and inspire them to create their own little “home” for the fairies in their yards.”  ~~~~~Diane Blazek, Executive Director, National Garden Bureau,  www.ngb.org

           “In the made-for-television Peter Pan, Tinker Bell is dying inside her fairy home within a tree trunk. But she tells Peter (Mary Martin) that she can get well again if children believe in fairies.  Peter looks at us and says, “Do you believe? Oh, please, please, believe! If you believe, wherever you are, clap your hands and she’ll hear you.” Didn’t you clap? I know I did. I clapped as hard as I could, and I helped Tinker Bell become strong again. But, like Wendy, I’ve grown up and Never Land is no longer a place I can visit, and, if you’ve let yourself grow up, you can’t either. Instead, you can head to Betty Earl’s Fairy Gardens to enjoy her whimsically full-of-fun book, with fairy lands you can create in your home and garden, no matter how small.  There’s a portion of the book that shares the mythology and legend of fairies in diverse cultures. But, be forewarned: not all varieties are good-hearted. Like all mythological creatures some are benevolent and some are bent on havoc. (Remember: even Tinker Bell was jealous of Wendy and had the Lost Boys shoot arrows at her.)   And, then there’s downtown Ann Arbor, Michigan, which seems to by the fairy capital of North America, with fairy doors cropping up everywhere and a genuine, non-certified fairyologist.    You’ll also learn how to use doll-house-sized plants (with the largest portion of the book about the best ones to use and how to care for them), pine cones, twigs, and other natural decorations as well as artificial, fairy-sized accessories to create fairy gardens. And, you’ll discover where to place variously-themed gardens to attract the most fairies.     Okay, I have to admit that I don’t really believe in fairies, but I believe in the mesmerizing charm of the gardens shown in the full-color photos of Fairy Gardens. I freely admit that I had a smile on my face and a ready chuckle for every photo. And, by the time I came to the last page, I wished I could still clap my hands to bring a fairy to life, even if only for one whimsical night.”     ~~~~~Art Wolk, Author and Publisher, www.gardenlunacy.com

            “I really don’t think I would trust any gardeners who claim they don’t believe in fairies. Either they aren’t truthful, or they don’t believe in the magic of sprouting seeds and blooming things. Gardening is always an adventure in hope and imagination. Betty Earl opens the enchanted door to creating your own gardens for fairies.” ~~~~~Jim Long, Author and Herb Expert, www.longcreekherbs.com      

"Fairy Gardens is an absolute delight.  The writing is delectable.  The layout super.  Surely fairies everywhere are ringing little bells in approval." ~~~~~~~Lucinda Sisson, photographer, and reader --and now a fairy garden maker.

From the author, Betty Earl:

“As a bona-fide plantaholic, I am always up for a garden visit. Rain, storms, heat…it doesn’t matter. If there’s a garden walk, I’m there. For gardening is one of those delicious activities that, once it gets in your blood, you are never sated. There’s always one more garden to visit, one more plant to discover, one more perennial to drool over, one more “found” idea to add to your own garden. 

 Thus it was with fairy gardens. From the very first simple fairy garden in a container by the front door to that elaborate, almost majestic fairy abode in a woodland setting which I saw this past summer, it’s been a magical ride. I’ve met gardeners who truly believe in fairies, fondly recalling childhood experiences of connecting with them, and I’ve met  folks who scoff at the idea that fairies are real, yet are inspired by the merriment of a fairy garden and the illusion of fairies living there. 

What I have learned from these gardeners is that there’s an enthralling fairy realm out there just waiting to be discovered. Whether you share this adventure with your kids, your friends, your parents, or by yourself, creating a fairy garden allows all to develop a sense of wonder, creativity, and appreciation of nature while at the same time, inspiring one of the most delightful, fairy-filled experiences possible. This is a quest to be cherished forever, for it reminds us of the importance of play.” 

Click the blue flowers to go to Betty Mackey's recommended garden items on Amazon.com.