"Do you believe in fairies," my 10-year-old granddaughter asked Papa. When he hesitated a moment, she anxiously exclaimed, "If you don't, one will die!" With that desperate warning, Papa replied, "Of course, I believe in fairies ― especially garden fairies."

So began our day. This simple inquiry (she asked everyone we met that day) inspired me to create a fairy garden experience. I made these when I was very young and had nearly forgotten the magic of gardening in miniature for very special fairies.

We headed to the garage, picking through a stash of containers to find the real estate for fairies to inhabit. Beneath the newspapers we found two large, plastic birdbath tops. She chose the white one for a more feminine garden. Then off on our errands, we talked about fairies and what they would want in a garden dwelling. I suggested we had to make it so wonderful that if the fairies visited, they would want to stay all summer. So we planned her garden. She told me it needed a house, a walkway, a pond, places to sit, plants, and trees. We agreed that Sullivan's Hardware would be a helpful resource. She had many more ideas, but we agreed we needed to focus on the best ones. This brainstorming exercised our imaginations.

Because I am always conscious of teaching about budgeting too, I encouraged my granddaughter set her buying sights on two plants plus one big and one small item for her garden. I told her we could scout through things in my basement and yard for finishing touches. She chose a lovely arbor just perfect for fairies to sit under, a white wire bench, and then she picked out two specially grown plants that were just the right scale for the fairy landscape.

Once back home, we started creating the fairy garden with one layer of packing peanuts (you could use sand) to help drainage. Next came the soil (with moisture preserving pellets). She mounded it so it was higher in the center and patted this base firmly. Then I sent her on a mission in the yard. She had to gather things like moss, stones, sweet gum balls, pine cones, sticks with lichen and any other interesting items that caught her eye. I taught her how to skim moss off the lawn so as to retain a bit of dirt base to keep it alive. We searched every part of the yard, this treasure hunt turning into quite a long nature walk with teaching moments about wildflowers, birds' nests, and other assorted things.

At last we had plenty of elements to construct the fairy garden landscape. She put the arbor in the center, snugged in stones to create a walk, planted the store-bought plants, delicately laid the moss on top of the soil, and built a stone bench in addition to the fancy bench we had bought. I chimed in with some ideas, proposing an old heart-shaped, individual Jello mold for a pond that we filled with water. While she was finishing the garden, I cut a door and window into a small gourd to create a fairy house.

We finished the project that she got to take home with a lesson on how to water and tend the garden during the growing season. This was a grand activity for the both of us, and any fairy that comes across this beautiful garden will find a wonderful space for celebrations and festivals. The next day I couldn't resist making my own fairy garden. An old cement birdbath beckoned me to once again become a child and believe. Let me tell you a secret: I do think fairies have found my garden.