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2000s: Just what secrets are about to bloom in the secret garden?
A Secret Garden
What you need to know before your trail
Lorna is a talented gardener and Philly is a plantswoman. They love working in nature and helping to create some wonderful displays. Everyday is a day spent in nature and working in the grounds of a beautiful manor house in the Cotswolds, they couldn’t ask for anything else.
Well, maybe a love in the human world that matches their love of plants that is! The door to the secret garden might be opened each day but the door to true love remains resolutely closed.
One day, Lorna is introduced to Jack at a dinner party and Lucien catches Philly’s eye at the local farmers market, it seems that dreams really can come true and happy endings lie just around the corner.
But will either of them have the green fingers needed to help this kind of love blossom?
Travel Guide
What does a garden and doing up a garden mean for a keen gardener? Philly in the novel sees it as an adventure she and her grandfather had started out three years earlier. Her grandfather sees a small holding on line and falls in love with it – she then goes and falls in love with it too.
“It had a few acres, lots of outbuildings, and even a couple of old polytunnels. It was perfect for her to grow plants in and see if her life-ling dream to be a plantswoman would withstand real-life experience.”
There is pot planting, pots of growing bulbs and sprigs of blossom here, and it’s a a bit of oasis, which provides all the flowers for their local church and enough for her to set up a stall too. To see the gardens as they inspired Katie, best head off to Rodborough Gardens in Stroud and also Gloucester Cathedral.
Burthen House (Bourton House?)
Fictional house but you could always spend a bit of time wandering in the Cotswolds and head over to Bourton House which is a very similar version!
By mansion standards, Burthen House was on the small side, but by those of any normal home it was enormous.Built of the honey-coloured stone common in the area, it needed a bit of work
Oh there’s plenty of flowers and foliage in this sunny heartwarming novel – the secateurs can be heard clip clipping as the words flutter from the book. With each turn of the page, a new floral aroma is unleashed. Read this outside in the sunshine for maxium effect – then go and buy a plant pot and some seeds….
Booktrailer Review
Susan:@thebooktrailer
The cover attracted me first – I was in the mood for a bit of a sunshine read and I really thought this would fit the bill. It did, and I even have green fingers as a result! Well, I’ve bought a packet of seeds, lets not get carried away but I am more prepared for spring now than I was before. This book took me into that garden and made me see flowers and the joy of the outdoors.
It’s a nice story about the power of taking time out to appreciate the small things in life and trying to create something beautiful. It’s a story about finding love when you least expect it and makes for a lovely sunny read. Like the children’s story of the same name, I felt very calm reading this book – there’s something magical and fascinating about a secret garden – and it’s nice light reading this one. Puts a smile on your face!
Booktrail Boarding Pass: A Secret Garden
Author/Guide: Katie Fforde Destination: The Cotswolds Departure Time: 2000s
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