amelia's garden
amelia is 12 or 13 maybe, when she’s finally given the space, and it’s sort of her first taste at being really responsible for anything. like yes she has help tending to it, but anything involving it, she’s in charge, which means she does have people reporting to her.
the location is rather tucked away from the main gardens, in its own little secluded area, and nothing had really been done with the space for awhile before it was given to amelia, some areas were completely dead, others totally overgrown, and though she cleaned it up a little, for awhile she just had some of her favorite flowers there, brought in a few fountains, had a little green house built, she really didn’t do much with the space.
it wasn’t until she was 15/16 that she really renovated the entire space. for a long time she really wasn’t sure what she wanted to do with it, but also it did take some time for any real plans to be put into place, as well as finding time along with her schooling at that point. there was also an adjustment period where it took her some time to get used to being the one making all the decisions for something.
but when work did finally begin, the flowers and other plants that were already there and thriving were carefully and temporarily removed. aside from the few large trees that were already there, she tears almost everything else out and starts fresh. she brings in all sorts of different trees, plants and flowers. she’s rather meticulous about what she plants and where she plants them. making sure the different plants that end up next to each other, can all thrive together, but she also kept in mind when certain plants went into bloom, so that all throughout the spring and summer there’s color. even in winter, though it’s not so full of life, the garden isn’t completely bare.
there is a bit of a trial and error period, where some things had to be shuffled around, but amelia had sought the advice of and consulted with some of krigare’s best gardeners so everything went off without major incident.
she redoes the paths, brings in fountains and statues, has multiple different little sitting areas, a dozen or so arches for different sorts of climbing flowers and plants to wrap around. there was a small pond that was rather neglected that she brings back to life. not all of it is just for show either, there’s a couple of different fruit trees, several strawberry bushes (they are her favorite afterall), a small section for different plants and herbs to make teas and balms and other practical things.
several bunnies live there, as well as a few different sorts of ducks (but mostly runner ducks). amelia sets up several different bird feeders scattered throughout, and alongside the pond there are a few other water spots for any other sort of wildlife that might wander through.
she leaves a decent size grassy patch in the middle and this is where she hosts many a garden / tea party or luncheon for her and her friends. in the late spring and all through the summer, some of the furniture gets swapped out for comfier couches and day beds as amelia does spend most if not all of her free time out there, taking any and every excuse to be out there that she can. sometimes she’ll lay out a blanket out in the grassy area, bask in the sun or shade. on really warm summer nights there are the exclusive garden slumber parties.
though well tended, the garden isn’t perfectly manicured, and amelia prefers this look over everything being symmetrical and perfect. while the garden has a few full time gardeners tending to it (who of course report to amelia), amelia is pretty hands on when it comes to tending to it. and it’s definitely not uncommon to see her trimming plants or trees or weeding / watering things herself.
the garden is entirely hers, and it’s one of the few things that is. being who she is, she likes to share things, but if she wanted to keep the garden all to herself she easily could have and no one would have been able to to tell her she couldn’t. while yes it was initially given to her as a stepping stone for being given more responsibilities, it becomes so much more.
even though she ends up having a similar garden in linuess (one of several stayed turned for that) this particular garden is one she misses dearly and she forever cherishes the memories she has of it. while she does spend time there still whenever she visit krigare, it looses some of the magic it used to hold.
there might be more on this later, but in terms of legacy, after amelia leaves krigare, the staff kept up with the upkeep of the garden, and for awhile juni was “in charge” of it, i say in charge loosely as she doesn’t make any changes, just makes sure nothing gets overrun. the responsibility is then passed to roman’s daughter(s) when old enough (tbh i haven’t decided how many kids he ends up having). over time, the garden ends up becoming known as the princess’ garden and if often tended to by krigare’s princess.
