One of my long time dreams is to have a secret garden. Actually, my dream was to adopt one. An unkempt one that longed to be rediscovered – full of botanical gems and a history of memories – a keyed gate, an overgrown path etc…
Shortly after we moved in, I found it. Not an existing secret garden (my holy grail) but the gate that led nowhere. The gate that didn’t open. This is it. My chance to reopen a portal to my own secret garden from the edge of my backyard to the fields beyond. The site has been chosen, shady, secluded, a place to ponder in a neglected yet beautiful area.
There are many practical steps to creating a secret garden, so although my project is shrounded in whimsy and day dreaming, I have a plan regarding things to acquire:
- reclaimed old clay bricks for a path to/from the garden
- a garden arch (prefer old, but may buy new and give it an antiqued/rusty finish)
- any old iron decorative border/edgings
- non-invasive secret garden plants for pots – e.g. so far –>chamomile, wooly thyme
- faery, goblin,elve,buddhas for the spirit populus
- wind chimes
These are, as I see it at first imagined glance, the bare essentials for a secret garden. Only my research will uncover if there are more elements.
The project began with the a careful pruning of the plants surrounding the gate and an attempted opening. The gate yielded to opening after some years, but is very stiff as though trying hard to resist my will to open it. Hopefully it will settle into it’s new purpose with a bit of wishful thinking and a bit of magic spray (WD40).