The Secret Garden

Since childhood I have probably seen five different film versions of this magnificent book. Most recently I saw a version on Netflix which brought me back decades. There are many reasons I enjoyed this film and why I have ended up watching it over and over again. The original book was written by Frances Hodgson Burnett and published in 1911. The story revolves around Mary Lennox, a young girl whose rich but absent parents died in India leaving her to be raised in the estate of an estranged uncle in England. At first she despises everything about the place and people she meets. She is more or less isolated in the large home and not allowed to wander into most rooms. Eventually her curious nature gets the better of her and she discovers a sickly cousin and a garden that has been locked up for over a decade. She also meets a young boy there who helps her restore the garden to its former glory while changing Mary and all the people around her. The Secret Garden is definitely a must-read and worth watching, especially the 1993 film version.

"The Secret Garden was what Mary called it when she was thinking of it. She liked the name, and she liked still more the feeling that when its beautiful old walls shut her in no one knew where she was. It seemed almost like being shut out of the world in some fairy place. The few books she had read and liked had been fairy-story books, and she had read of secret gardens in some of the stories. Sometimes people went to sleep in them for a hundred years, which she had thought must be rather stupid. She had no intention of going to sleep, and, in fact, she was becoming wider awake every day which passed at Misselthwaite."

Perils of Plastic Bags

Weekly trips to the grocery store often end the same way: "Will you be needing bags?" I obviously own cloth and reusable bags that I try to habitually bring with me when grocery shopping but I still somehow represent the minority. When some of my friends see me carrying this bag they say things like "tree-hugger" or make other snide remarks. About 5-6 years ago I noticed more and more places charging for plastic bags. At first I was a bit shocked but quickly came to my senses. While a nickel is obviously not a fortune it has helped to deter many shoppers from using plastic bags. Loblaws was one of the first grocery chains to start this and since 2007 they have apparently reduced the number of plastic bags from their stores by 5 billion in Canada.

Plastic bags are horrible for many reasons. Close to a billion bags end up as garbage every year. It takes each one 1,000 years to break down and are made from non-renewable natural resources. Since these bags are lightweight and durable, they can travel great distances and wreak environmental havoc in many different places. The saddest part about it is that some animals don't have the sense to understand the damage that plastic bags can cause so they eat or try to play with them. Apparently over 100,000 whales, seals, turtles, and birds die every year due to plastic bags. I have caught one of my cats trying to eat plastic bags on numerous occasions and some friends have told me that they need to hide bags in fear of their pets getting a hold of them.

Needless to say plastic bags are becoming a major nuisance around the world. Disposable plastic bottles don't help either and despite the efforts of environmentalists recycling doesn't seem to be catching on fast enough. I don't have any innovative ideas on how to solve this problem but hopefully someone does soon before it's too late. In the meantime, do your part and get reusable bags or use paper ones as much as possible!

To read more on the dangers of plastic bags: Fact Sheet and Loblaws campaign to reduce: Plastic Consumption. The clip below is from the 1989 film "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" and although it does not deal directly with plastic bags, you get the idea.

Queen's Walk Window Gardens

Just beside the London Eye and overlooking the river Thames is a quaint series of small greenhouses that seem like they have no business being there. The Queen's Walk Window Gardens are a series of volunteer-run allotments along the riverside. The nine large-scale allotments were handmade from reclaimed wood and windows and designed by Wayward Plants as part of Southbank Centre's Festival of Neighborhood. Over 40 outdoor plants grow in this unique setting which I find extremely interesting as these imaginative gardens have been built and cared for by the local community. The Festival of Neighborhood runs from May 31st to September 8th. I stumbled upon these gardens by accident while sightseeing in London but it is definitely something worth checking out on purpose if you happen to be in the London area this summer.

For information on the group behind these gardens: Wayward Plants or the Festival of Neighbourhood: South Bank Centre

Orchid Fever

"The old orchid hunter lay back on his pillow, his body limp... 'You'll curse the insects, he said at least, 'and you'll curse the natives... The sun will burn you by day and the cold will shrivel you by night. You'll be racked by fever and tormented by a hundred discomforts, but you'll go on. For when a man falls in love with orchids, he'll do anything to possess the one he wants. It's like chasing a green-eyed woman or taking cocaine... it's a sort of madness..."

-Susan Orlean, 

author of The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

Cactus Gardens

Since childhood I've had an odd fascination with the cactus. Not sure why exactly. Cacti are succulent dicot plants adapted for arid regions with greatly modified leaves. They are members of the Cactaceae family and different variations can be found all over the world. The cactus section is one I always visit in any sort of botanical garden. It never ceases to amaze me how many forms one may take yet clearly all be related. I don't really know how much one can write about this plant without including a fantastic story on bitterness, loneliness, or great African/Vegas adventures. Just bear in mind that although these plants may seem useless or inhospitable, their juice can save one stranded in a desert!