A Look Inside the Magical Locales Featured in the New "Secret Garden" Movie

The most recent film adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett's classic novel The Secret Garden debuts via on-demand and select streaming services this Friday, August 7, and promises to be a visually stunning take on the 1911 book. Set in 1947 instead of the turn of the century as England is still reeling from WWII and the Partition of India, the 2020 reboot stars Colin Firth as Lord Archibald Craven, Julie Waters as Mrs. Medlock, and newcomer Dixie Egerick as Mary Lennox. However, the true star of the movie is the garden itself. We chatted with producer Rosie Alison, who has worked on other hit family films like Paddington and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, to learn more about the dreamy, lush setting of The Secret Garden.

"We felt the audience would be disappointed if the garden wasn't wondrous," Alison says. "We felt passionately about not re-creating nature, and we took a real odyssey around the U.K. to create a composite. If you look at a map, we weren't practical—we went all over the place."

Alison says her team's take on The Secret Garden is inspired by the fact that in Burnett's memoir, she recounts that the secret garden that inspired her eponymous novel was really a dumpy garden that became wondrous through her own eyes. Alison and her team translated that notion to create a visual masterpiece that's intended to be place seen through the lens of Mary's imaginative, youthful point of view.

"This garden is full of wonder and mystery, with various moods and aspects changing along with the children," Alison says. "It's a celebration of the glory of nature."

Though the setting may seem larger-than-life and more like a digitized masterpiece, it features natural and wild wonders that aren't typically associated with England's pristine garden, and only one of the outdoor scenes was created on a set. The following locales inspired various aspects of the movie's garden to create one dreamy green space that is sure to soothe and lift the spirits of those of all ages who watch the film.