The Magic Garden by DJ Piper

The Magic Garden

by DJ Piper

Once upon a time, a young boy named Johnny lived with his mother in a small cottage in a sunny meadow beside a tall, dark forest. Johnny was a happy child and always smiled.

“You’re the apple of my eye, Johnny,” his mother said.

“What does that mean, Mother?” Johnny asked. “I’m not an apple.”

“It means I love you very much.” His mother hugged him and leaned over to kiss the top of his head.

Johnny wanted to play but had no brothers or sisters. “Will you play with me, Mother?”

“I wish I could, Johnny, but I must do chores. I need to clean the house and cook your dinner.”

Whenever that happened, Johnny went outside and played with his best friend, his dog Scout. Scout helped Johnny explore the forest and play all the fantasy games his young master could think up. “Scout, let’s play over by the forest where the funnyshaped trees stand in a circle. There’s a garden planted in the middle.”

But his mother said, “Don’t go near the tree circle. And whatever you do, don’t ever, ever go into the garden.”

“Why can’t I go into the garden, Mother? The plants are so colorful.”

His mother’s answer was always the same. “Don’t go near the tree circle. And whatever you do, don’t ever, ever go into the garden.”

When Johnny was very young, he obeyed his mother. But, when he grew older, he wondered why his mother said that. “Why shouldn’t I? I can explore the garden and get back home before Mother even knows I’m gone.” Johnny decided he would explore the garden inside the tree circle the next time his mother did chores.

One evening, the moon came out early, and a soft breeze carried the scent of cooking hamburgers. Johnny’s mouth watered, and Scout’s ears and nose pricked in response. Johnny jumped up and ran to his mother.

“Mother,” Johnny said. “Someone is cooking hamburgers down by the tree circle.”

“No, Johnny,” his mother said. “There aren’t any hamburgers.”

“But Mother, I smell hamburgers cooking.”

“Yes, that’s what it smells like to you. It smells like a meaty bone to Scout. To a cat, it smells like catnip. To a horse, it smells like tall, green grass. Don’t believe your nose, Johnny. It’s a trick. Don’t go near the tree circle. And whatever you do, don’t ever, ever go into the garden.”

On another moonlit night, Johnny woke and heard voices. He ran to his mother’s room and knocked on her door. “Mother, I hear voices. Who’s talking? Do we know them? Are they here to visit?”

“Go back to sleep, son. Don’t listen. It’s just the wind song of leaves rustling in the breeze.”

“But it sounds like it’s coming from the garden.”

“It’s not your concern, Johnny. Go back to sleep.”

The next morning at breakfast, Johnny said, “Mother, I know I heard voices last night. Someone was in the meadow by the tree circle.”

“No, son. There was no one there. It was just the wind song of leaves rustling in the breeze.”

One day, Johnny and Scout played outside while his mother hung clean laundry to dry on the clothesline. Scout barked and chased a squirrel into

the garden in the middle of the tree circle. Johnny called and whistled, but his dog didn’t come back.

As Johnny walked toward the tree circle to find Scout, his mother called, “Johnny, don’t go near the tree circle. And whatever you do, don’t ever, ever go into the garden.”

“But Scout chased a squirrel into the garden. I have to bring him home.”

“No, Johnny. Scout knows his way. He’ll come home when he’s ready.”

But Scout didn’t come home.

The moon was full that night, and Johnny couldn’t sleep because he was worried about Scout. The summer night was warm, and Johnny opened his bedroom window. A dog barked down by the tree circle. The bark sounded funny like it was echoing.

“Scout must be stuck somewhere. That’s why he didn’t come home this afternoon. I have to help him,” Johnny thought. So, Johnny climbed through his window and followed the barking.

The moon slid behind a cloud, and everything was quiet as Johnny walked in the dark. When he reached the tree circle, the moon came out, and he heard barking and people talking. “Someone’s in the garden,” he thought.

Instead of a fence, signs that said “Welcome to the Garden” surrounded the tree circle. Inside the ring of trees, rows of flowers, plants, and bushes grew in concentric circles around a large glowing boulder in the middle of the garden. Each plant was identified with a neatly lettered sign.

