Gardens in Literature: Classic Books Featuring Inspiring Gardens 文學經典中引人入勝的花園

俞月圓

Gardens have an enchanting quality that has not been overlooked by artists of all kinds. Many famous authors have featured gardens in their work and used them as a device for character and plot development. In literature， gardens represent spaces of great potential which can promote healing and learning， create romantic bonds， and even send characters into magical realms. These seven classic books might inspire you to model your own garden after them， or at the very least give you some new ideas to dream about.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen （1813）

“Will you tell me how long you have loved him？”

“It has been coming on so gradually， that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley.”

Gardens in Victorian novels are important in-between spaces. In the nineteenth century， domestic areas inside the home were traditionally feminine and the public sphere was seen as a masculine space， but Victorian gardens， as spaces that are not quite private or public， create an area where men and women can interact as equals. In Jane Austens beloved Pride and Prejudice1 the heroine， Elizabeth Bennett， only realizes her true feelings for the gentlemen she loves， Fitzwilliam Darcy， when she visits his manor while he is away.

Elizabeth strolls through the grounds at Pemberley and is taken aback2 by the gardens， and moreover by how well cared for they are. It is partially this care， given to the manor and its grounds by Mr. Darcy， which convinces Elizabeth that he is， in fact， a gentle and kind man worthy of her love. Reading this novel makes you want to stroll through a traditional English garden （and perhaps take a dip in the pond with Mr. Darcy）.

Murder by the Book by Rex Stout （1951）

“‘Look at this Oncidium varicosum， he grumbled. ‘Dry rot in April. It has never happened before and there is no explanation.”

Murder by the Book， one of many wonderful Rex Stout novels featuring detective Nero Wolfe， is not just a riveting3 murder mystery， but a lesson in garden therapy. Nero Wolfes occupation is detective， but his passion is for growing orchids. When his cases get too tough， he retreats to his greenhouse to garden and， sure enough， after spending enough time ruminating among his orchids， he is able to solve the case.

The orchids play such an important part in the novel that there are even some orchid varieties named after the protagonist now！ Reading Murder by the Book， with its inspiring descriptions of the sun room filled with exotic and fragrant orchids， is the next best thing to having an orchid room of your own， and it may even inspire you to create one in your home.

The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde （1895）

“Oh， flowers are as common here， Miss Fairfax， as people are in London.”

The garden in Oscar Wildes most famous play， The Importance of Being Earnest， is the backdrop for many comedic and romantic scenes. It provides a space for characters to hide and overhear one another， and most of all it offers an escape for the young lady of the house， Cecily. Cecily is constantly wandering off to the garden to write in her diary or to water flowers， and uses the excuse of watering flowers to avoid her distasteful German lessons. Cecilys joy at escaping into the garden to take care of her beloved blooms and daydream is a good reminder of the simple pleasures that getting out in the garden can bring.

Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll （1865）

“... she knelt down and looked along the passage into the loveliest garden you ever saw. How she longed to get out of that dark hall， and wander about among those beds of bright flowers and those cool fountains.”

In Alices Adventures in Wonderland， gardens represent transition to a new space. It is in the garden that Alice finds the rabbit hole， and once she tumbles down it she spies another garden from inside a hallway which she feels she must get to if she is ever to find her way home. The image of the garden Alice is desperate to reach， with its cooling fountains and lush flowerbeds， sounds good enough to magically shrink yourself to get into！

A Midsummer Nights Dream by William Shakespeare （1605）

“What angel wakes me from my flowery bed？”

In this Shakespearean comedy， flowers carry a great deal of influence and have the power to control the way that people act and feel. It is the heady perfume of summer flowers which puts Titania into a deep sleep and casts a spell on her so that she falls in love with the next man she sees. A Midsummer Nights Dream captures the enraptured feeling we get from taking an evening stroll through a flower garden in the heat of summer， and reminds us of the magic thats there.

The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies by Cicely Mary Barker （1927）

“O little playmates whom I love！

The sky is summer-blue，

And meadows full of buttercups

Are spread abroad for you.”

Cicely Mary Barkers The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies has been delighting children and adults for generations. Her gorgeously detailed illustrations of each fairy and its corresponding flower are a wonder to look at， and make learning about plant identification feel positively enchanting. After reading this， children and grown-ups alike will want to make sweet little fairy houses for the garden to encourage the flower fairies to come and stay.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett （1911）

“The things which happened in that garden！ If you have never had a garden， you cannot understand and if you have had a garden， you will know that it would take a whole book to describe all that came to pass there. ”

The Secret Garden is a charming coming-of-age7 story that shows how Mary Lennox， a malnourished， unhappy orphan girl is transformed by her discovery of an abandoned secret garden all her own where she can play in the fresh air and learn to nurture spring bulbs and help them grow. The gardens power is so great that it even entices Colin， a bed-ridden boy who suffers more from hypochondria8 and refusing to leave the house than anything else， to venture outdoors and see the spring arriving in the garden for himself.

The secret garden， with its robin family twittering away in their nest， ancient sprawling roses， apple trees trained flat against the wall， and ivy covering up the hidden door， is a private space of mystery， transformation， learning， and healing.

