Like Mary Lennox, as Helsel’s garden evolved, so did she. “The more I learned, the more I began to appreciate the formal gardens,” she says, “but the thing that made my heart sing was seeing the borders and the cottage gardens, so mine is a cross between those two. It’s just a pure joy to me every day, and my grandson, Jack, loves to help me pull weeds.”
Sandy Helsel’s garden is not just a testament to her talent for growing things. It’s a triumph of the beauty of the cycle of life, constantly replenishing and surprising us all with its bounty. And, as Mary Lennox learned in The Secret Garden, “Where you tend a rose, a thistle cannot grow. •
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