The Secret Gardens of Park Hill
A Celebration Of Art, Beauty, and Love Of The Earth
By Tara Bannon Williamson
Special to the GPHN
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
– Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
In The Secret Garden, a classic of children’s literature, a young girl’s attitude and health improve through physical exertion, camaraderie and joy from nurturing growing things in a secluded garden with newfound friends. Luckily for Park Hill residents, the private gardens in full bloom highlighted in the Greater Park Hill Community, Inc.’s annual Garden Walk are not nearly as arduous to access as those in this beloved story.
On Saturday, June 17, the Park Hill Garden Walk provides you the opportunity to explore and appreciate the exquisite loveliness around the corner in your neighbor’s yard.
With an earlier-than-usual start at 9 a.m. this year, you will have an extra hour of cool morning breezes to accompany your quiet stroll down the street, haloed in leafy shadows, and lured by the enticing scents of flora that will leave your heart buzzing like a happy bee.
Mix in the heady sense of pride you’ll feel from knowing that this is your neighborhood and these are your neighbors and you might just want to schedule a nap for after this blissful afternoon wandering the gardens.
How fortunate we are to have neighbors who are generous with their time and talents, and willing to welcome us into their cherished spaces. The love that they invest into the pliant (and sometimes not so pliant) ground has been repaid tenfold in the blossoming of vibrant flowers, herbs, vines and perennials, all on stark display for keen admirers.
The yearly Garden Walk is more than a walk through your neighbors’ yards. It is a celebration of persistence, art, beauty, and love of the earth and things that grow. It is a celebration that we can all be a part of whether as a volunteer, featured garden, sponsor or attendee. If you are interested in participating, please visit parkhillgardenwalk.org.
While tickets won’t go on sale until the end of May, you can see the impact that money raised from ticket sales have made in our community anytime. The money raised from the Park Hill Garden Walk is reinvested in the natural beauty of Park Hill through various landscape improvement projects, including a recent rejuvenation of the garden beds at the library at Montview Boulevard and Dexter Street by JS Landscaping, owned by Park Hill resident Jose Chavez.
Go beyond peeking over the fence! Mark your calendars to tour these familiar streets, be welcomed by your neighbors into their gardens, and celebrate the characteristic charm that is Park Hill on the Garden Walk this year on Saturday, June 17.