Clert had been head gardener at the Fairyton Garden for as long as anyone could remember. His family had been gardeners for several generations since great grandfather Dlert had been caught pilfering secret herbs from Madam Floss’ garden and his punishment was to look after the fledgling town garden. To everyone’s surprise, he found he liked gardening, and so it became a skill passed on to future generations.

Now it was Clert’s responsibility, and he took it all very seriously.

He had enacted no-fly zones to preserve the flora, had designated other areas as picnic space and in one far-flung corner of the garden had made a lover’s section, with quiet and solitude much to the thanks of some and the ire of others.

Fairyton was, for the most part, a bit of a back water, it was off the major fly paths, the fairy highway that linked the major cities, but it possessed a bustling community, it had everything you needed in a town, every shop imaginable and on Sunday’s a thriving market selling everything a fairy might need to live more than comfortably.

It was Fairyton who built the first Retirement Home for Aging Fairies. Clert’s mother was a resident there, and he had therefore spent time working on the Home’s gardens with his mum who despite her advanced years still loved to get her hands in the dirt though nowadays she didn’t know the difference between a dandelion and a ruby rose. However, Clert didn’t mind as his mum was out in the sunshine and she still knew who he was, well somedays at least.

As the day drew to a close Clert took his mother’s arm and guided her back into Retirement Home, she thanked him for the gardening and said she was expecting his father at any minute. Clert rolled his eyes and told himself to humour her and said he was looking forward to seeing his father too. “You look a lot like him,” said his mum as he headed out the door.

He returned to the garden in the centre of Fairyton and spent a good hour admiring the colours he had propagated, he flitted from one to the other, his heart full of pride.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/03/19/tale-weaver-267-fairytale-fairyland-19th-march/