Welcome all, to the garden of fairies, where you leave an offering signed with a wish, and a gift they will return.

One of the few rules in my garden is that there must always be a spot for the fairies and the bees… which is exactly where this story begins. A few months ago, I had a year-old garden sage growing in the back all by her lonesome. I couldn’t think of another plant to pair her up with, and I needed a spot for the fairies to rest, so I decided to make them their own garden right beside her fuzzy green leaves and violet petals.

Mind you, I have children, a toddler no less, so getting him to leave the houses, fences, and other miniature décor alone was a losing battle. But every evening, I would pick up their belongings and put them neatly back where they belonged, leaving behind the deadheads of my flowers on the fairies’ altar, always sealing them silently with a wish.

Months had passed, and my toddler accidentally got too handsy with the sage, and eventually it died. But like any good gardener on a mission to save the pollinators, I turned the bin into a monarch sanctuary, planting milkweed seeds. Meaning, I pulled the sage out and haphazardly threw milkweed seeds in the bin, hoping for the best (and yes, for anyone asking they are growing beautifully but still seedlings). I didn’t even mix up the dirt; I just watered deeply in the evening. So, my alter for the fairies was still there, even though their homes had long since been relocated among the tomato plants. In its place, a large mushroom began to grow, the largest that had ever appeared in my garden.

I couldn’t help but think the fairies decided to leave me with a gift.

Fondly,

Shay