The Chalk Garden

A girl on the verge of womanhood... a woman on the edge of loneliness... both suspicious of affection, yet starved for love.

A delicate, introspective family drama about emotional wounds and healing, where a mysterious governess helps a troubled girl and her grandmother find connection through the metaphor of a barren garden coming to life.

The peculiar antics of Laurel, an emotionally troubled young girl, are the focus of The Chalk Garden – a stately household drama set on the cliffs of the English south coast. Edith Evans plays a matriarchal grandmother who, in raising her granddaughter, has neglected her other love – a barren chalk garden. Mayhem ensues as Laurel's behavior frightens away a succession of governesses until an enigmatic one is hired in spite of her mysterious references. She skillfully sets about tending to the girl's reckless emotions and the pitifully failed garden.