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| Iris siberica and peonies welcome springtime visitors to our yard |
I recently lamented to my daughter that I have not done any artwork lately,
or posted to this blog since March!
She said that gardening it art, too. There's truth in that.
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| Oriental poppies in languid profusion |
Gardening is not for those seeking instant gratification, however.
Like creating a painting or collage,
the Process is the engine that drives the beauty,
and this takes time and effort.
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| Morning glories visiting sunflowers |
Last year during 3SIXTY5, my aborted (after 7 grueling months)
collage-a-day-for-a-year project, I tried to force my creative Process
and ended up relinquishing too much of the rest of my life.
Including tending my gardens during the 2010 season.
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| Hollyhocks, liatris and others in a cottage garden border |
So this year I'm catching up. In addition to shovels, spades and sweat,
I've broken out the books, and I'm re-educating myself on
those principles of soil chemistry and plant care
without which no garden can look its best.
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| English daisies and pansies display perky personality |
The beauty of the gardens will reward and refresh me.
I'll be ready, come the cold weather, to let my own creative juices flow again.
"The one art that everyone chooses, or feels in some degree qualified to practice, is paradoxically the most complex of all...it combines aesthetic judgments with science and craftsmanship in a kaleidoscope of variables...no two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. And yet on this flapping canvas [the gardener] tries to daub his vision of a better world..."
Hugh Johnson, The Principles of Gardening
