Garden gazing –
Still Amazing –
Watered by His hand –
Blades stand up –
in Praise!
Have you lost your zest for life or hope?
Is your pain a secret to be kept in the shadows?
Do you envy the birds for their freedom?
Has the garden of your soul wept and dried up beyond repair?
Could it flourish again with a wee bit of attention?
Does nature have the potential to restore ‘joy’ in thy soul?
A simple choice to reveal your pain, brought others to help you laugh again.
Knock and God will open the door …
Listen to that still small voice whispering “Follow Me” just choose to trust and say “Yes!”
“Come, taste and see that the Lord is good”
Enroll others to cut back the dreadful whining,
water this soul seed of truth – “you are loved!”
Keep Asking, Seeking, Knocking
“Ask, and it will be given to you;
seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
Mistress Mary, once quite contrary….NOW, how does your garden grow?
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ” Matthew 6:25 In need of Doctor LUKE
Copyright 
2017 by Barbara Alley Hoyle. All rights reserved.
Inspired by ….
The Secret Garden is an old timey story originally entitled “Mistress Mary” and it was 
first published in 1911 by Francis H. Burnett. This children’s tale was first published as a magazine series in 1910 which featured a neglected child who lived in India with her wealthy British parents. Mary Lennox is raised by servants who deny her nothing. Her parents die of a cholera epidemic and eventually Mary travels to live with her reclusive uncle Archibald Craven in Yorkshire, England. The Misselthwaite Manor was a cold, bleek and isolated castle in the midst of dreary moors and a massive maze of hedges. Mary discovers an overgrown, secret garden. With the help of a 12 year old boy named Dicken, the secret oasis is restored. Mary is challenged by the possibility and she begins to flourish behind the garden’s hidden door. Mary also uncovers who was creepily crying at night. It was her crippled cousin Colin. She takes Colin in his wheelchair to the garden where he learns to walk again. In the end Colin astonishes his widowed father when he walks in the garden. The authoress lived in Kent, England at Maythem Hall from 1898 to 1907. Frances spun The Secret Garden from her own experience. Frances discovered an old walled garden dating from 1721 sadly overgrown and neglected. She began restoring the earth by planting hundreds of roses. She set up a table and chair in the gazebo, and dressed always in a white dress and large hat, she wrote a number of books in the peace and tranquility of her scented secret garden. Below is a picture of Maythem Hall.
A hurricane passed through Mexico’s Pacific coast and we enjoyed a drenching rain on October 3, 2022
Living Abroad 
Thank you fo the amazing words and photos. A wonderful journey in the words.
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Thanks John, I shall indulge in your pen. God bless you with more, and more of His inspiration.
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You are welcome Barbara. I enjoyed your work.
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Reblogged this on johncoyote and commented:
Please read and enjoy the work of a talented writer.
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This is beautiful, Barbara! Growing up, I loved watching The Secret Garden movie, but I haven’t read the book yet. It’s definitely on my list!
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Me too…i have the old version, and the new. Good read too. Enjoy.
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Lovely pictures
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In the heart of a brooding manor shrouded in fog and grief, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden blossoms into a tale of resilience, rediscovery, and the transformative power of nature. Forget sugarplums and reindeer, for here, amidst hidden pathways and forgotten corners, a young girl named Mary Lennox unlocks a portal to magic, healing, and the spirit of springtime, even in the depths of winter.
Ten-year-old Mary, orphaned and sent to live with her reclusive uncle on the brooding Yorkshire moors, is a creature of shadows, withered by loss and loneliness. The vast, silent house echoes with the ghosts of a tragic past, its gardens left to wilt beneath neglect. But beneath the frost-kissed earth, a secret whispers, waiting to be awakened.
One brisk December morning, drawn by the chirp of a robin, Mary stumbles upon an abandoned garden, a place frozen in time, forgotten dreams tangled with overgrown roses. With the unwavering spirit of a young explorer, she begins to breathe life back into this hidden haven. Armed with a trowel and a thirst for sunlight, she pries open the gates, letting in the wind and the whispers of hope.
As the season changes, so does Mary. The garden becomes her sanctuary, a canvas for her dreams and a playground for her spirit. Each budding leaf and blooming flower mirrors her own blossoming, her laughter echoing through the once-silent grounds. She forms an unlikely friendship with Dickon, a Yorkshire lad with a talent for talking to animals, and Colin, her sickly cousin confined to a darkened room.
Together, they transform the secret garden into a vibrant tapestry of life. Dickon’s whistling and Colin’s laughter fill the air as Mary nurtures not just the garden, but their hearts and spirits. She teaches Colin to walk under the sun, to feel the earth beneath his feet, and to rediscover the joy of living.
The Secret Garden is more than just a children’s tale; it’s a testament to the transformative power of nature and the human spirit. It’s a reminder that even amidst the bleakest winters, hope can bloom, friendships can blossom, and forgotten corners can rediscover the magic of life. It’s a story that whispers to us even in the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, urging us to open our hearts to the simple joys, to nurture the gardens within ourselves, and to believe in the possibility of rebirth, even on the coldest of December days.
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