What a lovely and large place for a secret garden. I would love to have room and plant such a special garden. Your pictures show that you already have a great start with blooms leading in. I would definately plant a garden even if no one but me saw it. Please let us know what you do and show us as you progress.

Bonny

You have a beautiful garden and view. I don't even think about if other people will see what I plant anyway. So, I'd do it. As Bonny said, it's a great place for a secret garden.

Cameron

Actually, no one sees most of my garden anyway. ;) But, it's heaven to take a cup of coffee in the morning and walk through it. My favorite garden spots are the little hidden ones. Those are like secrets between my garden and me...intimate and secluded. And when I need a moment just for me--it's not "Calgon take me away", but rather I let my garden take me away. What better spot than one of those private areas?

So I say go for it...only don't just plant a few things. Go all out! Plant it like it's the showpiece of your whole garden. And then smile a little smile each time you go there.

-Sharon

Absolutely! I've got a road running along the back of my property, and I've actually created garden areas that can't be seen from the road, I like a little privacy. I used plants to hide my pond from the road also.

That may be a great place for you to have a cutting garden if you were interested in that. I have a spot that no one but me ever sees and that is what I have used it for. Obviously, it still looks nice but I don't feel bad when I take all the blooms off a rose bush or all of the daisies off of one plant. I also grow a lot of "filler" plants there that have good foliage for arrangements.

Yup, Definately! I have flower beds out behind the rhubarb. lol And another behind the garage. Its the best soil in my garden......it went down there when we bought the property.....and we have piled our composting plants there for many years.....so the soil is pretty much composte.

Don't forget to add a couple chairs and maybe a table, so you can sit there and enjoy. Secret gardens are fun and a surprise for anyone visiting your garden.

Sierra

Most of my garden is in the secluded area. We have planted a wall of evergreens for privacy, so the flowers only offer a small peak for passerby.
Privacy helps when I come out in a morning with a cup of coffee in my PJs. :)

Certainly. My garden isn't visible to my neighbours and you definately can't see it all from the back deck. That's a great place for a garden. Think of the light you have now.

Libby

A beautiful spot for a secret garden, a place to sit and read or just relax and enjoy, cuddled in a blanket of beauty. I'd have shrubs, a small tree or two around the perimeter, at the entrance I'd have two shrubs overlapping themselves with a space between this is where you'd enter but the garden wouldn't be visible until you stepped through them. My imagination is running away with me this morning LOL.
Annette

I would love to have that spot. I've ran out of room in my suburban yard. Ooh, that could be an awesome space!

We'll see it! When you choose to share, we'll feel privileged to be the honored guests in your secret garden.
Be sure to put a little table for a pitcher of iced tea, and two chairs.

My little secret is that I plant things on the back side of my islands that border the highway so that when passersby see mostly yellow, I'm seeing blue on the back side, LOL.
When they see mostly purple in the fall, I'll have yellow on the back side that they can only glimpse. In the spring, they're seeing 55 mph daffodils and I'm seeing tiny violas close up.
Right now, self seeded salvia coccinea is hiding behind the big rocks and will peek over in the fall. Plants are in on the secret.

Nell

Well, ladies, you have inspired me! I should have known what gardeners would answer.

I will try to use mostly what I have available now to keep costs down. I have a purple smoke tree (still in the pot), a Rosy Glow barberry, and lots of seedlings here and there of red bud and kolreuteria paniculata or Golden Rain Trees. Then there is the weigelia 'wine and roses', a white clematis, a dwarf My Monet weigela.....all in the pot
ghetto. I have maybe 20 Hyperion daylilies, and 10 or so
Blue Berry Candy daylilies. It will be a start.

Thank you all for the support and ideas. You can bet I will post pictures of during and after the planting.

I promise that I will actually try to plan this area........unlike my usual method. I may even use a tape measure!

Oh, I forgot all the iris I need to divide and relocate.

My house is set way back from the road and I live in the country, so almost nobody sees my garden except my family. Gardenweb users see my garden more than real people. I have a "barn bed" that you have to walk down to see. I plant my gardens for me, not for making other people happy. So if it pleases you, do it!

Sounds like a wonderful idea. I wish I could do that, but my back yard is filled with mature maples (silver and norway) that make gardening there impossible.

Be sure to let us see your progress.

I love the idea of a secret garden in your space. My gardens aren't seen by others either except the front hedgerow and what I share here with all of you. Our gardens are havens of peace, love and other things from this crazy world that we live in. I can just imagine the serene space you will create here and look forward to seeing pictures when you are ready to share with us. Have fun, don't stress and enjoy creating a place of beauty.

Hugs ~ FlowerLady

I agree with the wonderful advice you've already received. I can't wait to do something to my backyard which is going to be just for me. I'm actually trying to privatize it now by planting azaleas and shrubs around the perimeter. Your yard is already beautiful. It doesn't look to me like you need to do much more.

Mary

I love that spot and the view of the hayfields. I certainly would plant there and I do here. No one sees my gardens but my husband and kids. I like the idea of a cutting garden and even another nursery garden, sounds like you might need more of those. And if someone does take a tour, it is the height of fun and joy to come around a bend to show a secret space!

It's funny that this post is here today as I was wandering around my yard doing my measuring and planning... and I found the perfect place for just such a thing as y'all are talking about! I agree with everyone here that it would be a beautiful thing to plant a "secret garden" in that area... something that only you enjoy. Like everyone else said just make sure you make it a place you enjoy.

Although all my gardens will be only seen by my husband and myself it would still be nice to have a secluded area for me, myself, and I. ;-))

ttfn
Mystic. (aka "The Barefoot Gardener")

That looks like a beautiful spot for a secret garden. When I first moved to this house, the only part of the yard that got full sun was in the front of the house, oh and 150 feet behind the house - much too far back for a garden. So the gardens went in the front yard. I enjoy them greatly and they're beautiful, but sometimes I feel like I'm in a fish bowl. Most passerbys just say hi or "pretty garden", but some will stop to chat and while I try to be friendly, really I'm out there to garden and not all that interested in talking to people.

Last fall I had several large Norway maples removed from the back yard. I am making new gardens like crazy - they are not visible from the front or the neighbors. I prefer gardening in the back - it's just me and the critters, very peaceful.

I was going to suggest a cutting garden, too, or growing some flowers you can dry. I like all the ideas. It sounds to me, like you already have enough to fill the area, though. Those day lilies can take up lots of room! I like to plant groups of iris and day lilies next to each other since they have different bloom times.

You could also plant different kinds of sunflower seeds in the spring.

Sue

Yes!!! My good gardens are where no one can see them but me, because that is where I BBQ and spend most of my time. I dont really garden in the front of my house (where all can see) cuz I dont spend time out there.