In The Secret Garden, author Frances Hodgson Burnett surmises, "If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden." Everywhere I look, I imagine something better with the right landscaping and an aesthetic understanding of the role plants play in beautifying our lives.

How Elements of a Secret Garden Create Spaces of Respite
* Wonder
* Surprise
* Magic
* Beauty
* Nature
* Sense of Hope and Peace

Achieving any or all of these elements requires understanding of what thrives within your zone, climate, and soil. Sun and water play roles, too, of course. But with the right understanding of your particular space, anyone might create the dramatic sense of beauty and possibility that Burnett illustrated so beautifully via words.

In her novel, one first focuses on sorrow and death, and then on the potential for joy where life is cultivated, specifically in a garden, Burnett uses shrub roses as a symbol for the hope a garden represents. Mary discovers the secret garden behind the dense wall of roses that appear to be dead but truly only need loving care. A robin, which she describes as "prettier than anything else in the world", helps her to discover the key to a little door hidden in the dense foliage of the roses, and this reveals far greater mystery than one might expect the vines to hide.

Within the wall of shrub roses, Mary discovers the first spikes of bulb grown flowers--crocuses, daffodils, perhaps tulips, and determines that the garden is quite alive.

Everyone deserves the pleasure of both a private place to meditate AND the opportunity to reveal within themselves creative potential for growing something wonderful. Growing your own secret garden stands to connect you better with the planet, nature, and your Self.

Your Secret Garden Cultivates Harmony
Looking back to the secret garden Mary's story revealed behind that shrub rose wall, I know exactly how to answer the question. Allow yourself to imagine great garden possibility. Ask yourself what you would grow in a space all your own. Finally, envision peace, tranquility, and magic.

When you feel yourself ready to cultivate kindness and compassion, harmony such as a garden represents, follow these steps to cultivate mystery and privacy in your garden:
* Choose an area that provides ample space for garden construction
* Mark the lines of your future garden wall
* Leave a space for your own garden gate or door
* Select fast-growing, disease resistant roses
* Fertilize and Water accordingly

Once you have planted your roses, you can move forward with other secret garden plants. Within the area guarded by the roses, imagine beds of flowers that bring color, fragrance, textures, and varied bloom times to the garden. Intermingle rhizomes, bulbs, and webby roots for a variety of grow styles and to extend your bloom season. With the right planning, your secret garden will bloom from early spring to frost. In some areas, year round blooms may be possible.