The Secret Garden: A Tribute

Mary Lennox tends her garden in the 1993 film

 Science, or para-science, tells us that geraniums bloom better if they are spoken to.  But a kind word every now and then is really quite enough.  Too much attention, like too much feeding, and weeding and hoeing, inhibits and embarrasses them.  ~Victoria Glendinning

Unlock the Secret Garden with this Skeleton Key from Gwen Delicious

I am in love with the story The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.  It has all the mystery and excitement of a fairy tale and yet, unlike many stories for children, it is also plausible.  Sure, not every little girl is raised in India, orphaned, and sent to live with her eccentric uncle who keeps his sick son locked in a room, but it could happen.  It's a lot more likely than a fish-girl getting legs from a twisted, nautical-witch and losing the man she loves to some lady and turning into foam; not that I've ever really thought A Little Mermaid was a children's story, it's a bit morbid... in fact, most fairy tales are.

If you can't have an entire garden, carry a mini one by Warm Country Meadows.

 
How many fairy tales are actually about children anyway? Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and The Beast, Aladin, Thumbelina... try going through the Disney repertoire and find some... there aren't many. Even the stories that have children in them, like Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel, tend to have talking animals and candy houses. Among those precious few that manage to stay away from fantasy, the depiction of children tends to be optimistic in a far too enlightened (rather than naive) way for their tender age (A Little Princess, Heidi).  The beauty of Mary Lennox, on the other hand, is that she begins as a lonely, spoiled little girl and over the course of the book she learns to care for something (and someone) other than herself and ultimately finds the meaning of family and friendship.  She does something that every child eventually should, she grows.  

Mary and Dickon

And speaking of growing, another wonderful element to the story is that one of the main characters is the garden itself.  This is where all the magic happens and I've found that in reality this isn't far from the truth; a garden is indeed a marvelous place.  Think about it, a pile of dirt is sprinkled with seemingly dead, dried-up seeds.  Add water, sunshine and patience and you've got yourself some sprouts.  Add a little weeding, water, sun and more patience and soon you have flowers and fruit and grass and trees and shrubs.  And then, the animals come.  Birds and rabbits and deer and butterflies, it's really an incredible setting for any story.  

Edwardian Style never looked so good.  By Enid and Edgar

I could gush forever about the majesty of this book, but rather than blather on like the kids' book-nerd that I am, I will just say this:
If you haven't read the book, it's about time to read it.
If you haven't seen the 1993 film (pictured above) do yourself a favor and see it.  It remains one of my favorite movies of all time and the cinematography is exquisite.