a nature lovers dream STORYBOOK GARDEN IN THE WOODS WRITTEN BY THERESA ST. JOHN PHOTOS BY SUSAN BLACKBURN PHOTOGRAPHY
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And the secret garden bloomed and bloomed and every morning revealed new miracles.” ― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
They They loved the woodsy area in Upstate New York and spent hours imagining how to create a garden that would bring pleasure for years to come.
When I was a child, one of my favorite books was ‘The Secret Garden’ by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I often tucked myself into our front porch swing, turning pages, wondering how on earth this spoiled little girl found her way into a hidden garden no one knew about – other than a smart little robin.
Luckily, they both enjoy gardening. “My mother had a beautiful garden at her home in Altamont,” Jim says. “I often worked in the yard with her. It was fun - getting my hands dirty, designing little areas of color with flowers and plants around the yard.”
I also imagined this overgrown and unkempt hide-away must be filled with possibility – if someone would only take the time to care for it, breathe life into it again. Jim and Meg Dalton have been happily married for 33 years. They bought their property in Middle Grove 20 years ago.
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Meg is an artist at heart, Jim is an engineer – joining forces to work on the property makes sense. “We both have a say in the garden’s design,” Meg tells me. “I have garden beds that I’m in charge of, and Jim does too. We work on other beds together. Bouncing ideas off of each other works out well.”
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