Discover the best plants to use to attract fairies to your garden.

Now that spring has finally sprung, it's time to stop dreaming and start putting together ideas for your very own fairy garden.

Even if you've never met a fairy in person, it's a pretty well known fact that fairies (and unicorns) love flowers - and the more colourful those flowers are the better! So it goes without saying that setting up your own fairy garden at home is a great way of helping to attract some local fairy folk to visit.

We've had quite a few fairy gardens at The Enfys Society HQ over the years, so we thought it would be nice to share some of the plants that have proven most popular with our own local fairies.

Sepervivum

Sometimes known as 'house leeks', these cute little plants have lovely succulent leaves which normally grow in adorable rosette shapes which fairies are known to love. A great addition to a fairy garden because they stay green all year round, they are quite tough little things and like to be planted where they will find lots of sun.

House Leeks make a great resting spot for a fairy.

Some have cute star-shaped flowers in the summer and they range in colour from bright green to a lovely deep red.

2. Thyme

Plants that smell as beautiful as they look are great ones to choose. Thyme creates a pretty mat of grey-green foliage with lovely pink flowers in the summer. Not only is it brilliant at attracting fairies (as well as bees and butterflies), but its soft, spongy structure forms an ideal carpet for fairies to dance on.

When you first start checking your garden for fairies, you could try creeping out in the early evening and seeing if you can catch a hint of the lovely smell of thyme - it might mean that a fairy has been strolling amongst your flowers.

3. Sedum

Any plant that is great for attracting bees and butterflies is a must for your fairy garden, which makes Sedum plants perfect additions.

Adding Sedum to your fairy garden will encourage lots of bees, butterflies and maybe unicorns in disguise.

Another plant with juicy, succulent foliage, Sedum tends to flower in late summer so is great for adding a final bit of colour before autumn arrives again. Sedum will die back over the winter and then reappear again in the spring.

Be sure to choose the plant carefully as some varieties can get quite tall.

4. Delosperma

If you've picked a hot, sunny spot for your fairy garden, then Delosperma, or Ice Plant as it's also known, should be your plant of choice.

Showcasing masses of stunning pin-wheel flowers in bright and vibrant colours, it flowers all summer long and will make even the most reserved fairy jump for joy.

5. Aubretia

A beautiful plant which will love scrambling over the edges of your pot to provide a fun climbing frame for fairies of all ages, Aubretia has loads of star-shaped flowers in a gorgeous blue colour.

Fairies love Aubretia's pretty purple flowers.

The only thing you might need to watch with this one is that it doesn't try to take over your whole fairy garden - cut it back gently if it does.

6. Saxifrage

A classic addition to any tiny garden, Saxifrage are known for their pretty little flowers which are held on tall, wispy stems above a mound of green foliage.

Cut them back a little after they've flowered and they'll look even better next year.

Unicorns will love to visit your fairy garden too.

These plants like a little bit of shade during the hottest part of the day and so are the perfect plant to take a peek at to see if you can find a little fairy taking an afternoon nap.

7. Dianthus

This stunning plant produces so many flowers during summer that it will be sure to attract fairy families from far and wide.

Available in loads of colours and even ones that have a pretty two-tone effect, Dianthus plants like to be in a sunny position and will give off a delicate scent when a fairy brushes past them.

A top tip is to pull off the faded flowers to encourage more blooms which will keep your fairies visiting for longer.

It's a really good idea to do a bit of research before deciding on which plants you're going to get.

Think about where you're going to put your fairy garden, whether it will be in a pot or a corner of an existing border. You'll also want to check to see if you can find any evidence of fairy habitats nearby and consider the best place to locate your garden in order to tempt as many fairies to visit as possible.

Once your fairy garden is all planted and growing nicely, the only thing left to do is to set up a comfy chair or cushion nearby and settle down for some quiet fairy-spotting time.

Happy fairy finding!