Secret Garden Paradise
SECRET GARDEN PARADISE – February 15, 2025 – Newport Beach, California, USA
When she bought her dream house near the ocean, Glenda O’Hare paid plenty for the location. Hers was one of twelve stucco and Spanish-tile-roof houses built on a ridge and facing the Pacific. Her front room offered an elevated glimpse of the flat blue water below and the property had an unusually large backyard surrounded by a high, sand-colored brick wall.
The backyard was truly the home’s focal point. Its largest room, which served as a combination entertainment space and office, faced the backyard through a wall-sized bay window. When Glenda arrived, the view consisted of a yard filled with paving bricks, a temporary pickleball court, outdoor furniture, and a barbecue grill. She had no plans for outdoor lounging and instead wanted something more picturesque she could admire while reclining in her desk chair and sipping tea. Inspired by recent trips to Europe and Hawaii, she decided what she needed was a formal garden with a tropical flare. She called her realtor and received a recommendation for a landscaper.
Horatio Torres worked on multiple properties in the area and understood which plants thrived and struggled. When he was summoned by Glenda, he arrived ten minutes early in a work truck and wearing a long-sleeved cotton shirt advertising the name of his company. He carried a notepad as he followed Glenda around the backyard.
“It’s a very large space and it gets plenty of sun,” Glenda said proudly.
“Oh, yes ma’am. A very nice space,” Horatio agreeably replied.
“When I look through my window, I want to see something beautiful, not these bricks on the ground.”
Horatio nodded and said, “Right, I see.”
“I want something that looks natural, but let’s say the very peak of nature. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to Hawaii. I want a garden full of tropical plants with flowers that are always blooming. And fruit trees so I can have fresh fruit all year long. I love bananas and mangos.”
Horatio’s eyes grew wide but he continued to nod agreeably.
“And it needs to be environmentally friendly and not use a lot of water.”
Horatio’s eyes grew even wider as he replied, “Yes, that would be very nice too.”
“And I’m imagining a gravel path that meanders through, not that I plan to use it. I’m mostly interested in viewing it through the window. I’m not fond of bugs and I’m afraid I have terrible allergies.”
“A viewing garden. A beautiful, tropical viewing garden,” Horatio said as a kind of summary.
“Of course, I would pay you generously both to install and maintain it all.”
Horatio smiled thoughtfully and nodded some more. This was exactly the kind of lucrative job he needed to keep his business going. “Yes, ma’am. I can build it for you. Something you will love. I can start right away.”
It did not take long to agree on a price and for Horatio to produce a contract for Glenda to sign. He drove away feeling warily optimistic. To make the job work, he would need to attempt something radically different. If he succeeded, he would have a lucrative client for years to come. If not, his reputation would take a serious hit.
Horatio clearly understood that Glenda was asking for the impossible for her dream garden. She could not have flowers that were always blooming and fruit trees that were always in season. The Southern California climate was very accommodating, but not all tropical plants would grow well. Those that did would require lots of water, not the environmentally stingy amounts Glenda proposed. Horatio needed to get creative.
Fortunately, timing was perfect for an experiment. Horatio had helped with a movie set designed to recreate the Garden of Eden. It was filled with high-quality life-like versions of the flora Glenda craved. Now that the movie was complete, Horatio could pick up the props at a steep discount. He rented multiple trucks and trailers and filled them with hundreds of fake fruit trees, palm trees, and tropical plants. His collection included flowers bursting in bright reds, yellows, and purples. Everything was made with plastic, fiberglass, and steel but they were indistinguishable from the real thing, even when viewed from very close.
With his plants secured, Horatio hired extra laborers to transform Glenda’s backyard during a week when she was out of town. They removed the paving brick and buried the sturdy bases for each plant deep in the ground. By the time the job was done, the space was thick with fake foliage. Horatio plotted out the requested walking path and mostly copied the layout used in the Garden of Eden movie. He randomly added plastic drip pipes as a final touch but did not attach them to a water source. The install went twice as quickly as it might have taken with genuine plants and the garden was ready in time for Glenda’s return.
“Amazing! Better than I imagined,” Glenda exclaimed as she and Horatio stared at the garden through her bay window.
“I’m glad you like it, ma’am,” Horatio said humbly.
“And it won’t require much water?”
“No ma’am. I don’t think you’ll even notice a difference in your water bill.”
“Marvelous. I’ll stare at this for hours.”
“I’ll be back every week to tend to it and pick the fruit. Like we agreed.”
“Yes, absolutely. You’re amazing.”
As she predicted, Glenda did spend most of her days with at least one eye on the garden. Her work desk was already inside what she now called her viewing room. She added a couch, side chairs, and a coffee table to accommodate visitors. Whenever she entertained guests, she offered them fruit grown on her trees. Everyone was quick to agree that hers was the most enchanting backyard they had ever seen.
True to his word, Horatio returned each week and made a show of maintaining the garden while Glenda looked on. He pushed around a cart filled with leaves and branches and sprayed the plants with a hose. He was mainly there to wipe and wash off the dust that accumulated on the plastic leaves. He also presented Glenda with a box of fruit reportedly from the trees. She gushed over the selection of plums, pears, bananas, tangerines, kiwis, and apples.
In order to provide the fruit, Horatio made a stop at a fruit market before visiting Glenda’s home. He had a knack for choosing the sweetest fruit from around the world, which went into Glenda’s acclaimed fruit salads.
