Off to Handle the Weeds
The above is the inspiration for an idea that I’ve been toying with, but unsure where to go with it. You see, my son grabbed an old toy sword of mine and my mother’s watering can back in 2012. He ran around the backyard with both of these things for a while. Sometimes he had water in the can and went around watering the few plants that were around. It was entertaining and had no explanation.
The idea that this influenced was one of a huge garden in Windemere. All four seasons and all types of environments exist in this hidden area. There are guardians on this island who carry swords, watering cans, and various tools to handle the dangers. Much of what they do is maintain the plants for the goddesses who created the garden. There are a few animals around too for pollination and because they found their way to the area somehow. I’m not really sure of the specifics since this is based off the organization and I haven’t gotten very far.
I get stumped on the plot of such a story. There’s the standard ‘outsiders invading’ or a ‘disease’. I considered making it a single book where the main character goes on adventures to handle daily responsibilities. Watering a rare flower that blooms once a century, find a missing bee queen, get some rare seeds to help a goddess fix a damaged region, etc. Nothing that holds the world in the balance. This puts the character in a similar grouping as Genevieve Archer and Brian Hunter. They don’t have the ‘epic’ stories of Darwin, Sin, and Luke. It’s more localized and organization/life specific.
There is the option of having the character appear in another book and see how people take to him. If people want to see more then I can do a book. If not then it’s nothing lost since he/she will have worked for the story I put her into. I’m looking at Sin’s series because his world-spanning adventurers have the most openings for character testing, which is where Genevieve and Brian will step out at first.
Anyway, that’s another work in progress. Surprised I haven’t run out yet.
Legends of Windemere 
Could the Island exist as a sanctuary within other books, a sort of Rivendell for lack of a better term?
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Possibly. Do you mean a place for people to hide?
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Perhaps, or at least be safe from evil, as it could not go there. On the brink of failing or succumbing to events or exhaustion. The guardians there could be ageless, and so common characters could thread through future generations of your stories if you go with that decent option I recall you posting about recently.
Just a thought. Maybe in some ultra dramatic future work, evil does penetrate this island sanctuary.
If you called this island “Islay” and had the inhabitants making a fluid called “Lagavulin,” I would likely try to visit it.
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I think they’re more into mead and moonshine in this place.
I guess it depends on how many times I would need such a place throughout my stories. It might boil down to the scope within the world that I want for this. There’s a big difference between haven from evil and a protected reserve/garden department.
One fear I always have with areas that are protected from evil is that it seems inevitable that evil gets in there. I recently watched ‘The Great and Powerful Oz’, which had a place like this. The shield was smashed soon after it appeared. Ever wonder if these places are truly protected from evil or that evil is simply too lazy to put the effort into breaking in?
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Hard to say. Depending upon the mythology that you create, there could be some bane to evil at a place.
Yes, there is certainly a substantial difference between a protected garden and a full sanctuary. If the garden is a hidden one, then it may act as a sanctuary through secrecy.
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It’s in the same world as my current series, so there really isn’t any evil bane. Might be overlooked though.
While the garden is hidden, it’s looking like it will be contactable. At least by chosen agents. Sounds like I’m still hung up on the idea of an area that’s basically blocked from the rest of the world.
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Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, on the face of it. Hidden tranquility, to some extent.
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A lot of my series get heavy, so maybe a lighter one would work as a palate cleanser.
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Not sure how it works with fiction. Do you do exploratory story development and writing, to see how things pan out on occasion?
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Depends on the author. Some write without prep and follow the path. Others plan every detail. I do test scenes and character profiles to help get a feel for what I’m about to do.
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Could make for a cute kid adventure series, like a bunch of short stories. Just a thought.
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Maybe. I’m not even sure what I would do with it though, so we’ll see.
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I like navigator’s idea. Gardens have a long history of being sanctuaries; however, there are many toxic plants that could be threatening, or conversely beneficial, to certain populations/species. Some have historically provided antidotes to other toxins/poisons. I could see a place for such a garden in Windemere.
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Thank you, SK, although I am primarily a nonfiction writer for the moment. Not certain if that biases my opinions or not when it comes to epic fantasy.
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Regardless of our writing preferences, as readers we can appreciate fantasy and the design of the fascinating worlds within it.
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True. Good point.
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That’s why I was thinking of having the garden be a location that sends antidotes and in danger species to needed areas. I definitely like the sanctuary idea.
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It’s a lovely idea. I reckon it might be a good kids book too.
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That seems to be the consensus. Maybe something like Fablehaven.
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I’d love to read these new stories! But as far as I understand the ideal target would be children book! Since I love the letterature for them, as I said I’d read them!!!!You might want to write a sort of pilot on your blog as well and see the reponse!!!!
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It is looking more for either children or YA. It could really come down to the plot I choose and how dangerous the garden is.
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Good! Even better! So it’s that versatile! You should be proud of yourself!
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Thanks. 🙂
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As a dedicated gardener, I approve! But, if you wish to raise the stakes, and since you’ve already stated that Goddesses founded your garden… What if the garden IS the world? So if crops fail in one area, there is famine in the real world. Therefore keeping the garden healthy and in balance is really important and has consequences if those rare seeds aren’t found.
Although, if you’d prefer SF, having the “garden” be a biological arc and the “goddesses” be benevolent aliens/astronauts terraforming could also be very cool.
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The garden is actually part of my overall fantasy world, so I don’t think I can put it to that level. This is why I was moving closer to a magical version of your second idea. The garden holds every plant in existence and can be used to get seeds for reintroduction into an ecosystem. So it’s a very valuable area that, if destroyed, could lead to the loss of rare species. Seems like I’m aiming for a message about preserving the planet here.
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A good message, and some great ideas. I like the ideas so far, but there’s another route you can take, besides disease and invaders. There’s also destruction, someone, something, an organization or something, is trying to destroy the garden. That could also work for a children’s series.
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