secret gardens

“I am sure there is Magic in everything, only we have not sense enough to get 

hold of it and make it do things for us” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

 I've been thinking about 'secret gardens' as I have been following the progress of a drawing my niece Anna Rose has been working on.  I love that she posts images on fb so people can see.  The original book, The Secret Garden,  was published in serial form in 1910 - and then in it's entirety in 1911.  It is in the public domain and you can read it here, or listen to it here.  Maybe you saw the 1949 movie with Margaret O'Brien, which is on tv fairly regularly - I think there has also been a Hallmark version and an anime version.  It's a lovely story for children and I suppose for anyone.  The idea (or the fact) of a secret garden has an iconic pull on people.  A space to relax, a space where magic can happen, a space of safety - and of beauty.  I suppose in that states that is often how we see our backyards, and to some extent that is true - but the gardens I have seen here are mostly public.  Some are huge, some are tiny - and they reflect the people who use them, or the people who came before and left them for us to enjoy. Here that can be people who came WAY before us (like this one started by Catherine Medici in the 1600's where I have spent a couple of days this past week).

Two views of the Jardin des Tuileries.

I've seen secret gardens and public gardens all over....they have been here for awhile, many of them,  especially in the older parts of the city (like  in the 18th arrondissement where I am staying).

This one (right) was on the "Ladies Walk" along the River Ness (- yes, it goes to Loch Ness).   

I loved the door - locked - and the clematis along the top of the wall were so thick 

that you couldn't see through them.

These two are from the garden that was across the street from the Goodenough Club (part of Goodenough College) where I stayed in London.  You had to have a key to get into it - and inside there was a place for kids to play, benches and walkways.  The entire thing was pretty much hidden from the outside - except for being able to look through the gate (above).  The image below shows the walkway alongside the garden from my place to the street where the grocers and the cinema were.

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These three are from my neighborhood in Paris.  The top left is a tiny park that is off the square where the metro stop is.  The square is always bustling with people.  There is a carousel and a piano that someone is generally playing (very well).  But the garden is tucked away from the noise and people.  It is cool and quiet.  Top right is a door down the street.  I walk by it most days just to see if it is open because I want so much to see inside.  The lower center image is the little green space that I look down on from my living room window.  It is just a tiny part of the court yard - but I love that someone thought to put it there.  Everyone who lives around the courtyard has a window that looks out on it.

I remember looking closely at urban landscaping a few years ago with Nancy Aten - and learning so much about what the possibilities were for my own city of Milwaukee.  At the time she had us do an exercise where we walked down different parts of Wisconsin Avenue looking for "pocket parks" - little green spaces among the buildings (secret gardens of a sort).  There weren't many of them.  Many of those that did exist were corporately owned - and not necessarily open to the public unless you knew where to look.  There were plenty of little cement slabs "parks"....small places where a few cars could park for a hefty fee.

We think of Milwaukee as a city of parks and it is - especially if you are fortunate to live along Lake Michigan.  Too be fair there are wonderful parks throughout the city.  But again, my time in Europe has reminded me that our cities in the States are not friendly places for walking - for living a lifestyle where walking is encouraged and sustainable. Except for my time at the lighthouse, I haven't been anywhere that I couldn't find a wonderful meal, fresh groceries, a bakery, a good cup of coffee, a cocktail, a pharmacy - and a tiny green space to sit and think within a few blocks (or in most cases a few doors) from where I was staying.