• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Just an old watering can

June 21, 2012 By Carol Michel 15 Comments

I thought it was just an old watering can, full of dust and cobwebs. But I liked the looks of it, the patina, and was happy to have a friend give it to me.

I took it home and decided to at least wash it out a bit.  I grabbed the nearby hose and just as the first few drops of water hit the bottom of the can I heard a wee voice say, “Blooming radishes! Hold on just a minute. At least help me get out of this watering can before you drown me.”

You can imagine my surprise when I looked inside the can and saw a tiny garden fairy, no bigger than my thumb.

“Well, don’t just stare at me”, she said. “Help me up out of here.”  I gingerly put my hand in the can to allow the garden fairy to rest on my index finger, then I carefully raised my hand and brought her safely out and set her down gently on the ground.

“I’ve been waiting for you”, she said.

I was speechless.

“If you don’t mind, Carol, can you give me a little dribble of water from the hose? I’m parched.”

I did as she asked, wondering how she knew my name. 

Then she went on talking in her wee garden fairy voice. I leaned down closer to hear better.

“Since you found me and rescued me from that old watering can, I get to grant you three wishes.  But I am a garden fairy so these aren’t just any ol’ wild three wishes where the skies the limit. There are some guidelines we must follow.”

With a quick snap, she pulled a scroll of paper from her apron pocket and read the guidelines out loud to me.

“I hereby grant you three wishes for your garden.   The first wish I can grant is I can send you to see any garden in the world, but please let me know in advance which season you want to see it in.  The second wish I can grant is I can let you grow any plant in your garden that you wold like to grow but don’t already grow.  I will remind you again that I am a garden fairy so I don’t have to worry about hardiness zones.  Finally, for the third wish, I can remove any pest from your garden and it can be animal, vegetable or mineral, but I can only remove one.   Those are the three wishes I can grant you, Carol, please choose wisely.”

When she had finished reading from the scroll, she rolled it up, put it back in her apron pocket and started to tap her foot while she waited for me to answer.

One garden to visit, one plant to grow, and one pest to banish.  I began thinking.  Then I asked for a day to answer. The wee garden fairy said yes.  We agreed to meet by the watering can in 24 hours so I could tell her my wishes. 

One garden to visit. One plant to grow. One pest to banish.  I’m still thinking…

Continued…

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: fairies, gardening, humor

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. growingagardenindavis says

    June 21, 2012 at 5:31 am

    The most amazing things happen to you! I sure hopes she comes back tomorrow…

    Reply
  2. Lisa at Greenbow says

    June 21, 2012 at 11:30 am

    Can't wait to see what you choose. In the mean time I will be thinking about what my response would be.

    Reply
  3. Gail says

    June 21, 2012 at 12:05 pm

    oooh oook….what both Leslie and Lisa said!

    Reply
  4. gardengirl204 says

    June 21, 2012 at 12:09 pm

    Gotta love those old watering cans!

    Reply
  5. mimi says

    June 21, 2012 at 12:34 pm

    Oh-oh I think I drowned my fairy. I have one of those cans. Should've listened.

    Reply
  6. CommonWeeder says

    June 21, 2012 at 3:09 pm

    I wish I had a watering can with a garden fairy. Choosing wisely is always pretty tough.

    Reply
  7. Janet, The Queen of Seaford says

    June 21, 2012 at 3:27 pm

    Can't wait to see what your three wishes will be. I have an old watering can, from my Mother in law, she bought it in Germany many years ago. It is a 10 liter can…heavy when full.

    Reply
  8. Fairegarden says

    June 21, 2012 at 4:50 pm

    Whoa, the weight of decision making is too heavy! I too will be interested to see your wishes.

    Reply
  9. Anonymous says

    June 21, 2012 at 5:03 pm

    Enjoyed your story a lot. Lizzie

    Reply
  10. IN woodlandgardener says

    June 21, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    oooooo, how fun! What an awesome gift! I can't wait to see your wishes! I know the pest one for me–easy…japanese beetles.

    Reply
  11. Dee Nash says

    June 21, 2012 at 6:19 pm

    Ooh, I bet you are. Choose wisely and take me with you on that garden visit.~~Dee

    Reply
  12. Hallerlake says

    June 21, 2012 at 6:33 pm

    The last one was easy; Himalayan blackberry.

    I think my brain just exploded, or maybe it imploded, trying to narrow the first two down to one of each. There are so many gardens I'd like to visit, and so many cool plants I'd like to grow. Does it have to be a currently existing garden? How much magic do garden fairies have? Could you go see the hanging gardens of Babylon? Oh, lotus! I'd grow lotus!

    Reply
  13. ProfessorRoush says

    June 21, 2012 at 7:50 pm

    Ooh, I wish I had those choices because it'd be easy for me;

    Sissinghurst, Blue Himalayan Poppy, and Squash bugs.

    Reply
  14. Cindy, MCOK says

    June 21, 2012 at 10:09 pm

    I'm sure you will use her gift wisely. I'm sure none of us will fail to check our watering cans for fairies from here on out!

    Reply
  15. Gardenbug says

    June 22, 2012 at 3:25 am

    So far I've only found toads in my watering cans.
    Waiting to find out your responses.
    – The garden of Eden?
    – Not sure about which plant…
    – This week it would be earwigs…or whoever ate 2 of my seed grown artichoke plants. I suspect Peter Rabbit. But whatever i pick will affect everything else. Decisions are so hard…

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,048)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT