the Secret Garden inspired.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Last Friday, It was a gorgeous, sunny day with the perfect amount of breeze and my best friend and I thought, what better way to spend it than at a beautiful estate here in the Bay Area. What we really went there for was to see its huge and gorgeous country garden.
Filoli Gardens - it reminded me so much of The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett! Flowers, trees, and plants everywhere, cobblestones, chickens and roosters everywhere, and of course, secret passages and doors. I tried to pretend I was Mary Lennox! The place even inspired me to start reading Villette by Jane Eyre for some reason. Perhaps
it was just the gothic-like the house/mansion itself had - I don't know! Needless to say, it was a great place and we had a great afternoon.

Have you ever been anywhere that has inspired you to pick up a certain book? Or maybe like me, you found a place that reminded you of a favorite. Do share!

13 comments:

  1. Such a pretty picture! When I first read The Secret Garden as a kid, I used to always fantasize about owning a garden like that.
    I love Villette and Jane Eyre - which is why Charlotte Bronte is my favorite of the Bronte sisters.

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  2. I don't know if this counts but I love visiting Savannah, GA so if a book is set there I am more likely to read it. That is why I read Saving CeeCee Honeycutt and I am so glad I did!

    That picture is beautiful! I loved The Secret Garden and read it multiple times when I was a kid.

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  3. Gosh, that's SO beautiful! I hardly travel anywhere (not even local places :-S) so I cannot really answer your question there. But I do love googling places that I think will closely resemble the setting of the book I'm reading.

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  4. That garden's amazing! Old, tall houses and large, flat rocks always make me think of Madeleine L'Engle's Time Quintet.

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  5. Oh, it looks lovely! I can totally see how it reminded you of The Secret Garden :)

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  6. That place looks amazing! I love reading books about or set in areas I'm going to travel to. It always makes the atmosphere in the book come alive. I re-read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil while visiting Savannah and I could see the Spanish moss dripping from every tree.

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  7. Misha - I still fantasize about owning a garden like that! Although I have to be honest, I am a lazy gardener. I don't have a green thumb sadly, haha. Oh and Jane Eyre is my favorite as well. I think Charlotte Bronte would be my favorite too.

    Christina T - ooohh I'm not sure about this but isn't 'The Complete Stories' by Flannery O' Connor set there? I loved that book. I would love to visit where you're from! And the Secret Garden is a favorite childhood book of mine.

    Shy - I figured since I can't travel around the world just yet, I will cure my need to explore different places by visiting local ones first! :)

    Jenna - Ohhh I have not read Quinter before - would you recommend it? I do love Madeleine L' Engle.

    danya - It's the perfect place. It even had a swing similar from the book.

    Melissa - You're very lucky you get to travel around the world :) Someday for me. But I agree - there's something so satisfying about visiting real-life settings from books! Now if only there was one that's similar to Rivendell or Hogsmeade huh..

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  8. Misha - I still fantasize about owning a garden like that! Although I have to be honest, I am a lazy gardener. I don't have a green thumb sadly, haha. Oh and Jane Eyre is my favorite as well. I think Charlotte Bronte would be my favorite too.

    Christina T - ooohh I'm not sure about this but isn't 'The Complete Stories' by Flannery O' Connor set there? I loved that book. I would love to visit where you're from! And the Secret Garden is a favorite childhood book of mine.

    Shy - I figured since I can't travel around the world just yet, I will cure my need to explore different places by visiting local ones first! :)

    Jenna - Ohhh I have not read Quinter before - would you recommend it? I do love Madeleine L' Engle.

    danya - It's the perfect place. It even had a swing similar from the book.

    Melissa - You're very lucky you get to travel around the world :) Someday for me. But I agree - there's something so satisfying about visiting real-life settings from books! Now if only there was one that's similar to Rivendell or Hogsmeade huh..

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  9. Beautiful!! I am a gardener and this is now on my 'to see' list for SF when I get out there to visit my brother. Wish I could go now-- cool foggy SF weather would be so pleasant for my creepy eye-- but I fear the pressure changes in a jet might make my eye explode!!

    I'm not sure if a place has ever inspired me to read a certain book but places do remind me of certain books. I did think of reading Shepherd of the Hills while in the Ozarks sometime-- might be fun to match a book to a locale.

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  10. Lesa - You must let me know if you ever go to SF! :) And right now it's not as foggy. It's actually very hot nowadays, which is nice for a change.

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  11. awww pretty photo. The garden sounds beautiful.
    Whenever we visit the botanical gardens and stroll through enjoying the view, I am inspired to pick up Austen. The gardens remind of Austens countryside settings in her books.

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  12. naida - Oh gardens remind me of anything by Jane Austen as well. Actually, everytime I'm having tea, I think of her. haha

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