The Garden
After arriving at his Aunt and Uncle's apartment building, and finding a car park instead of a garden, Tom is bitterly disappointed. This is until he finds the secret garden in the middle of the night, which he is thrilled about. The garden is described with rich imagery, which emphasizes the magical and pastoral elements of the garden. For example, Tom plays in the garden in the following passage:
"He would run full tilt over the grass, leaping the flowerbeds; he would peer through the glittering panes of the greenhouse - perhaps open the door and go in; he would visit each alcove and archway clipped in the yew-trees - he would climb the trees and make his way from one to another through thickly interlacing branches. When they came calling for him, he would hide, silent and safe as a bird, among the richness of leaf and bough and tree trunk."
The natural world is emphasized in this passage, from the grass and flowerbed to the trees and "thickly interlacing branches." This description also suggests something magical about the garden, with the word "glittering." Significantly, it is revealed that the garden is from the past, which brings up a discussion about the industrial revolution and progression. The pastoral idyll of the Victorian garden and country house is contrasted with the dull, modern apartment building and the car park. As such, we see that Phillipa Pearce is telling us something about the negative effects of urbanization.
The warmth of the garden is also emphasized, to show the feelings of safety and happiness Tom feels there: "The sun's rays gleamed over all the garden, warming it to life and sucking up the drenching dew."
The garden at night
At night, the garden is described as being frightening and eerie. For example, the narrator writes that "a great stillness lay within the garden." Personifying the stillness in this way eerily suggests that there is a dark presence in the garden. The narrator strengthens this description, saying that "as he reached the porch, the winds broke out into the lower air, with heavy rain and a chilling of the temperature. Demons of the air seemed let loose in that garden." Here, the narrator introduces a suggestion of the supernatural, which further enhances the frightening scene.
The apartment building
At the beginning of the text, Tom is reluctant to live with his Aunt and Uncle for a few weeks, as he "knew that they lived in a flat, with no garden." The lack of a garden is significant to Tom, as he realizes he will not be able to play outside. Through Tom, Phillipa Pearce shows the importance of playing outside for children.
The narrator describes the apartment building negatively, saying that "it was the only big house among them: oblong, plain, grave." For Tom, this building represents boredom and monotony. Once Tom enters the building "he felt a chill," and the narrator explains that the "heart of the house was empty - cold - dead." This imagery makes the building seem unwelcoming and cold and also foreshadows the fact that there will be supernatural events later in the book.
