The Wisdom of Gardens

I have seen some really magnificent gardens in my time.  They include the rose gardens of Connecticut, the Tuileries in Paris, and a reproductions of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.  My favorite is always the one at home.

When MaryBeth was little and I was trying to put her to bed, we would lie close together and talk about the garden we would plant someday.  I guess the original discussion was generated by the rising popularity at the time of that wonderful children's book, The Secret Garden.

We naturally planned a walled garden, but we planned a multitude of others, too, depending on where our fancies led us.  Our walled garden had one large oak tree in the northwest corner.  Then, there was a pond with great golden carp over which were draped three lovely weeping willows.  The walls were covered in climbing roses, bougainvillea, honeysuckle. morning glories, and moonflowers.  There were rocks around the pond that were surrounded by ferns,and lichen, like a velvet carpet, covered the larger ones. There were gardenias and night-blooming jasmine in abundance in each corner and nestled amidst all that fragrance were wooden benches where we could sit and absorb all that wondrous beauty.......a banquet for the soul.

We planned one garden for just roses......every color...every fragrance.....every size and variety.  There would also be both a kitchen garden filled with herbs, fruits, vegetables...and a medicinal garden.  We would be experts in these areas....get back to nature.  And a "white" garden where every blossom would be.......you guessed it...... white.

Gardens have a serenity about then.....even the wild, unattended ones.  They are one with nature and they
play their part in the eco-system whether cared-for or not.  Everything in the garden exists within the framework nature.  While we are in them, we do, too.

The Wisdom of Moonlight

Diana, the virgin huntress, is the goddess of the moon, which is my favorite celestial orb.  The moon rules much of our existence, from farming to romance, from tidal activity to mental activity, cycles both internal and external.  That is one powerful reflective device.  The moon is not a star which is why it does not create its own light, it merely reflects the light of our sun which is the "star" of our solar system.  Are you confused yet?  Not to worry,  Apollo is the god of the sun and rides across the daytime sky in a chariot driven by Phaeton.  They chase Diana round and round, which is another story.  People "dance" by the light of the moon, embrace and kiss, "moon-bathe".  They eat, sleep, dream and make love by her celestial magic.  Like candle-light, moon-light is flattering, frosting everything with silver, softening lines and wrinkles, and imbuing everything it touches with its ethereal illumination and primal power.  The wisdom of moonlight is ancient and eternal and endlessly renewing.