Real talk. There is much cuteness on my camera's memory card and a story to be told, but a storm has wiped out electricity at our house. So, that will all have to wait. In the meantime, I wrote some posts a whole back just in case things went crazy when Mila was born. Here is one of them.

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It has been a looooong time since Alexis and I took the dive and became obsessed with fairy gardens. Over three years, in fact. In that time, they've gone from a hobby that required diligence and treasure hunting skills to being, well, mainstream.

Which is to say, it's easy to find fairy garden accessories ANYWHERE.

Or so it seems.

I'm not expanding our collection this year for a multitude of reasons, which means I need to enable others to jump on board the crazy train. If I can't spend my money, I should spend yours, right? Right!

If you've never built a fairy garden in a container before, here's what you will need and some ideas about where you can find it:

A container -- Tractor supply stores sell galvanized tubs at a generally reasonable price. You can also hit up Target, Garden Ridge, or Walmart for a metal drink tub. Another option is to check out the options on Amazon, such as this one. Delivery to your home, FTW!

(All images in this post are links. Click them and you will be taken to Amazon.)

Potting Soil -- Get the good stuff if you want your container garden to last more than a year. I prefer Miracle-Gro Moisture Control. It's available at pretty much any big box store, including Home Depot and Lowe's.

Plants -- At some point, I will do a whole post about what plants I have found work best. In the meantime, I've generally had the best luck at local garden centers such as Bedner's and Reilly's. (Trax also has great plants, but their prices are higher than everywhere else.) Of the big box stores, Lowe's wins in this department. They seem to have more miniatures.

Fairy Houses -- There is some debate amongst the Serious Fairy Gardeners of the World as to whether or not it's OK to use manmade materials in a fairy garden. To that I say, PFFFFFT. Use what you want. If you want to construct a fairy house out of bark, twigs, and leaves, you go ahead and do that. If you want to simplify things a bit and decorate a premade house, that's cool as well. Michael's has a decent supply of birdhouses that will work. Alternately, you could go for an already constructed and decorated house like one of these:

One tip regarding your fairy house -- if you choose a wood one, you will want to weather proof it as much as you can, even if it says it is for outdoor use. I've had more than one rot and fall apart, so now I spray water sealer on my houses once or twice per year.

Also, if you're decorating your fairy house, make sure you use a glue that is UV and water resistant. I've had the best luck with Goop, particularly this type.

Accessories -- This is where the real fun begins. It used to be difficult to find even just a miniature chair, but now the possibilities are endless. Stores like Joann's, Pat Catan's, and Hobby Lobby have items in stock this year. Some local garden centers also carry some items (Pittsburghers, I vote Reilly's for the best variety at the moment. That could change at any time, though.).

And then there is Amazon.

The choices really are endless if you're asking someone to deliver to your door. Here are some favorites: