I started by laying out the large pieces I had available to create the main structure of the garden.
When placing the stairs, I found it was really helpful if the dirt was VERY wet. Once I got past the whole disaster of pot pieces not staying in place and dirt washing out everywhere, I was ready to add plants!
I chose succulents for the places with the most sparse dirt – the “steps” level is sort of at an angle – because it is just MUCH harder to keep those places wet, and drought resistant plants will likely thrive better here.
I let the fairy garden in a broken pot sit for a week to see how all the plants would adjust… and then we added our DIY fairy garden accessories!