The Secret Garden

So, spring is officially here and I thought I would welcome it with a room based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's book The Secret Garden. The plot centers around a young English girl named Mary whose family is wiped out from the Cholera outbreak in India. She is then sent to live with her uncle in a large house on the English Moors. She is left to her own devices and wanders around the large estate until she stumbles upon a huge almost barren garden. She works with the garden until it is restored to its once beautiful splendor.


Most of the items in the room are either Victorian or garden related. The book takes place during the Victorian era so as a nod to that time period I added a Victorian inspired chaise lounge, chandelier, and linen cabinet.

As For the garden aspect, I first chose a lush green rug that is reminiscent of grass and ivy. The bedding is from Target's new Liberty of London line and is really the only brightly colored aspect of the whole room. I added the green beetle pillow for visual interest and to tone down the floral pattern. The Forest Canopy Bed is crazy expensive ($5300) but I had to include it because it perfectly fits the theme. Next came the botanical wall hangings. Their dark background adds to the Moorish quality I wanted to achieve. Every garden needs a garden stool so I added a simple white one to use as a side table for the chaise. The open window mirror is in reference to the character Colin who was holed up in his room for 10 years with only windows to view the outside world. The beautiful glass terrariums are another way to bring the garden indoors. The felted European robin is in reference to the robin that leads Mary to the garden in the first place. I would put it in the branches of the bed for a small touch.  The delicate curtains continue the green throughout the room.


I love the birch tree wallpaper but I think an entire room of it would be too much so I would put it just on the wall behind the bed and paint rest of the walls in Benjamin Moore's Vienna Green.

Resources:

Edie Chaise in Moss ($550) from Urban Outfitters
Antique Green White Leaf Clear Drops Chandelier ($279.91) from Lamps Plus
Edland Linen Cabinet ($399) from IKEA
Hand-tufted Green leaves wool rug (5x8 - $129.69) from Overstock.com
Liberty of London Sixty Duvet set ($69.99) from Target.com 
Green Beetle Pillow ($68) from Whispering Pines
Forest Canopy Bed ($5298) from Anthropologie
Apple Tree and Orchid Bontanical Posters ($98 ea.) from Evolution
Palmer Stool ($129.95) from Z Gallerie
An Inward-Looking Mirror ($119) from Wisteria
Roost Recycled Glass Bubble Terrariums ($99 - $165) from Velocity
European felted robin ($47) from Etsy.com
Field Greens Curtain ($34.99) from ModCloth
Woods Wallpaper ($198) from Anthropologie