The Garden That Learned to Float: A Turtle and Otter Story

When rain covers Tess’s marigolds, she and Nim create a floating garden beside the river. This free illustrated story follows their patient teamwork.

A turtle and an otter sit beside a river with orange flowerpots on a reed raft.

A turtle and an otter stand at the edge of a flooded riverside garden.

Tess the turtle planted marigolds beside the river. Each morning, she counted their bright green leaves. Then three days of rain made the river swell. Her flower bed disappeared under a silvery puddle. “My garden needs somewhere else to sit,” Tess said. Nim the otter tipped his head. “What if it could float?”

An otter holds a flowerpot while a turtle looks at a small bundle of tied reeds in the water.

Nim tied a handful of reeds into a little raft. Tess set one flowerpot on top. The raft leaned left. The pot leaned right. Plop! Nim caught it before the soil spilled. Tess studied the wobbly reeds. “Our garden needs a wider bottom,” she said. “And something to hold it near home.”

A turtle arranges flowerpots on a reed raft while an otter ties a rope to a wooden post.

Tess wove a broad mat, threading each reed over and under the next. Nim held the edges steady. Together they tied the mat to two stout bundles of reeds. Nim fastened a loose loop around a riverside post. Tess arranged the flowerpots in a circle. This time, the garden bobbed without tipping.

A turtle and an otter sit beside a floating reed garden filled with orange flowers.

When the marigolds opened, their orange faces shone above the water. Nim gave the garden one careful nudge. It drifted to the end of its loop and came gently back. Tess sat beside him on the bank. The river carried little ripples past their feet. Their garden floated, and their flowers stayed home.

The Garden That Learned to Float

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