Monday 8 July 2013

A Visit to the Real Secret Garden


Frances Hodgson Burnett's Secret Garden



As a child, a favourite story of mine was 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett - and I've loved walled gardens ever since. Walking into a walled garden feels like entering a hidden world, and, for a child, this can be a mysterious world, as Frances HB describes so well in her book, when her character Mary finds herself in the Secret Garden  and 'it seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place.'  The planting in walled gardens can look lovely, too, because the old walls provide a perfect background to cottage garden flowers and climbing roses.







Frances HB had been inspired to write the book by her own walled garden at Great Maytham Hall in Kent, where she was living at the turn of the twentieth century. Although I loved the book, I hadn't really thought about visiting the real-life garden that had inspired her story.  But a couple of years ago I was researching some family history and made a surprising discovery: David's six-times great grandfather was Captain James Monypenny, who had Great Maytham Hall and the gardens (including the Secret Garden) built as his country house and grounds in the early 1700s. So, having discovered that the 'real' Secret Garden exists in Kent (not too far away) - and that we have a sort of family connection to it (even though three hundred years and eight generations is a bit distant to say the least...) - we thought it was well worth a visit.

Great Maytham Hall viewed from the Secret Garden






The current Great Maytham Hall isn't the house built by Captain James; this was largely replaced by a house designed by Edward Lutyens in 1909. The gardens have undergone various transformations, too. Frances HB found the Secret Garden overgrown and forgotten and she set about changing this by planting several roses. Later, Edward Lutyens and Gertrude Jekyll re-designed the grounds.  Today, the Secret Garden is full of flowers and is very well maintained...








In 'The Secret Garden', Mary discovers the hidden garden when she is led there by a robin (and it seems Frances HB was led there by a robin, too). Well, there were no robins on our visit, but instead I did see plenty of bees and this lovely Small Tortoiseshell Butterfly...

Small Tortoiseshell


Mary enters the garden through a door concealed by ivy and finds that it is neglected with all the flowers and plants apparently lifeless. But it's winter, and she soon discovers the first green shoots of the spring flowers in the earth. When she visits again and again over the next few months, and begins to do some gardening of her own there, she watches everything come to life, especially the roses...'Rising out of the grass, tangled around the sun-dial, wreathing the tree trunks, and hanging from their branches, climbing up the walls and spreading over them with long garlands falling in cascades - they came alive day by day, hour by hour...and uncurled into cups of scent delicately spilling themselves over their brims and filling the garden air.'






We visited the real Secret Garden on a hot day in early July, so the cottage garden flowers and roses were in full bloom.  It is very pretty and we were lucky that, for much of the time, we were the only people there.  But the romance of a secret garden has gone, of course - and I tried to imagine Frances HB being the only visitor there when it was more enclosed and hidden and wild. She came to the garden to write and I wonder whether she found any peace there, because she apparently suffered from depression after losing her own son some years before 'The Secret Garden' was written.  The children in the book come alive in the garden, and, interestingly, there is a hundred year old message here about children spending too much time indoors when they are healthier and happier outside.
Area of the grounds outside the Secret Garden


'The Secret Garden' at Great Maytham Hall is open on Wednesday afternoons under the National Gardens Scheme (gardens open for charity).  The Hall itself, which isn't open to visitors, has now been divided into luxury apartments.


47 comments:

  1. I read the Secret Garden to L last year and we were both utterly hooked on it. It is one of my favourite books so I loved seeing this garden. There is something very special about walled gardens and I would love to have one one day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree about the walled garden - I'd love one, too! While I was visiting this garden I was wondering how mine would look and I decided I'd have it slightly wilder.

      Delete
  2. One of my favourite books as a child. There's something magical about a walled garden and what a beautiful one this is. I hadn't realised it was her inspiration. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would love to see pictures of the garden as Frances HB knew it, both when she first discovered it and after she planted her roses, etc. It must have been something to have inspired her story.

      Delete
  3. That's a beautiful garden Wendy, thanks for sharing it. I love the rose arches in particular. It's lovely when you visit somewhere and it's quiet, even if just for a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were fortunate there were only a handful of other people there wandering in and out and I also think we picked the right time of year to visit to see the roses and cottage garden flowers.

      Delete
  4. Great photos looks a lovely place

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a lovely garden and we were very lucky that the sun was out, too!

      Delete
  5. I too loved The Secret Garden, and also the film done by the BBC. On the film I remember the garden was really wild and tangled with brambles but very magical to my eye.
    What great photos you took - quintessentially English, could not be anywhere else.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, it is an English cottage garden within old walls. It would be interesting to see it in winter/early spring - I wonder if it has a wildness, then?

      Delete
  6. What a stunning garden, and your pictures are just superb!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I imagine this is the time of year when walled gardens look their best, as the roses and other climbers are flowering over the walls and (here) the pergola. There are flowers at every height.

      Delete
  7. What a wonderful place. The way the walls enclose the space and shut out any noise makes walled gardens so magical and peaceful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, walled gardens really do create a world within a world. They are wonderful places to escape to for some tranquility.

      Delete
  8. What a lovely garden even though it has been tamed since the days of Frances HB. Masses of roses always seem so romantic don't they, I can imagine them tumbling everywhere in years gone by, making it a super secret garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would have loved to have seen Frances HB's roses, they would probably have been old fashioned roses to us. I imagine the garden was slightly wilder then and that it was very romantic and enchanting.

