There's a garden in New Hartford that's nearly famous for the practical jokes it's been the site of. The latest prank started as a way for neighbors to gently mock the homeowner's love for her ancient vacuum cleaner.

MaryLynn Paniccia has an ancient Electrolux vaccum that is so old, it needs repairs on the regular. In fact, it's being repaired right now. Her neighbors came up with a creative way to tell her to "suck it up" and get a new one. " MaryLynn explains, "My “million dollar” vacuum has been in the shop since right before Covid! So there’s been a long running joke about me giving up my 30-year-old Electrolux and pulling the trigger to go buy a new one! Which I refuse to do!"

Credit: MaryLynn Paniccia

The prank was facilitated by the fact that New Hartford has been hosting bulk trash pickup over the past few weeks - so 'supplies' were easy to come by - and now MaryLynn has her 'pick' of new vacuums.

Credit: Kathi Randall

This is just the most recent in a long string of pranks that center around MaryLynn's gorgeous gardens - especially the bath tub that makes the centerpiece.

Her neighbor's have set up elaborate scenes using the tub:

Credit: Danielle Exton
Credit: Danielle Exton

You see the rest of those HERE.

If you're looking for a broken vacuum, we think we know where you can get one...or a few.


Credit: Danielle Exton