Secret Gardens

Secret or Private Gardens lend an air of mystery to a garden. I remember reading The Secret Garden and the lesser known book, The Magic Garden. Later on, I lived in The Fan in Richmond, VA and in Old Town Alexandria. Both are known for their hidden gardens. Needless to say, Charleston, SC is also a dream location of mine!

Creating a private garden space is a lot of fun to do and will provide you with years of enjoyment after the fact. Sometimes called garden rooms, or outdoor rooms, a private garden space is made to be private. It is a sanctuary you can retreat to anytime you’d like, to enjoy nature, smell the beautiful flowers growing, and simply de-stress from the everyday hustle and bustle of life.

When planning your private garden, the general goal is usually to create a quiet place to retreat from the world. This garden doesn’t have to be fully private, but it does have a much more calming effect when it’s at least semi-private.

Consider the location of your garden before starting to create it. If you must place the garden near busy or noisy areas such as close to the street, there are tactics you can use in your planning and design which will help dampen the noise and distractions. If your garden configuration will allow for it, you’ll get the best results from a private garden space that is placed away from everyday noise and activity.

Private garden spaces usually tend to be on the small side, and many people turn small backyard patios or gazebos into their private garden space. The garden can be as large as you’d like though, depending on your own personal preferences and budget restrictions.

One of the first things you’ll need to plan for is the kind of barrier you’ll use for your garden. One of the reasons a private garden space is often referred to as a garden room, is because many people like to create living walls for their garden area. These walls make the space seem more like an outdoor room because the garden space is more enclosed. If you prefer not to have your garden enclosed too much though, you can simply create an entranceway to your private garden space using an arbor or arch.

Living walls can be made by simply putting up inexpensive materials such as a chain link fence or wooden trellis, and using them to support fast growing flower vines. Flower vines can easily be trained to grow up and over fences, trellis materials, and arches. As these vines mature, they create a thick living wall which separates your garden area from the rest of the world. These vines also tend to shield the area from everyday noise and activity, plus they help to make the garden space cooler than the rest of the yard area may be as well.

Another option to create your private garden space quickly, is to buy flower pots and containers in a variety of sizes, then buy plants which have already started to grow. Arrange your flower boxes, pots and containers around the perimeter of the garden space, then plant the new flowers into them. If you choose flower pots and containers which have varying sizes and heights, you’ll be able to strategically place them in locations to block out everyday activities from your main line of sight. This type of private garden space won’t always block out much noise though, so it’s a solution that would be most effective in a secluded area of the yard.

Tink

*In my dreams, all the flowers are in bloom…*