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With Mary's captivating descriptions of her secret garden, it makes us wonder...so...what plants did Frances Hodgson Burnett plant in her own garden?
In her book,"Unearthing The Secret Garden: The Plants and Places That Inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett", Marta McDowell through her detailed research sheds light on Ms. Burnett's favorite plants.
Born in 1849 in Manchester, England to a well to do family, Frances' father died when she was 3 years old. Her mother tried to keep the family in good standing by taking over her late husbands business. After a long struggle, in the mid 1860's, her mother moved the family to the Knoxville, TN area to live with an uncle. Frances began writing stories for local publications to help support her mother and siblings. By her late teens, she was already supporting her family well enough to purchase a home for them to move out of her uncles home.
In 1886, Frances published "Little Lord Fauntleroy" which was her first major success. In addition to book success, it was an even more successful in the play version in the US and England.
It was in Ms. Burnett's 40's before she took up her interest in gardening. During the mid 1890's to circa 1906, she leased a large tract of land that contained a beautiful manor home called Great Maytham Hall in England. This is where she began to put down her 'roots' for her future gardens. She researched and learned about plants, landscaping and gardening and was the driving factor in the gardens that were built and rebuilt at Great Maytham Hall. Her love of plants carried her through to her later homes.
By 1907, Frances was dividing her time between her winter home in Bermuda and summer home, Fairseat, in Plandome Manor, NY located in Nassau County, NY on Long Island. The gardens couldn't have been more different. Yet, she would take her favorite plants from Plandome Manor to test them for growing in her winter Bermuda garden.
"Secret Garden" was published in 1911 in book form after being published as a monthly series in "The American Magazine" (issues November 1910 through August 1911).
Through her series of walled gardens and rose gardens, these plants found at GreenwoodNursery.com remained some of the favorite plants that Frances Hodgson Burnett planted in her gardens. Scroll to the bottom for a video walk through of the most famous garden in literature, the Real Secret Garden.
Trees and Shrubs
Perennials and Groundcovers
A walk through tour of the Real Secret Garden:
