MILWAUKEE — In a Milwaukee neighborhood, there’s an imaginary garden making a real impact.
Carly and her daughter Aria didn't know what they would be creating when they started their fairy garden. But with a little fairy dust, it magically started to grow.
“Thought it would stay in the fairy realm for lack of a better word but we’ve watched outside as college kids have dropped off old toys that they must have maybe in their dorm. We’ve watched, you know, older couples that have gone for a walk and dropped something off," Carly Hegarty said.
In a pocket of the Lower East Side, you will find at least five fairy gardens. They are the kinds with small doors butted up against trees, whimsical fairies, and gnomes galore.
Aria, Carly's daughter, named their garden Shell.
"Because I saw a shell in my fairy garden," Aria said.
Along with fairies, there are dinosaurs, action heroes, farm animals, construction equipment, and more.
"So it might be a McDonald's Happy Meal toy. It might be a Lego. it might be a fairy. We just never know. Someone's left just quarters because that's kind of fun for kids too," Carly Hegarty said.
Just a few blocks down the road on North Shepard Avenue, there are three more fairy gardens.
"I just think it's great. It is sort of a community - brings us all together. It's a fun thing for kids, you know. There's lots of kids that walk down our block just to look at them and through the neighborhood. It's a great way to bring people together and bring kids together," Kirsten Johnson said.
Families build gardens, kids check them out, and walkers leave gifts.
"And the best part is neighbors and people drop things like little trinkets off, so its grown a bit in the last four years," Johnson said.
One child, Matthew Getnet called it, "bonkers."
None of this is make-believe, though. The fairies and gnomes bring together neighbors and homes.
“We’ve just had really beautiful connections made over something that is so simple," Carly Hegarty said.
And so small too. But this fairy magic is big and true.
Anyone is welcome to drop off their own contributions at any of the fairy gardens in the area. There is also a new Facebook page, called Fairy Gardens MKE, designed for fellow fairy garden enthusiasts to connect and share.
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