> Well, this is terribly embarrassing - but it seems that I'm hopelessly lost. Every turn I take just seems to lead me around and around in a circle ...

I assume, then, you're trying to get out of the garden. One way is to make a map of all the locations as you travel -- then you know where you haven't gone.

In the case of the garden, however, try going north as far as you can, wherever you are, until you can't go north anymore (and can't go east or west to any places that will also let you go north). The northern edge of the garden is pretty much a straight east/west line, so go west as far as you can, and then south as far as you can. Then you should be at the garden's entrance/exit.