When garden is private doesn't that mean that only people on your friends list can water? I put garden private an hour ago and someone was able to water three minutes ago. What did I do wrong? It says private but apparently it isnt.

If someone had your garden open in a tab already but hasn't refreshed their page then they would still be able to water

Ohhhh I did not know that. Interesting, ty Patricia and Dawn.

I didn't know that either, Thanks Patricia. Xx

If I could venture a suggestion ... You could post a message to their wall kindly letting them know you have closed your garden gates. When a player has a garden opened in a tab or window they have no way of knowing they are not currently welcome.

As someone who often stalks particular gardens when hunting something specific, I can tell you players have been unnecessarily blocked bc they had someone's garden open and had no way to know the GO had gone private. The GO, upset because they cannot understand how a person continues to water, tends to assume the worst and hits the block button.

While I'm in no way implying that you would do so, I know it can be hurtful to suddenly find yourself taken to the All Garden page when just s short time before the visit was welcome. I'm sure they would appreciate a kindly worded note versus being blocked or reported. I certainly would.   : )

On the flip side....it would irritate me to no end to have a GO go private when I've been watering in their garden.

Someone can only go private if their plates are empty, so at least they cant just suddenly go private while you are stalking something.

It can still be very annoying if you have been in a garden for a while, even days,  spotting for example their babies (or pond myths) and then face closed gates when it's time for families (or BD).

As to Kelley's advice - just keep in mind that if the waterer does not refresh any page, they would not know that you had left a message on their back wall.

True, but at least it wouldn't be as abrupt as finding yourself at the All Gardens page.

They could also freeze their gardens. That would force a refresh and they'd be more likely to see any note ...

How can I remove a private garden from my favourite list went private after I put the garden on and now i cannot remove it