secret gardens
A tiny story:
We are in Lisbon this week.
I find cities fascinating, particularly old ones. There are so many hidden areas, so many interesting nooks and crannies. You never know what might be inside or behind an ordinary building.
For example, we are staying in an apartment between Campo do Ourique and Rato. The street we are on is narrow, with residential buildings of all sizes and colors on both sides. The buildings look a little dingy, which describes most of this city and, well, pretty much all cities. Cities are rarely clean and tidy.
But appearances are deceptive. Inside our slightly-downtrodden building, our apartment is bright and sunny with comfortable furniture. It’s clean and equipped with all that we need.
And behind our building is the little garden pictured above. When I woke up yesterday, life in front of our building was busy with the sounds of traffic and construction. However, 50 feet away on the other side of our building, birds were chirping loudly and the air was fragrant with the scent of spring flowers. The contrast was delightful.
We’ve found secret gardens like this all over the world. The lush courtyard inside our apartment building in Amsterdam. Two different courtyards in our building in Rome. A delightful green space behind our apartment building in London. A vibrant container garden on our balcony in Praiano. An unexpected rose garden in an alley behind a bookstore in my hometown. Humans always manage to find places to add nature to their environments.
Tell me about a secret garden you’ve encountered on your travels.
The contrasts are what make life exciting, refreshing and helps me to stay in gratitude. Traveling mercies and thanks for the reminder.
Walking down a street in San Pedro, California, on what would have otherwise been an empty lot where a building once stood, we found a large garden. The sign announced that it was a church: scheduled times to work in the garden together, followed by a meal.