Fairy Garden Playset product reviews

My 3-year-old daughter received the My Fairy Garden as a Christmas present from her Aunty. She knew what it was as soon as she opened it and was eager to start her Fairy Garden. I was a bit concerned at first as I wasn't sure if it was something my 3-year-old could do. We decided to create the garden together which turned into a fun experience for us both.

The instructions were easy to read and follow with a few diagrams. I clipped the fairy house together as my daughter couldn't do this. We set up the house and washing line and sorted the other pieces so we knew what he had. We then headed outside and got some dirt from our vege garden. It does say to use a potting mix of a sort but we didn't have any on hand. We ensured we used the fine dirt removing any twigs and weeds.

Then we proceeded to create the garden. My daughter was capable of doing this herself. She placed the colour stones for the path, the washing line, and other bits to form the garden she wanted. There is plenty to be used in the garden. Then came the grass seed and fairy dust. This was a little harder as she seemed to put it in clumps but we thinned it out and sprayed it with a bit of water.

I was surprised at how fast the grass grew. It was only a couple of days sitting on our kitchen table with a small spray of water each day. It is also very easy to maintain by trimming with some scissors.

Overall this was a fun project to do with my daughter and she loves her Fairy Garden. I would recommend this to any little girl who loves fairies. It was simple enough for my 3-year-old to do with minimal help.

My daughter was very excited to be given a Fairy Garden Playset. At seven years old she knows fairies aren't real but secretly hopes they are and loves anything to do with fairies. When I saw the playset I knew she would love it.I looked at the box and was impressed to see what was included. It seemed like everything we needed. We were a bit confused as there was a picture of a mouse and it was also in the photo but wasn't included in the list of contents. We are pleased to report there was a mouse in the box.

When we opened the box we found detailed instructions and discovered the only things we needed to add was soil and water. Every parent is pleased when they discover they don't have to go and buy something in order to use a kit. Following the instructions we made the garden up just as in the photo. Miss 7 insisted that everything was placed just how it was on the box. She was very meticulous with the placing of the stones. The plants were actually grass seed and artificial flowers. I was concerned that the grass wouldn't grow as well as in the photo. I was proven wrong as within a couple of days they had sprouted and within 10 days we were mowing the lawn with scissors. My husband joked that we should get some of that seed to help our pathetic lawn.

I have seen these gardens advertised at $25 in a few catalogues leading up to Christmas. Miss 7 has also spotted these playsets and some others in the same series in stores and had a good look at them. These make a great gift for any fairy lover. Please note that the photo is when Miss & had first set it up - before the grass grew.

I was given one of these gardens as a gift, so I tucked it away until I was able to visit my colleagues in Ashhurst. We have been friends for years, and they have two daughters aged six and nine, so I was sure they would enjoy exploring it with me. I was somewhat taken aback to find that the older daughter, who I had thought was still eight, had celebrated her birthday two months ago so I was pleased that I was arriving with something special!

They unwrapped the packaging with delight and carefully removed the contents. Miss Nine read the instructions and delegated the task of adding the soil to the tray to her sister. She is a bit reluctant to get her hands dirty but Miss Six has no such hang-ups! I went out to their greenhouse with her and helped her to add some potting compost to the dish. Meanwhile Miss Nine was assembling the fairy house and attaching the string to the clothesline. The instructions said she needed to add the windows to the house, but they were already in place.

Miss Six added the coloured path and put the shell water feature in position while Miss Nine organised the clothesline. I suggested she hang the blanket before placing the poles as it might be easier, but she still found they were wobbly. We thought they might be more secure once the grass grew around them and started to consolidate the soil. After sowing the seed, Miss Nine set the mushroom in place and Miss Six planted the flowers. Lastly, they added the fairy dust, the fairy and the little mouse.

Once everything was in position, Miss Nine watered the soil and put some water in the shell for the fairies who might visit. They were very pleased with the finished effect and are now looking forward to seeing the grass sprout and become a "lawn". They have promised to take photos and send them to me regularly so I can follow the growth cycle too. One funny thing that happened just as we had finished was that their little brother, who is not quite four, arrived back from a birthday party just in time to see the finished product. He immediately burst into tears because they had not waited for him, and he loves fairies too!

My own impressions of the product were that it is a fun toy for children to make together, although some of the parts are quite flimsy so they have to take care not to break them. Some of the snap-together joints are not as tight as they could be. However, it has educational value as it introduces youngsters to gardening in a simple but very effective way. At the end of the instruction brochure, there are suggestions for other items that can be added to the basic garden so that it becomes personalised.