The arrangement went on for three years. The garden gave Glenda reliable peace and pleasure. Hundreds of her guests admired its colorful view and agreed with Glenda that it was impossible to feel sad or afraid in its presence.
The garden also pleased Horatio. Dusting plants and selecting fruit were simple tasks for the money Glenda paid him. He viewed his role more as an actor than a landscaper, but he played his part well and did not take it for granted.
Then on a February afternoon, Glenda welcomed a visitor named Melinda Barnes. Melinda worked for a cancer research foundation. Her job was to interview and profile large donors, like Glenda, for the foundation’s newsletter and webpage. That afternoon, she brought along her thirteen-year-old daughter, Amy. Glenda welcomed them both in her viewing room and offered them slices of pears and plums.
“They came from my garden,” Glenda said proudly.
Melinda took a bit of pear and said, “Delicious. Your home is amazing.”
“Thank you very much. I put a lot of thought into it. Especially the garden.”
Amy was not as ready as her mother to admire the house. She eyed the plum slices suspiciously and nibbled at them like they might be poisoned. After listening to Melinda and Glenda share more pleasantries, Amy interjected with a question.
“Could I go out there and see the trees close up?”
Melinda gave her daughter a sharp glare before saying to Glenda, “She loves all kinds of plants. She wants to be a botanist when she grows up.”
Glenda did not act interested. “I see. Getting into the garden is a lot of trouble. My gardener, Horatio, is usually the only one allowed in there.”
“Please,” Amy begged. “I’ll be really careful. I’ve been in all kinds of gardens and greenhouses before.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Glenda replied.
“Why not? I promise not to hurt anything.”
Glenda continued to resist. Melinda tried to persuade her daughter to drop the idea, but Amy stubbornly continued to ask.
“Fine. Take a quick look around and come right back,” Glenda finally said in frustration.
Amy quickly followed Glenda’s instructions and found the door that opened into the garden. She stepped outside and was immediately struck by how quiet the space was. She heard no birds or insects. Everything lay still. No leaves or flower petals fluttered in the breeze she felt on her skin. And nothing smelled of dirt or organic life. It smelled more like plastic.
Amy crept along the gravel path that led to the fruit trees planted in back of the garden. She stopped in front of a plum tree decorated with dark green leaves and purple fruit. Everything looked real, but when she touched one of the leaves, it felt unnaturally slippery. She picked at it with her finger but the leaf did not puncture like it should. She squeezed one of the plums. It was hard and rubbery instead of squishy. She tugged at the plum but it did not pop off its stem.
“It’s totally fake!” Amy said to herself. She tugged at the plum until it finally broke free. “I’ve gotta tell Glenda about this. I think this whole place is fake.”
Amy ran along the gravel path, back through the door, and into the viewing room. Her mom and Glenda were in the middle of a conversation, but Amy waved for their attention.
“The garden’s not real! Look at this! It was hanging on your plum tree but I think it’s made of rubber!” Amy passed the fake plum to Glenda.
Glenda barely handled the plum before dropping it on her desk. With an annoyed laugh she said, “Looks like you found a bad one. With a whole tree of plums, there’s bound to be a bad one in the bunch. Horatio only brings me the good ones.”
“I think your gardener is tricking you. Those aren’t real plums. I don’t think anything is real.”
Glenda shot Melinda a dangerous look before saying, “Horatio does a wonderful job. I’ve never needed to question any of his work.”
“But plums don’t have ripe fruit in February. I just learned that in school. Your plums can’t be real.”
Glenda’s face grew more determined. “Horatio does amazing things and the Southern California climate is different than anywhere else in the world.”
Melinda was much better than her daughter at reading facial cues. She understood from Glenda’s reaction what was going on and she warned Amy to drop the subject.
“Stop worrying about it,” she said to her daughter. “Now I need you to be quiet while I finish talking to Glenda. If you can’t, you need to go wait in the car.”
Melinda apologized to Glenda for her daughter and urged her to finish answering the question they were discussing before Amy interrupted. Glenda calmed down and the interview continued. Amy stayed quiet but antsy until it was over.
As soon as Amy followed her mom out of the house, she raged over Glenda being deceived and delusional. “She talks so much about that garden but she has no idea what’s out there!”
“I’m not so sure,” Melinda replied.
“What do you mean? You saw the fake plum. She can’t possibly know what’s growing and what isn’t!”
“It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about what she does or doesn’t know.”
“Don’t you care if she’s being tricked?”
Melinda gave her daughter a wise parental look. “I think what’s going on is a little more complicated. The garden is kind of a fantasy land. A little make-believe.”
“You think she knows it’s fake?”
“Yes. And there’s nothing wrong with that. If she enjoys it, what’s the harm in it? I’m happy to play along like it’s real.”
“But it isn’t. She’s lying and purposely confusing people.”
Melinda smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “I think it’s kind of fun.”
Amy sneered, not ready to give up the argument. “How can you be so sure she even understands what a real plant is compared to a fake one?”
“Because before she moved here, she was a pretty famous scientist at a large company. She made a lot of money and a lot of discoveries. And guess what she studied? Plant genetics. She knows as much about plants as anyone else on earth. I’m sure she knows when plums are supposed to be ripe. I was hoping the two of you would hit it off since you both like plants so much. That’s why I brought you. It was kind of a surprise.”
Amy remained speechless for almost a minute after hearing the news. She finally asked, “Does her gardener know who she is?”
“I doubt it. They’re both keeping secrets. They seem to like it that way.”
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