Dickon Sowerby Timeline and Summary

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• Martha tells Mary early on about her little brother Dickon, who is great with animals and who loves staying out on the moors all day long.
• Mary actually meets Dickon sitting out in the gardens in Chapter 10. He knows Mary as soon as he sees her, since Martha has told him about Mary's new interest in gardening.
• Mary trusts Dickon as soon as she sees him, and she tells him the secret of the Secret Garden.
• When Dickon first sees the garden, he sees that someone has looked after it over the last ten years—the first hint we get that Ben Weatherstaff has been caring for the garden off and on since Lilias's death.
• Dickon helps Mary clear away the dead wood and identify the live branches in the roses that are growing all over the garden.
• Mary realizes that Dickon is basically magical—he can make anyone feel better.
• So Mary brings Dickon to meet Colin in Colin's rooms at Misselthwaite Manor in Chapter 19.
• Dickon brings his tamed animals to meet Colin and to soothe his weird feelings about being looked at.
• Once Mary, Colin, and Dickon all know about the Secret Garden, they begin to go there together to work and to play.
• Dickon gives Colin some leg exercises to do to get his strength back.
• The three kids become really close as Colin starts to share his theories about the Magic.
• Dickon lets his mother in on the secret of their walled garden, and Mrs. Sowerby drops by in Chapter 26.
• Her visit is a turning point: Mrs. Sowerby writes to Archibald to bring him home, and Archibald reunites with Colin.
• Like Mary, Dickon is present for the final reunion between father and son but doesn't really participate.