Word garden blog

http://secretgardenproject.wordpress.com/  

“At the end of the street where I grew up, there was a black-painted wooden door in the middle of a tall brick wall. The wall stood amongst a row of suburban semi-detached houses; there was no crack to peek through, and the wall was too high to climb up and see what lay on the other side. Inevitably, we called it the Secret Garden. I walked past the wall every day on the way to school, and dreamt of the ancient trees, garden fairies and magical plants on the other side.

The wall has since been knocked down, and two plain-looking brick houses now stand where I once imagined bluebell glens and silver rivers. But I still remember the promise of it; the possibilities of a hidden-away space in suburbia.

I am looking forward to discovering London’s Secret Gardens – tucked away spaces in a city that can sometimes seem too grey, too public, too fast. I am excited, too, about discovering the gardens of people’s imaginations and memory, and creating some moments of magic and discovery in the Word Garden.”

Word Garden is a commission by the Secret Garden Project’s Writer in Residence, Sarah Butler. For more information about her project, visit the project description page.