pick_me

3/19/2008

What Gardening Meant to Me as a Child

japanese garden
Japanese gardens at San Antonio Botanical Gardens.


Today I was thinking of my dream garden and how I would love to be sitting on a nice bench in nice weather today. My dream garden is much of what I saw as a child in movies and TV. A well manicured garden filled to the brim with lush green. Everything in it's place looking lush and full but not so over crowded. The perfect harmony of flowers and foliage plants. I would love to have an Asian inspired garden where everything looks so balanced. I can't seem to wrap my head around how to even create that type of environment. Every time I see an Asian themed movie there are always these wonderful gardens. Wonderful water features are included with super large Koi. Flowering trees are everywhere and all these interesting shrubs and trees.

sundress
A great sun dress from Zappos.com


I some how got the image of gardening in a sun dress. I've always wanted to garden in a sun dress and thought it was the way to garden. Every women gardens in a sun dress right? Well no, maybe a few who don't really get down and dirty. That is one thing I never thought of with gardening. Dirtiness never crossed my mind in my dream garden wearing my sun dress walking on my path through lush plants. It's funny how when your younger everything looks glorified.

My favorite movie was The Secret Garden, the 1993 movie and not the one before that. Who hasn't watched that movie. That was the perfect garden to me. I wanted to be there in that movie as that girl in that great garden. Where walls were covered in ivy and climbing plants and there was a door leading to a secret garden.

vines
Vines everywhere at the Botanical Gardens


Since seeing The Secret Garden I've seen photos of houses covered in vines. Walls covered everything covered and that I wanted in my garden. I never heard of ivy being invasive or any plant being invasive. As a young girl I thought plants all were perfect where they were put and grew to whatever size and never thought to be a problem.

rose garden
Rose Garden at the Botanical Gardens


Lastly every garden would have roses, tons of them. Who hasn't seen the movies set in Victorian times with rose gardens. To me a garden had to have a rose garden. Gardens were to be sectioned off in themed parts. There were to be walls made from large shrubs that you could walk through making some sort of maze, and perfect symmetry. That was what garden wall all about to me as a young girl. I thought it to all be perfect and piece together.

All those images of the perfect garden has influenced my thought of the perfect garden now. I still want all the things I wanted as a young girl. That sun dress in the perfectly put together garden with large shrub walls, roses, ivy, and a secret garden but Asian inspired.

6 comments:

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Ok, lets both put on a nice summer dress and start gardening(tralalaa) in that perfect dream garden of yours. Would you like a glass of non alcoholic elderberry blossom champagne while you're pruning the roses my dear? ;-)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

I think a lot of us who yearn for something such as a Japanese garden .. are looking for peace and tranquility in our lives .. yet the secret garden with privacy .. perhaps life in general being too exposed and busy ? .. now the sundress .. hum .. I'm a T-Shirt and Capris, lass myself .. LOL
Joy

Unknown said...

Love it!!!

I would sooooo come to your garden to hang out... -Jen :)

Unknown said...

I saw the Secret Garden. It was very lovely once they started taking care of it.

I guess now that I'm out in the middle of nowhere it doesn't really bother me not having a 'private' part of the yard to go to though.

When I garden I wear a tshirt and shorts. I guess I don't want to wear something that I'd be showing off things to the neighbors that they'd rather not see!

Benjamin Vogt said...

I've always wanted to garden in a sundress--it keep you cool. Alas, there are social taboos for men wearing dresses. (yes, sarcasm)

Priscilla George said...

Yolanda- I would love to have a garden buddy who wears a sun dress with me so I don't feel so awkward. That champagne sounds delightful!

Joy-Who doesn't love the Japanese Gardens. They are so balanced and peaceful and orderly. I really think the key is foliage and no flowers except for flowering trees and maybe bushes. I have a hard time not doing flowers. I need to study up on Japanese Gardens. Yeah I don't really wear a sundress but I can't get that image out of my head. It just looks so great.

Nancy- Thank you for the compliment. I wish my dream garden was real. But not even my balcony garden matches what my dream balcony garden is.

Jen- Please do come to my imaginary garden! Now my real one is a tiny balcony.

Cinj- Yeah showing off to the neighbors is not a good thing. I would have to have no neighbors or many trees and screening plants. I would love to see the real Secret Garden! Where is it located what is it called?

Benjamin- That was a nice laugh! It's okay I won't tell anyone you like sun dresses too.