A paradise on Middle-Earth

[A Little Green]

My first thought was of Lothlórien, but then I realised that there actually is one place in Middle-Earth I love very dearly. Ithilien.

There is something oddly wild and sweet in the land. I especially love it because of its location so close to Mordor. No, don't get me wrong. I wouldn't fancy Sauron as a neighbour or anything. Instead, I think that the presence of the Evil so near makes Ithilien's pride and beauty much more important, much more intriguing and much more, well, fair and sad. Also, I think one of the most beautiful quotes in LotR is one sentence describing it:

Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now desolate kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness.

It's almost prettier in Finnish but I won't quote it here since only a few would understand it.