A Secret Garden

It is definitely spring here in Edinburgh. The sun is out--rising super early (5:30am) and setting late (8:40pm)--the temperature is warm and the flowers are blooming. It's hard not to want to be outside after a dark, rainy, and cold winter. Plus we hear that this kind of weather doesn't last long, so we are trying to take full advantage.


A couple of weekends back some friends of ours had a great idea to get some of the peeps together for an afternoon in the garden. Not their garden. And, not some common neighborhood park. No, we got to spend the afternoon in the private, secret, gated Dean Gardens. I've heard about the Dean Gardens before, afterall we do live in Dean Village and the gardens are nearby, but I hadn't been. And, in all honesty, if you don't know they exist you wouldn't notice them. So, I was excited to find out that Katy and Jeremy had joined and had the key to this secret little world, and even more excited that they were going to share.

The Dean Gardens are amazing. They run alongside the Water of Leith, on the opposite side of the water from the path I take to work everyday. Looking from the public side, I couldn't quite make out what made the Dean Gardens so remarkable. Until I went in. There are several levels of gardens, starting at the street side level and descending to the water. The gardens are clean and well maintained but keep their natural feel. They are scattered with benches lining walking paths, tables for picnics, big old trees, and open areas. There was even a children's play area that looked like it too had just sprouted from the ground. It was perfect.

At the playground

Katie and Leah--two beautiful mamas!

Derek and Jeremy, playing on the playground

Katy and Jeremy, thanks for sharing this treasure with us. It was such a fun afternoon in a beautiful garden with some truly beautiful friends.

(special thanks to Leah for several of the pictures!)