The Magnificent Garden- A Slice of Heaven

(Published in GreenPrints Magazine, July 12, 2023)

Gardening is an experience

of the senses.

No one is talking,

drink it in.

The site will tell us what to do

if we listen.

Realize its potential

and appreciate the bounty of nature.

A human being can create

an experience out of nature.

Let in the feeling of wildness

and accept it.

We hear the leaves shaking

and smell the fragrance

of Roses.

The garden gives

musty, pungent, and earthy scents too.

Watch things change,

they change for the better.

All sorts of new things happen

that we won’t expect.

Think about it

and have a conversation

with the garden.

Believe there is magic in the garden

from fairies

who leave happy birthday notes on lily pads.

In winter, we take candle-lit walks

through the archways and

around the Oaks.

Gardeners listen to and cultivate

the horticultural symphony

of Narcissus, Lupine, Hyacinths,

Tulips, Astilbe, Iris, and Delphinium,

more and more Delphinium.

We are just performers

trying to do the best we can.

If we are blessed

we might create a work of art.

Gardening is our way

to connect on a different level

than one normally does.

Art is supposed to make a difference

in people’s lives.

Great art can move people.

Gardener’s use natural materials

as a way of expressing ourselves.

Delight, surprise, and variety

we create out of time and space.

The gardener’s sensibility includes:

an herb garden off the kitchen for fresh mint,

a clay oven could be installed in the garden

to bring the kitchen outdoors,

a stream garden to play with elusive time,

and a weeping rock to press pause on the sonata and rewind

to years before, before, before

in rays of golden sunlight.

Gardening is a physical relationship,

hands in the soil.

Everyone has a garden within them.

It’s a way of expressing creativity.

Gardeners are trying

to recreate Eden,

a corner of paradise

separate from our daily hustle.

The apple is there to taste

and it is sweet

and sorrowful too.

The garden is our whole world.