The world is filled with both ancient and modern gardens; some of these gardens have been lost to all but memory but some have been restored, rediscovered, and lovingly brought back to life, such as The Lost Gardens of Heligan.
As you might have guessed by some of the content I've posted about my upcoming novel, Cherish, it is a very water centered novel being that the setting is in my home state of Florida. Some of my favorite water-centric gardens are right here in the Keys of Florida, nature's own gardens that is.
Dive the Florida Keys, Secret Garden and Camille's Reef, Tavernier, Islamorada:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of45hbGGIHg
With all that being said, today's blog entry is dedicated to gardens, particularly lost gardens, because it's Winter and my heart is yearning for Spring. I'm sure I'm not alone in this yearning, especially those of you who are in much colder areas of the world than am I.
The Lost Garden of Heligan:
(A garden on the Tremayne estate in Cornwall. Around the time of World War I it began to fall into decay but has been gloriously restored.)
http://heligan.com/the-story
Ravine Gardens:
(This beautiful garden in Florida had once fallen into disrepair but was restored to its former glory and even improved upon through the efforts of the Florida State Park Service and volunteers.)
http://www.floridastateparks.org/ravinegardens/photogallery.cfm
Untermyer Gardens
(A sad tale for this garden but one with a happy ending.)
http://www.gardenista.com/posts/americas-greatest-forgotten-garden
Princes' Islands: Garden Treasures
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/gardening/gardenstovisit/10560498/Princes-Islands-Turkeys-forgotten-garden-paradise.html
Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands:
(Neither lost nor forgotten, but I love them and hope to visit one day.)
http://www.keukenhof.nl/en/5/history-of-keukenhof.html
May the beauty of all gardens both lost and found, wild and tame be with you no matter where you are.