Johnny walked into the garden and followed the path between the trees and the first circle of plants. He passed a three-foot tall plant with brilliant blue flowers and needle-like leaves covering each stem. The sign said “Rosemary.”

“Hello, Rosemary. I used to have a friend named Rosemary. She had eyes the color of your flowers. But she went away and never came back.”

The evergreen shrub quivered in response to his words.

Johnny heard a cat meow. He looked down at a fuzzy plant with jagged, heart-shaped leaves and lavender flowers. “Catnip,” the sign said. Johnny laughed. “I thought the catnip meowed.”

Johnny saw a plant with two-foot-long leaves shaped like hearts. “Elephant Ears,” the sign said. Johnny laughed. “The leaves are shaped just like elephant ears.” A loud trumpeting sound startled him, and he backed up and bumped into something sharp.

“Ow!” he exclaimed and heard a noise behind him. “Who was that?” He spun around but no one was there. He had bumped into a bush with shiny, dark green, pointed leaves and red berries. In front of the plant, a nicely lettered sign identified the shrub as “Holly.”

“Hello, Holly. Sorry I bumped into you,” he said as a formal apology. His mother had taught him to be polite.

Johnny walked along every path in the garden and examined the other plants. He stood face-toface with a “Black-eyed Susan” sunflower. A “Trout Begonia” had leaves spotted just like the trout that used to swim in the creek. A patch of tall, green grass was labelled “Timothy.” Red, pink, white, purple, and bi-colored flowers clustered above the “Sweet William” sign.

As Johnny reached the middle of the garden, the moon moved behind a cloud, the large stone stopped glowing, and the garden was quiet. Johnny wondered why that happened.

When the full moon came out from behind the cloud, the garden was once again brightly lit. The large, smooth boulder in the center of the garden glowed. As he stepped forward to touch the stone, he heard voices and his dog barking.

Johnny whirled around. “Scout, here boy! Where are you?” He heard more voices and turned around again. “Who’s there? I don’t see you, and I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

He walked in the direction of the barking and tripped over a root sticking out from under a small bush. The sign identified the plant as a “Squirrel Arm.” He laughed because the hairy root did resemble a squirrel’s arm reaching out from under the plant.

He bowed politely. “Excuse me, Mr. Squirrel,” he said, then continued walking more carefully in the direction of the barking.

The moon slipped behind another cloud. It was dark and quiet as Johnny walked between the plants. The cloud passed, and moonlight streamed into the garden. He heard voices behind him and swung around. But no one was there. He heard more voices. But everywhere he turned, no one was there. Then a dog barked excitedly.

Johnny followed the sound of barking, but he couldn’t find his dog. He felt something touch his back. He pivoted and a dog’s head was sticking out of the trunk of the tree, panting and barking. The neatly lettered sign at the base of the tree said “Dogwood.”

“Dogwood.” Johnny laughed. He looked at the dog’s face and patted its head. “My dog is lost. His name is Scout. Have you seen him?”

The dog head whined and licked Johnny’s hand.

There was a nicely lettered sign he had not noticed earlier. It was strange because the sign was there, but no plant was next to it. “Johnny-jumpup,” the sign said. Johnny giggled. “That’s my name.”

It was late and dark, and Johnny was tired. He hadn’t found Scout, but he needed to get home and back into bed before his mother noticed he was gone. As he walked through the garden one last time, the moon came out, and the stone glowed invitingly. Maybe he should sit down and rest before he walked home. Johnny reached out and ran his fingers across the glowing surface.

Later that night, Johnny’s mother checked on her son and found his bed empty. His window stood open, and she knew he had crawled through. She went outside and began calling for him. As she searched for Johnny, she walked nearer and nearer the tree circle.

Johnny screamed a warning to his mother. “Don’t come near the tree circle, and whatever you do, don’t ever, ever come into the garden.”

His mother stopped and glanced around, but all she heard was the wind song of leaves rustling in the breeze.

For more garden tales from DJ Piper, take her 6-lesson course Sluggery Basics: Raising, Training, and Showing Your Slug, offered complimentarily through the Academy of Omniosophical Arts & Sciences online annex.

Use this QR-code for the online course link. And look forward to a paperback version of the course coming soon!