Imagine for a moment that you’re no bigger than Thumbelina. You’ve been away for a while, and when you return your garden is overgrown.
Nature’s been kind this year. The longed-for rain finally fell and the earth smiled. Precious seeds pushed up through the dampened soil, welcomed by the warming sun.
They grew healthy and strong. Encouraged by continued rains, seedlings turned into plants. Starter leaves became true leaves and from there they spread. Tiny greens stretched out across the land, filling the once-vacant landscape.
The fairy house still stands, but the garden surrounding it looks more like a forest. The giant gardener who presides over the land retreated for quiet contemplation.
Allowing nature to be her guide, the giant gardener issued a decree:
The land heretofore known as the fairy garden will be given over to the trees and any tiny deer passing by.
And it was so.
The giant gardener waved her magic spade and a lake-side, fairy-sized, mossy, watery retreat appeared.
Verdant moss to tickle the toes blankets the earth. Tiny succulents line the edges for privacy and a break from the wind.
A small chair for reading nestles in the greens, and a hammock is at the ready nearby.
Fairies can cool off in an improvised lake, a ceramic bowl rescued from a nearby thrift shop.
All our welcome in the wee-sized, lake-side fairy garden retreat.
A straw umbrella, made from the shell of an orange and a few strips of raffia give shelter from the hot sun.
There is, however, a small price of admission: one must possess a child-like imagination and the ability to leave one’s worries at the foot of the tiny ladder below.