花園具有所有門類的藝術家都不曾忽視的迷人風采。許多著名作家曾在作品中寫過花園，用它們來塑造人物、推動情節發展。在文學作品中，花園是具有巨大潛力的空間，可以療愈心靈、增長學識，可以建立浪漫關系，甚至還可以將角色送入魔法世界。以下七本文學經典也許將為你帶來啟發，幫助你仿照它們造出自己的花園;至少它們能帶給你一些新的夢想。

簡·奧斯汀《傲慢與偏見》（1813）

“你愿不愿意告訴我，你愛上他有多久了？”

“這是慢慢發展起來的，我也說不清是什么時候開始的。但我想，應該是從看到他在彭伯利的那座美麗花園開始的?！?/p>

維多利亞時期小說中的花園是重要的“中間地帶”。在19世紀，家庭內部區域依傳統屬于女性，公共區域則被視為男性的領地，但維多利亞時期的花園既不完全屬于私人空間，不是嚴格意義上的公共空間，為男女之間的平等交往創造了一方天地。在簡·奧斯汀深受讀者喜愛的《傲慢與偏見》中，女主角伊麗莎白·班奈特在菲茲威廉·達西外出時到訪他的莊園，直到彼時她才意識到自己對這位紳士的真實情感。

漫步于彭伯利莊園，看到花園之美，尤其看到對花園的精心維護，伊麗莎白大為驚訝。達西先生對宅第和花園的這份用心也在一定程度上讓伊麗莎白確信，他其實是一個溫和而善良的人，值得自己去愛。讀這本小說，會讓你想去傳統英式花園里轉一轉（也許還希望同達西先生一起在池塘里游個泳）。

雷克斯·斯托特《被書謀殺》（1951）

“‘看這朵小金蝶蘭，他喃喃地說，‘在四月里干枯了。這種事從沒發生過，沒法解釋?！?/p>

《被書謀殺》是雷克斯·斯托特諸多以偵探尼祿·沃爾夫為主人公的精彩小說之一。它不僅講述了一場扣人心弦的兇殺疑案，也相當于一堂花園療愈課。尼祿·沃爾夫的職業是偵探，但他的愛好是種植蘭花。每當手頭的案件變得棘手，他就會躲進自家花園的溫室侍弄花草。不出所料，等他在蘭花叢間沉思許久之后，案子就能水落石出。

蘭花在這部小說中起到重要作用，現在甚至有些蘭花品種是以主人公的名字命名的。《被書謀殺》中的日光房栽滿芬芳的異域蘭花，小說對這座日光房的描寫令人神往，如果并不擁有一間蘭花房，閱讀此書便是最好的享受，也許還能鼓勵你建一座自己的蘭花房。

奧斯卡·王爾德《不可兒戲》（1895）

“哦，費小姐，此地有的是花，就像倫敦有的是人?！?

在奧斯卡·王爾德最著名的劇作《不可兒戲》中，許多喜劇和愛情場景都以花園作為背景。各個角色可以躲在花園里偷聽他人說話，更重要的是，花園為這個家里的年輕女性塞西莉提供了一處庇護所。塞西莉時常走到花園里去寫日記、澆花，還以澆花為借口逃避她那討厭的德語課。塞西莉樂于躲到花園里照料心愛的花朵、做白日夢，這提醒我們從室內移步花園能帶來簡單的快樂。

路易斯·卡羅爾《愛麗絲漫游奇境記》（1865）

“……她跪下來，順著通道望去，看見了一座最最美麗的花園。她多么想離開這個昏暗的大廳，進入花園，在那姹紫嫣紅的花圃間徜徉，在那清涼宜人的噴泉間漫步啊。”5

在《愛麗絲漫游奇境記》中，花園代表通往一個新空間的過渡地帶。愛麗絲在這個花園中找到了兔子洞。她一跤摔下洞，在走廊里看到了另一個花園。她覺得自己只有趕往那個花園，才能找到回家的路。愛麗絲拼命想趕去的花園有清涼的噴泉和繁茂的花圃，看起來完全值得把自己縮小、鉆進去！

威廉·莎士比亞《仲夏夜之夢》（1605）

“是哪個天使把我從花床上喚醒？”

在這部莎翁喜劇中，花朵魔力強大，能夠控制人們的行為和感受。夏季鮮花那令人陶醉的香氣讓仙后蒂泰妮霞沉沉睡去，還給她施了魔咒，讓她愛上睜開眼之后見到的第一個男人。《仲夏夜之夢》捕捉到了我們在炎熱的夏夜漫步于花園所能感受到的狂喜，并提醒我們此中有魔力。

西西莉·瑪麗·巴克《花仙子全書》（1927）

“哦，我親愛的小玩伴！

夏日蔚藍的天空，

長滿金鳳花的草地，

都在你眼前舒展開來?！?/p>

西西莉·瑪麗·巴克的《花仙子全書》為一代又一代兒童與成人帶去了歡笑。她為每個小仙子及其對應花卉繪制的插畫細膩動人，令人贊嘆，讓辨認植物這件事也變得生動有趣了。不論是小孩還是大人，只要讀完這部書，人人都想在花園里造出可愛的小房子，請花仙子來住在里面。

弗朗西斯·霍奇森·伯內特《秘密花園》（1911）

“花園里發生了多少事情！假如你從沒有過花園，你就不能理解;如果你有花園，你就會明白花園的精彩，整整一本書也描寫不完。”6

《秘密花園》是一個動人的成長故事，講述了營養不良、郁郁寡歡的孤兒瑪麗·倫諾克斯因為發現了一個完全屬于她自己的廢棄的秘密花園而發生蛻變的故事。在花園里，她可以在新鮮空氣中玩耍，學習培植球莖花?；▓@的力量如此強大，它甚至誘使男孩柯林冒險到戶外去，親眼看到春天來到花園;他原本臥床不起，而更大的問題就是有疑病癥不愿出門。

秘密花園里，知更鳥一家在鳥巢里嘰嘰喳喳，古老的玫瑰伸展枝蔓，修整過的蘋果樹平貼著墻，常春藤下隱蔽著一扇門。這是一個屬于秘密、蛻變、學習和療愈的私人空間。

（譯者為“英語世界”杯翻譯大賽獲獎者）