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The Secret Garden

© Murdo Morrison

Backyard Habitats is pleased to be part of the Holistic Therapy 2000 Event.

One of my favorite movies is The Secret Garden, based on the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. In the story, a young orphan, Mary, comes to live in a remote house where, left to her own devices, she discovers a secret garden that has been locked away and neglected since her Aunt died in a freak accident. Her Uncle, in his grief, has locked up the garden and allowed it to become overgrown and forgotten. Mary decides to reawaken the garden and in doing so sparks a spiritual rebirth in the inhabitants of the house.

There are many reasons why I like this film but it is the evocation of a child's discovery of nature and the beautiful depiction of the mysteries of growth and rebirth that are particularly haunting. The scenes of germinating seeds and growing plants, captured in stunning time lapse photography always remind me how blessed we are to experience the miracle of seasonal regeneration.

Those of us who have worked to create natural gardens also have the key to a secret garden, if only we take the time to observe and be quiet in it. A natural garden is teeming with life and activities. If you come to the garden with the right perspective there are rich rewards for the mind and spirit.

In modern society gardens have largely become one more stage for a hectic, frenzied lifestyle. We may hold a barbecue or a lawn party or other recreational pursuit. Generally most people seem to spend more time cutting their grass or weeding than enjoying their gardens. I would suspect that few use their gardens for meditation or contemplation. Natural gardens can provide enormous benefit to people as well as wildlife. For me this means the opportunity to sit quietly in the garden and to observe what is going on. The more carefully I look the more I see.

In our garden, deeply buried in suburbia, we have had numerous close encounters with raptors pursuing birds around the feeders. To see any of these birds at close range is a wonderful sight. Most often I only see the remnants of a kill, perhaps a few pieces of fur. However, on one occasion I was lucky enough to see a hawk on my back step, plucking a hapless mourning dove just a few feet away. On another I was able to capture this Northern Harrier with its freshly killed prey on video.

The copyright of the article The Secret Garden in Backyard Habitats is owned by Murdo Morrison. Permission to republish The Secret Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.