Stories From My Musical World

Reflections Of A Garden

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A story about the garden that became our playground, our classroom and, years later, a piece of music.

The story as it first appeared

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The garden through the seasons

The garden was never only one place. Snow softened it in winter, while summer brought deep green hedges, blue skies and the apple tree at the bottom of the lawn.

The childhood garden covered in snow, with the greenhouse, swings and slide in the distance.

Snow-covered hydrangeas beside the white childhood garden.

A tall view across the sunny garden towards the slide and hammock frame.

The blue slide and wooden hammock frame surrounded by the garden.

The far end of the garden with the trampoline and a football on the lawn.

Tall green hedges beneath a bright blue summer sky.

The large apple tree at the end of the childhood garden.

Growing up together

My sister and I filled the lawn with our own little worlds: picnics, games, dressing up and long afternoons that seemed to have no ending.

Two young sisters playing together beside the garden wall.

Two sisters playing outside in matching pink dresses.

Two sisters embracing on the lawn while holding a small toy.

Two sisters hugging in the sunlight in their childhood garden.

Two sisters resting together on the grass.

Two sisters having a garden picnic with a doll.

Two sisters sharing lunch on a picnic blanket in the garden.

Our outdoor classroom

Outside was also where we learned. Paint, homemade experiments and whatever we could find became lessons shared in the open air.

A child painting outdoors on a blanket in the garden.

Two sisters painting together on the lawn.

Children making and exploring dough at a blue table outside.

A homemade volcano experiment arranged on the garden picnic table.

A young Alanna tending a flower ornament among plants in the garden.

As the years passed

We grew, the games changed and the garden changed with us. It remained a place for imagination, music and the memories I would later carry into this piece.

A young Alanna standing in a black dress among the garden greenery.

Children playing and picnicking on the garden lawn.

A child in a pink dress playing beside the garden swings.

Two sisters playing with skipping ropes in the garden.

A smiling young Alanna surrounded by flowers in the garden.

The garden in later years, with the conservatory, flowers and newly arranged beds.

When the garden became music

When Andante Piano invited me to submit a piece for their Piano Day album, I found myself returning to those afternoons in the garden.

I wanted the piano to bloom with colour and feel full and layered, while still holding the softness and strength of those memories. Those moments became Reflections of a Garden.