The Secret Garden

via Warner Brothers




As a child, I was enamored with the book
The Secret Graden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
It is the story of a young girl, Mary, who, after losing both of her parents, is sent to live with her reclusive uncle in a large English manor.  Mary's early years had been spent in India, where she was tended by a cadre of servants and neglected by her busy parents.  When she arrives at Misselthwaite Manor, she is essentially all alone.

via Warner Brothers


The losses Mary, experienced, as well as her loneliness and isolation, resonated with me.  Most children can relate to these emotions, even if they are only experienced for brief periods of time.  The huge backyard at my grandmother's house was my haven.  I managed to find places to set up "house" that were hidden in the low branches of monstrous pines, in the shrubbery behind the storage shed, or in the circle carved out of a thicket of blackberries.  In July, when it was berry season, this was the best spot in the whole world to be!

via Warner Brothers




There is something about secrets (at least the ones that don't hurt people) that is delicious.  We savor them, rolling them around in our minds, knowing that by possessing knowledge that others do not, we are special.  

via Warner Brothers

Mary's garden had been locked up and abandoned long ago.  When she unlocked the door and stumbled inside the ivy-covered walls, she entered another world, a world of promise and possibility.  This was a world where time stood still and losses were not permitted entry.  Neglect hadn't ruined the eden that was this incredible garden.  In a huge leap of faith, she allowed others to enter her world, and she was taught how to plant seeds and bulbs, how to weed and prune.  

via Warner Brothers

She also learned how to trust, how to allow herself to be vulnerable, and ultimately, she learned how to cry.  Letting others in on our secret can be scary.  We risk exposure of the secret and of ourselves.  We risk being teased for prizing the secret as something marvelous.  We risk betrayal and dishonesty and rejection.

via Warner Brothers


Mary and her cousin Colin both craved attention and love.  In letting Colin, and ultimately her uncle, into her life and into her heart, Mary found the connections that had been missing her entire life.  Colin, through Mary's help, made his way toward healing.  And Mary made hers toward wholeness.

Those early days of my youth spent playing outside in my own secret gardens brought me in touch with essential parts of myself.  Things that still ring true for me are the needs for light and air, as well as a space to put my mark on.  As I consider moving again, I am reminded of these necessities, as well as a need to play in the dirt on my own bit of earth, and a place nearby where I can just go out and wander about.

Wishing you peace this early spring Friday, as gardens all around are beginning to stir.
Until next time...
Anne

On love and roses

 With the approach of Valentine's Day, the color pink is on my mind.  

 It is, of course, associated with love and romance.   

New feelings of love blossom visibly with a rosy glow upon the cheeks.  

We blush when meeting the longing gaze of our beloved.  

Our bodies are flushed with the afterglow of lovemaking.

via Victoria

It is no coincidence that the French word for pink is rose or  that pink is the color of newfound love.
In the language of flowers, pink roses symbolize perfect happiness.
In my experience, there is no feeling more blissful than the euphoria of falling in love.

via Flickr

Roses are the essence of sensuality, with an intoxicating fragrance, a voluptuous form, and the luscious delicacy of individual petals.
Secrets lay hidden within their layers, and parting the petals or stripping them off one by one,
reveals the truths of their beauty.
The soul of a rose reverberates to its core.
There is certainly beauty on the outside, but roses, like anything worth loving, are just as magical when all the exterior finery has been torn away, when petals lay strewn across the floor,
when it becomes brittle with dessication and age.
They are gorgeous on every level and at every stage of being.

via Campagne Decoration

Roses are often used as a poetic device to convey loving sentiments.  
Lying a beloved down upon a bed of roses, as promised by Christopher Marlowe, 
"And I will make thee beds of roses and a thousand fragrant posies..." 
speaks of the tenderness and renewal of love's promise.   


Modern writers still call upon the symbolism of roses to convey the depth of feeling and nuances 
of a complex love:
"If I say your voice is an amber waterfall in which I yearn to burn each day, if you eat my mouth like a mystical rose with powers of healing and damnation, if I confess that your body is the civilization I long to experience... would it mean we are close to knowing something about love?"

~ Aberjhani, Collected Visions of a Skykark Dressed in Black

via Restoration Hardware

Rosy hues flatter most skin tones, giving us all a youthful, healthy glow.

Rose water, attar of roses, and rose oil have been prized for centuries 

for the health benefits to our skin, hair, and rose petals have use as a flavoring in the kitchen.  

Do you remember the quails in rose petal sauce from the book by Laura Esquivel 

Like Water for Chocolate? 

So sexy!

via Campagne Decoration 

Shades of red are known to stimulate the appetite, and thus many restaurants use red in their decor to help their customers feel the hunger.  

My guess is that shades of pink stimulate  our other appetites as well. 

via Campagne Decoration

Rosy shades are complimented by greens, a most natural pairing, 

and one that speaks of spring, renewal and freshness.  

In February, when the gray days of winter can wear on the spirit, 

shades of pink hint at the coming of spring 

and the promise of roses. 

via Campagne Decoration

The palest pinks are the ones I am most drawn to.  
They contain just a hint, a whisper, a blush,  of rosy undertones.  
As an introrvert, subtlety is what appeals to my senses.  I have never been one for the loud or the brash or the vibrant, all of which feel like an assault to me. 
I prefer quiet and calm in all things.
Make no mistake that this approach to living is lacking in passion!
A slow, smoky passion burns longer and produces coals, which retain more heat,
than a blazing fire. That flash of heat and light is over quickly.
Red roses are said to symbolize passionate love, but I will take the pink.
Over time, the crimson fades, and I find their scent to be less captivating.


Wishing you a sensuous season filled with love and roses.
Until next time...
Anne