Re: THE 13 DEADLY SYNDROMES OF GARDENING
- To: perennials@mallorn.com
- Subject: Re: THE 13 DEADLY SYNDROMES OF GARDENING
- From: C* P* L*
- Date: Sun, 12 Dec 1999 18:15:02 -0600 (CST)
> Good thoughts Gene,
>
> Some design is good but the landscaper makes a design, puts the compenents in
> place and stands back to have look. Then he is finished. We are never
> finished.
That's exactly it... Some landscapes are like sculpture, carefully crafted
with a daub of yellow here, a swath or crimson there. The plant material
itself isn't so important, but the overall effect is.
Can you imagine the Villa d'Este with pink flamingos perched about the
Dragon Fountain? Versailles with prairie grasses in place of its
rigid parterres?
These landscapes are living forms of art. And like most art, they are
framed, cataloged, and viewed as artifacts from the past.
Most of us garden as a form of self-expression too, but I'd hesitate to
call mine art. It's an experiment in the subtleties of our planting
palettes, constantly changing, never ending.
I remember playing with Legos when I was a child (although I'll admit to
still buying some to this day:) Every set came with a set of instructions
that directed the completion of a medieval castle, lunar space station,
or some other part of that fantastical place where all little boys
go to play. But my true joy came from the creations that *I* maintained;
a Viking ship could be a space shuttle one day, then a firehouse the next.
It was my self-expression and thinking outside of the box that brought
me real joy.
Landscapes that follow the guidelines mentioned at that Web site are
an aesthetic pleasure, but their owners only know and understand a
one-dimensional aspect. Smelling the musty earth and feeling it between
our fingers as we weave tapestries with the *very stuff of life* is an
immeasurable joy -- we are gods in our own gardens!
I wouldn't have it any other way.
Chris
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To sign-off this list, send email to majordomo@mallorn.com with the
message text UNSUBSCRIBE PERENNIALS
