“Riding home with a cold beverage from the cooler, a passenger possibly and sore bones. These days are precious. The shortness of summer is already bearing down. We’ve wood chipped paths, dug out invaders, lopped hazel nut shrubbery, and pampered plants that would be lost without us. A garden is a work in progress, that never ends. Our moments of repose, revolve around it. Natural pinks, and purples, stalks and sprays, spikes and thorns, even furry things, like apple mint, make charm seem commonplace. They nod, and wave, poke and accelerate, wow and flutter. This is our plant kingdom, medicinal, all. Humanity is hardly aware. The unassuming power of vegetation makes sense of winter, like a magic show. “We were just sleeping, get it?” they bellow, in whispers barely audible. Perhaps one day, herbs will be more fully understood. Sitting on the dirt for much of my day, I do get it, by osmosis. Merely flailing upon the ground, I can receive my dose. Even a the prick of a nettle, reminds me, I’m alive, and biologically related. Our bodies work together. The urgent stories of humanity, are supported, by plants. The malfeasance of lovers, the diffidence of family, the cluelessness of children, the cruelty of liars. None can escape the gentle gaze of growing things. As rain abates, and the sun begins to press harder thru the haze, the responsive nature of a million tiny solar panels is unfailing. They would have us succeed, as they do, accepting the warmth we were made for. Digital collection of data, appears ridiculously pedestrian, in this world. Who needs it? We would rather live it. Follow the clock of the sky, and the fluctuating nuances that only imagination can render. “I wish I could buy a half a cup of coffee, “ I say, at the store. A perfect example of how convention can hamper our instincts. Nothing but preconception here, obscuring the solution. “I guess I could just fill the small cup halfway” I conclude, after a moment of indecision. Maybe I resent having to pay “full price” for a lesser amount. But a half a cup is a full cup, if it’s the right amount. Less is more, less is more. As a person who designs gardens, and spaces, I have learned to over-design, and then remove. It may cost to undo, or to “under-develop” a thing you were attached to, but in the end, simplicity wins. Inside that vision, so much is thriving, ready to be a partner, but, thankfully, not a slave.”
