The Secret Garden (2020) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Mary is sent to live with her reclusive uncle Archibald Craven after her parents die from cholera in India in 1947. With no other family to care for her, she becomes the responsibility of her father's brother, who lives alone in the remote Misselthwaite Manor in Yorkshire.

• mary lennox
• archibald craven
• uncle
• cholera
• parents death

The whispers Mary hears are never fully explained, but they serve as a supernatural element hinting at the presence of past events and unresolved emotions within the manor's walls. The sounds stir Mary's curiosity and draw her deeper into the mysteries of the estate.

• whispers
• manor
• mystery
• supernatural

Mary discovers the hidden garden when a small dog leads her into the grounds. While exploring, she also learns from Martha that her brother Dickon has been visiting the garden secretly, which encourages Mary to venture there herself and eventually find a hidden key.

• hidden garden
• dickon
• key
• discovery

Colin is Mr. Craven's son and has been led to believe he is severely ill and cannot walk. Confined to his bed, he has grown up believing he will die young like his mother. In reality, his father has kept him isolated due to grief over his wife's death and Colin has never been encouraged to try walking.

• colin
• mr craven
• illness
• isolation
• wheelchair

Colin's mother was Lilias, Mr. Craven's wife, who died when Colin was a baby. Mr. Craven has been consumed by grief ever since, which is why he withdrew from Colin and kept the boy isolated. Mary discovers letters from Colin's mother that reveal his parents had a loving relationship and that Colin is not actually ill.

• lilias craven
• colin's mother
• letters
• grief
• family secret

Mary repeatedly visits Colin and describes the hidden garden to him, painting vivid pictures of its beauty and the joy she finds there. She reads him stories and eventually inspires him with tales of Dickon and the freedom she experiences outdoors, helping him overcome his fear of the outside world.

• mary
• colin
• garden
• friendship
• encouragement

The fire breaks out during the children's escape to the garden. As the manor burns, Mary finds the courage to bring Colin to his father, bridging the emotional gap created by years of grief and neglect. The crisis forces Mr. Craven to confront his fear of losing Colin, and the father-son reunion occurs as they step into the light together.

• fire
• reconciliation
• mr craven
• colin
• family reunion

The garden represents renewal and connection for Mary. Through tending to the neglected garden with Dickon's help, Mary finds purpose and friendship that heal her loneliness. The garden becomes a place where she transforms from a bitter, isolated child into someone capable of love and emotional growth.

• garden
• healing
• nature
• transformation
• dickon

Mrs. Medlock threatens to send Mary to boarding school after discovering her wearing a pearl necklace that belonged to Colin's mother. This confrontation represents the tension between Mary's growing freedom and the manor's rigid rules, but Mary defies the threat and continues her secret adventures in the garden.

• mrs medlock
• pearl necklace
• boarding school
• conflict

Jemima is the small dog Mary encounters in the garden, which becomes her first meaningful connection in the manor. Later, Dickon reveals that Jemima has transformed into a scruffy dog named Hector, and they work together to nurse the dog back to health, symbolizing the healing power of friendship and care.

• jemima
• hector
• dog
• garden
• friendship