Have I introduced you to my Garden Fairy friend?

That'd be Siobhan, center stage in the garden.

I have a friend that's Garden Fairy. I call her Siobhan. And she lives with a gnome named Bruce. I'm not making this up.

That's, from left to right, Riké, me, Siobhan and Elizabeth (with drink in hand, natch), of Garden Rant/Gardening While Intoxicated, in the GWI grounds during Garden Walk Buffalo this year.

She actually lives in Florida currently, but grew up and spent many productive years here in Buffalo as a highly-decorated art director and creative director in Buffalo's advertising agencies. She hired me, and was my boss, at the first large ad agency in which I worked (late '80s to early '90s). It was a blast back then. It was the most fun of my professional career. And Bruce, while not an actually gnome, is really more of a wizard.

That's Siobhan with Riké, a retired Continental-international-German-speaker-flight-attendant.

But now she's a Garden Fairy in Florida - a flock of mostly female "middle-aged" gardeners / entrepreneurs / community activists / artists with vivid imaginations, creativity and energy to spare. Their tastes may be refined by years and experience, but they're still attracted to sparkly things. And Siobhan is a queen of the fairies and a nefarious ringleader.

They have something called the "Gift of a Garden" where they find someone that loves gardening, but due to physical limitations, cannot garden. Then they create a garden suited to the site and gardener's abilities. How cool is that?

They also work with local parks, schools and hospitals. They throw parties, run art sales, and coordinate a garden tour, as fundraisers for their projects. Their energy & enthusiasm is endless, and infectious.

They also work on each others' gardens – tackling projects that would be daunting for a gardener alone.

In addition, they have a "Pro Services" branch of the Garden Fairies, where their different services & skills can be hired out for commercial purpose. Siobhan's done everything from mural painting, to landscape design, to consultation, to these beautiful mosaic stepping stones you see here.

Not sure, but this might just be a typical Wednesday night for a Garden Fairy in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Siobhan is on the left in colorful hat and spankin' pink stockings. The others may wish to hold their identities.

Here are some photos she's sent me of things they've been up to this year. Please visit their site– WeDigDoinIt.com to see more. You can also see an article in Horticulture magazine here about some of their volunteer gardening projects.

Siobhan's an avid Garden Walk Buffalo regular now, visiting Buffalo for the Garden Walk each year. She's more of a Garden Stalker, than a Garden Walker.

This year she brought a friend (who, quite coincidentally, used to work with my wife!). Next year she wants to bring a bus up from Florida. You'd think fairies could fly. I think, by hour two on a bus with this group, all my energy would be drained. I'm not as young as I was when Siobhan first hired me, but she is.

Do you have any garden fairy friends?


Siobhan painting a walkway with concrete dyes & a broom. I want to do this to my driveway at some point. Concrete gray is dull.


The driveway of the sidewalk shown above. The before pictures on their website shows a typical Florida expanse of gray driveway.


Only a Garden Fairy would imagine a lair like this.


Check out their web site to see the before pictures of this muraled patio. It'll blow your mind.


This garden definitely has the Siobhan touch.


A Garden Fairy working on a mosaic table-top.


Table top mosaic.


Siobhan's art direction skills and color work come in handy in her garden decisions.


Another table mosaic. This one though, I think, has the flower as a lazy Susan.


Butterfly mosaic stepping stones.


Note the dinner-plate-special fencing along the garden path.


A school garden the Fairies worked on.


Nothing adds color like mosaics. I think I need some mosaic work in my garden.


A garden of one of the Fairies.


A garden of one of the Fairies.


When Fairies work, they work together. And hard. And you may never had noticed, but it gets HOT in Florida!


A garden of one of the Fairies.


Awesome.


Even a boring shed gets fairy dust.


Oh, and they know their plants too.