By Sara Grajek
Rowan Public Library
ěIf you look the right way, you can see the whole world is a garden,î wrote Frances Hodgson Burnett in ěThe Secret Garden.î
Donít let anyone tell you otherwise ó gardening is not a hobby for the faint of heart. Blink and nature will take over. Gardens can also produce some of the most beautiful things youíve ever seen. The following fictional books will take you into the world of gardens, families and whimsy and perhaps remind you why you garden. Check one out at Rowan Public Library today.
Sarah Addison Allenís ěGarden Spellsî is set in Bascom, N.C., a fictional town but distinctively southern. Claire Waverly creates scrumptious dishes using edible flowers that affect the eater in unusual ways. Her garden is known throughout the town and the apple tree is rumored to grow a very special kind of fruit.
Sydney, her younger sister, traveled the country for years but then silently returned one day with her 10-year-old daughter. As with many stories, all is not as it seems as Sydney was running away from her abusive boyfriend. Fans of Alice Hoffman will enjoy Allenís books, and as an added bonus, readers can find recipes from the novel on her website www.sarahaddisonallen.com.
ěThe Forgotten Gardenî by Kate Morton not only takes place in a garden, but throughout multiple time periods. Several characters take turns telling the story of a young girlís mysterious disappearance from an English estate in the early 1900s.
Each part of the story becomes a piece that ties the mystery together ó the aunt who spends her entire life searching for her, the fairy tales woven through the book, the stately estate with the garden hidden in the center. Morton admits to parallels to ěThe Secret Gardenî by Frances Hodges Burnett in her novel but was actually first inspired by a true ěforgotten gardenî in Cornwall, England, ěThe Lost Garden of Heligan.î
ěThe Secret Gardenî was one of the last books Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote in her long career. A highly celebrated author, she was considered the J.K. Rowling of her time. ěLittle Lord Fauntleroyî was her most popular work, published in serial form in a magazine and highly anticipated by her readers before each publication.
ěThe Secret Gardenî was also published in serial form, released in American Magazine in 1910 before being compiled as a book in 1911. In the story, Mary Lennox discovers the door to a garden that has not been touched in 10 years. As she starts to work the garden, she also makes friends with other children at Misselthwaite Manor including her mysterious cousin Colin.
Rowan Public Library will continue its centennial celebration with a special edition of the Book Bites Book Club. Join us Tuesday, Sept. 13 at 6:30 p.m. for a book discussion of ěThe Secret Gardenî in the Stanback Room in Salisbury. Also make plans to come again on Tuesday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. for a free viewing of the movie, ěThe Secret Garden,î with popcorn and lemonade.
Computer classes: There are no computer classes in August.
Book Bites Club ó Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m., ěHouse Rulesî by Jodi Picoult. Book discussion groups for both adults and children are held at South Rowan Regional Library the last Tuesday of each month. The group is open to the public and anyone is free to join at any time. There is a discussion of the book, as well as light refreshments at each meeting. For more information please call 704-216-8229.
Displays: Headquarters óAnime by Robert Clyde Allen; South ó lunch boxes by Sharon Ross; East ó clowns by Elizabeth Ellenburg.
Literacy: Call the Rowan County Literacy Council at 704-216-8266 for more information on teaching or receiving literacy tutoring for English speakers or for those for whom English is a second language.