The Secret Garden Chapter 9 Summary

"The Strangest House Any One Ever Lived In"

  • Even though it's still winter, Mary can see that the secret garden is full of all kinds of roses: climbing roses, rose bushes, more roses than you can shake a stick at.
  • Mary has the creepy thought that she is the first person to speak inside the garden in ten years.
  • Even though everything is overgrown, Mary sees little green shoots poking up here and there; she starts clearing away the dead leaves from these new shoots.
  • Mary is actually enjoying herself, for once—and smiling the whole time. (Probably for the first time in her life.)
  • As Mary is chatting with Martha over dinner, she has a brilliant idea: Martha's brother Dickon is great with living things.
  • And Mary has this secret garden she wants to bring back to life.
  • So maybe Dickon can help her with the garden (as long as he won't tell anyone).
  • Martha (who still doesn't know about Mary's great secret) offers to send Dickon a letter asking him to buy gardening tools and seeds and whatever he needs to help Mary do some gardening.
  • Dickon will walk over to Misselthwaite Manor himself to make the delivery.
  • Martha's mother has also invited Mary to come over to their cottage for tea.
  • Mary is thrilled that she is finally going to meet new people.
  • As Mary as drowsing off, she asks Martha about the crying—she heard a crying voice again that day.
  • Martha dodges the question.