The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burrnett was a book that I loved to read when I was a young girl. The is about a girl who goes to live with her Uncle and ill cousin in a huge mansion surround by a large amount of land. One day while wondering around the property she came across a wall covered by over-grown vines, as she followed the wall she discovers a mysterious locked gate. When she finds the key in one of the rooms of the house, she uses it to enter the gate and discovers the Secret Garden. She realizes that the garden has been unkempt a left to whither away. Mary, the young girl, becomes determined to save and bring back life to the suffering garden. Over time with love and appreciation the garden grows back as well as the suffering relationships between the characters in the story.
Just like Mary, one summer in Colorado I spent hours in the my Grandma's garden. She cleared a plot for me to grow my own flowers and herbs and I would pretend that I was Mary and it was my Secret Garden and I was bringing life back to the garden. I even named and talked to the squirrels in the near by trees just like Mary would in the story strengthening my bond with the natural surroundings.
The Secret Garden was a very important piece of my childhood that helped create my relationship with nature. I hope one day to share the story with my children and help the book shape their relationship as well.
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