Gallery

In a far corner of the Botanic Gardens, under the blue of a clear spring sky, a chocolate-brown bear knelt over a flowerbed on the edge of a twisting stone path design. This part of the Gardens was still in the process of being renovated, so he could kneel on a grassy patch that hadn’t been paved yet (and work in peace without any visitors). It was going to be a statue garden, but the only current feature was a stone bench.  ...

Two baos passed through the gates into the Botanic Gardens, smelling faintly of sea-salt and sunny days. They had traveled the long way from the oceans of Bearmuda Bay to attend a garden party hosted by their friend Ouji — however one of the baos didn’t seem interested in taking the direct path. The blue bao, dressed in her finest gray hat and cream-colored dress, stood firm on the path and crossed her arms as her companion was immediately sidetracked by a hyd...

After a half-hour stroll through the Botanic Gardens, Julian found the perfect hilltop for the day’s project. He spread his picnic blanket with a flourish, and set about unpacking his flowers from the basket hooked under his arm. After weeks of careful cultivation, he was even more careful to arrange the blooms across his blanket: first by color, and then by size. Once laid out to his satisfaction he could remove the final pieces from his basket — a spool of wire, and an ornate...

Baogonia stepped up and away from the plot to survey her work, wiping the sweat from her brow (and leaving a smudge of dirt in its place). Satisfied with her progress, she stretched against the ache in her muscles from leaning over the ground. There was plenty of hard work left to do before the conservatory would bloom like the fields of the valley, but seeing the buds of new flowers peek out of the soil filled her with the drive to push on. Her empty stomach however, had the oppos...

Having completed the tour of the Botanic Gardens — and appropriately outfitted with a pair of gardening mittens — Saru sat down next to Baogonia as she knelt over a flowerbed. He watched as she dug three tiny holes and planted seeds within them, moving with the finesse of an expert at her craft. Tentatively, Saru pushed his paw into soil and tried to mimic the motion.  Baogonia grinned. “That’s the spirit, flower...