      Delete
  9. Oh, how lovely. The Secret Garden is one of my favourites and I loved it as a child. Dickon is one of my favourite literary characters. I also love walled gardens and gardens with little secret areas. I'd never even thought about the author's own experiences and where she might have got her inspiration from. Now I know - thank you so much for sharing your adventure in the Secret Garden:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dickon is a wonderful character, isn't he? He is the only person the robin instinctively trusts. I have a mental image of what Frances HBs garden looked like - I wonder if it's accurate!

      Delete
  10. What a beautiful post - I so enjoyed as the Secret Garden has always been one of my favourite books too :) Your photos are lovely and its wonderful to see the garden connected with the author and you must be so excited over the family connection :) Thank you so much for sharing :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was fun to find a family connection to the Secret Garden, even though it's a bit distant! It is interesting to think back beyond Frances HB's garden, too and imagine what it first looked like and what the early flowers were.

      Delete
  11. I haven't read The Secret Garden for years although I have seen various film adaptations. I would have loved to see it in the wild state when she first discovered it wouldn't you - so much more exciting than a garden which has been tamed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, because it was hidden and forgotten and nature had taken over, it must have been a real thrill to discover it. Frances HB obviously saw it through child-like eyes, too and imagined the magic in it.

      Delete
  12. I loved the secret garden and it's great to see the garden that inspired the author.. It is so pretty. Thanks for sharing the your wonderful photos.
    Julie :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's fascinating to visit places that inspire favourite stories; I like to try and imagine them through the author's eyes.

      Delete
  13. An absolutely delightful post! I loved every word....and what can I say about those lovely pics....

    I too loved that book, and re-read it so often as a child. I can't get over the fact you have a family connection....however distant!!! Brilliant that is!

    I too love walled gardens, especially if the stone is aged.xxxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, the stone or brick walls really need to be old, don't they? Walled gardens need to have some history if they're have some character and be a bit romantic. Even better if the garden has been neglected and allowed to go wild - anything could have happened there!

      Delete
  14. These pictures are beautiful and I would love to visit the secret garden, it was a favourite book of mine too. In fact in recent years I have bought a posh copy and re-read it. How funny that we both posted about ancient family connections. Shame the house is now apartments, it was probably quite stunning in its heyday xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree, it is a bit of a shame the house is now appartments. If it was still one house it may have kept some old paintings and photographs on the walls of the old gardens and houses. There may be some pictures left there now, but of course we wouldn't be able to see them.

      Delete
    2. Sorry - realised at once it should be apartment, not appartment!

      Delete
  15. Super photos! I only live about an hour away so will be sure to make a trip there at some point. It looks beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's interesting that you're so close. We wished that we had had more time to explore the area. As it was, we only had time to have some lunch, visit the garden and then the church in the local village.

      Delete
  16. The secret garden was one of my favourite books as a child too. How wonderful to discover the link to David's family history and to share with us your visit to this wonderful garden. I also have a fascination for walled gardens and for a few years we lived in the Head Gardeners Cottage which came with the walled garden! It was wonderful living there and my Dad managed to get the weeds at bay. I wrote about it on my blog last year. Thank you for taking us with you.
    Sarah x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Living in a cottage with a walled garden sounds marvellous. I'll enjoy reading your earlier post about it. We did have fun discovering the family history connection to this garden and it's always fascinating to actually visit somewhere in a family story, isn't it?

      Delete
  17. I never knew there was a real garden that had inspired that book. I was just in England and wish I'd had a chance to visit it. It looks so beautiful. :o)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I imagine the garden might be open for the planting alone; it is beautiful at this time of year. But I think most people would visit because of the story behind it. It was fascinating thinking about Frances HB there and how she was inspired to write her book.

      Delete
  18. It's absolutely beautiful. I love walled gardens too, they are always magical, but this one is particularly lovely. Glad you had a good visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We were fortunate with the weather; it gave us time to wander around and sit for a while and fully appreciate it. The roses looked glorious in the sun, too. I think all walled gardens should have roses climbing over the walls!

      Delete
  19. Gosh I had never thought of visiting this garden - and now I can't believe it hasn't dawned on me to visit it before! I will put it on my visiting list immediately - it looks wonderful! Thank you for sharing this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is worth a visit if you're in the area, especially if you love the book. It is a shame, though, that there isn't more information there along with the garden, such as old photos, history of the house etc. I think that would really add to the visit.

      Delete
  20. So many of my gardening friends list A Secret Garden as an inspirational book. We plan to follow in your homesteading footsteps. We move on to five acres in August. About 2 acres have been cleared the rest still forest. I'm so glad you visited my blog. I will be following.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think 'The Secret Garden' always stays in the memory; the walled garden is so vividly described in the story. Your move sounds very exciting, I look forward to following back!

      Delete
  21. How lovely! The Secret Garden was one of my favourite books as a child and a book I've gone back to read it a couple of times as an adult. I didn't know the garden that inspired her, so I really enjoyed this post. I love a walled garden too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is a book that adults can enjoy, too, isn't it? It's such a lovely story. The house is completely different and the garden has also changed a great deal since Frances HB's day, I have been wondering what she would think of them both now.

      Delete
  22. Truly gorgeous and magical. :-) The Secret Garden remains one of my very favorite stories too. I loved visiting the real garden with you today. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Stunning photos, the Secret Garden was one of my favourite books as a child, so this post is a nice little injection of nostalgia!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave any comments. I do love to read them.