Baskets for Butterflies: Gnome's Heirloom Garden

Can a garden gnome really come to life to help me save heirloom seeds? My family and I enjoy a back-to-basics lifestyle on a small Arizona homestead—but we’re not alone. We share our low-desert home with dairy goats, heritage turkeys, wildlife, and native plants. Whispered songs float down the Gila River—are they the ancestors of my Native American neighbors? We have such hopes for our organic heirloom garden. Many of the seeds are locally adapted and endangered. The summer air temperatures, though, often exceed 110 degrees. I struggle as plants shrivel and die! Then one day, under the magical mesquite tree, grown from seed by the hand of the wisher… “Who are you, and why are you here?” I ask. “Heard wish. Saw light. Want help…Darkness comes.”