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| Celia Thaxter in her island garden |
One of my favorite ways to relax while the snow falls is to escape into other writers gardens and try to imagine what it was like 100 years ago to be a privileged garden lady of day's gone by. What is it about flowers that turns gardeners into writers? For Celia Thaxter it was love. Love for her flowers and an appreciation for the tender promise of new life that lay inside each tiny unopened seed.
I like to imagine what it would have been like to swap gardening stories over the garden gate with her. You see, she and I have ( or would have had ) something in common besides our passion for flowers. She was an Island Gardener on a small pot of land over looking the sea on Appledore Island off the coasts of ( New Hampshire and Maine) in the mid to late 1800's. One of my very favorite time periods in history. I suppose I have the impressionist painters to thank for that because they certainly painted gardens and ladies in their gardens in a most beautiful and romantic way.
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| Beach roses in our cottage yard by the sea |
I know I read her book An Island Garden about 20 years ago when I was
looking for inspiration about seaside gardening for our little plot of
land by the sea. Two children and a long homeschooling career in between then and now and here I am again, revisiting my old friend, Celia in her garden hoping to glean some new ideas for our own seaside garden.
I've just ordered a reprinted copy for myself as I know there is more snow on the way and I'll be needing an escape!
You can book a tour here!
And, watch this short movie trailer about her beloved Island Garden.
The DVD would be a perfect gift to someone who isn't able to make the trip. Appledore Island is accessible by boat only. Once you arrive you'll need your land-legs to carry you across some rugged terrain before you arrive at Celia's Island Garden.
Do you have local gardens or flower shows you've yet to visit?
Now's the time to plug those dates into your Spring calendars!
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