The Secret Garden

Since 1968, this is a bookstore/​hidden alley/​outdoor garden with product gems for pilgrims of mind & spirit. An adventure to roam. Lots to see, smell and feel. Delightful, whimsical location in downtown Carmel between 5^th & 6^th. Pleasant and knowledgeable staff.

This place is so peaceful and breath taking! There is a path which leads to a store, and if you continue on the path walking behind the store, is the tranquil Garden which has many unique and beautiful things for sale, including candles, meditation Cds and garden décor. The store is worth a visit as well, and has books, jewelry, incense, home décor, etc.

Love this place! Excellent selection of interesting books, music, essential oils and other nick nacks. Plenty to keep you busy. A wonderfully relaxed environment and a soothing place to escape. Also a nice garden in the back.

OMG! I was happy as a clam at this enchanting place! Boy, thanks to my hubby, again, for spotting places like this hidden gem! When he mentioned… secret garden? I was like, where? we are so going in there!
Narrow steps down to a small door and there it was, a secret garden… leading me to ever magical passages… indeed a place of beauties in every nook and cranny, kept out of sight of common tourists with only 5 senses…
Hope you go there, don’t miss it when you are in Carmel, or better yet, serendipitously stumble upon it!

The Secret Garden is definitely a secretly lovely gem in Carmel.
I found this place via Unilocal last night knowing that I’ll be in Carmel today for work, and I’m so glad I did. After strenuous work, this place was just perfect to just relax & have a little breather. There’s an alleyway that leads to the garden area where you can check out their little items for purchasing or to just look at. It’s so quiet & tranquil there with little trinkets that are inspirational. They also have a bookstore/​gift shop that you can check out for books about variety of topics like metaphysical stuff to inspiring ones and other interesting knickknacks that would be great additions for your own garden/​home. It’s a must-​see spot if you’re in Carmel :)

Always a good place to swing by. Garden accessory selection is limited. So are the plant selection as well. They have a lot of good potted plants for your office though.
There are a lot of meditation stuff. Not that meditate requires accessories. Kinda defies the definition of «meditation». But they have lots of incense, accent stones (love, peace, etc) that could be hung or put on your office desk. They also have Buddhas and a small beautiful bookstore!
Maybe this place is for the tourist

What a beautiful garden store, it really lives up to its name that it is a secret garden. I found it while wandering to locate plazas and other interesting walkways that Carmel is so full of and I found this place. I would like to come back to get plants or other things as gifts.

a hidden treasure: highly recommend for the gardener, secret adventurer, and home chef… yes, there are even cookbooks within the walls… but it is the garden that i love. one stop spirituality shop as well.

This truly was a «Secret Garden» … I’ve lived in this area for 31 years and I never knew it existed and while I walked down the adorable little hidden path towards the «secret garden» I felt like a little girl again…

Wonderful place! Great selection and very nice people!
We were able to find some items for the kids and they even let us know about specials offers. Will definitely be back!

My fiancé and I were strolling around downtown Carmel and saw this little quirky shop and went in and came out with some cheap candles that smell great! We stayed in one of the old fartsy Inns and it was great to burn it in the suite. There are a ton of succulents and beads if your into that. Random assortment of books and just all kinds of stuff.
Check it out – it’s fun to see it.

You cannot come to Carmel-​by-​the-​Sea without checking out this amazing little store! I’ve been coming here for years and was so happy to see that it’s still here after many years!
In the front area is a book store where they carry a large selection of speciality books. Most of the books here you will find are about health, eating right, mental health and more holistic lifestyle books. I could spend hours in this book store.
At the side there is a little alley way that takes you back to a serene garden area where you can buy garden accessories and healing stones and many other beautiful accessories for your home and/​or garden. They have the cutest collection of meditating clay animals that I would love to get! They are so cute!
Check this place out plus the owner is a sweet lady and very helpful!

This is another little «hidden gem» in Carmel! Part of the Pilgrims Way Bookstore, is our very own secret garden! The name fits, it is sneakily hidden up a lush alley next to the bookstore! Take a stroll back there and you will find more little knick knacks and plants and statues and just an overall fun place to poke around! I could get lost back there for quite some time and entertain myself!