It reveals what I see in the best gardeners, and that is the style and substance and experience coming together in a garden that you can walk around and observe and discuss. It's seeing the result of what you know, what your experience has taught you, and perhaps the catalytic ingredient that turns a garden into something special, it's the addition of what you feel. The blog post about [url=https://www.thisgardenisillegal.com/2008/03/2nd-blogiversary-the-meaning-of-it-all.html]what makes gardening magical is here[/url].
It's a brilliant meditation about gardening and how it intersects with the other parts of your life, both past and present. Here's a sample:
Delight and whimsy. She put her finger on something that is very important. For me, this is one of the qualities, a special ingredient, that make a garden (or even a person, place or thing) exceptional and a pleasure to be around.One day I realized that sometimes you do waste money on frippery. Pink Converse are like garden gnomes. They may bring no technical value to the yard but they bring delight and whimsy, which we all need.
There is no question there is a magical, even spiritual, aspect to gardening. Have you strolled through a garden at night? For me, the best test of whether a garden is ALIVE is to walk through a garden at night with a flashlight. A thriving garden will literally tremble with life. Beetles crawling through the ground. Ants carrying away the detritus of the day. Predators flying through the air swallowing gulps of flying insects. Then stand still and be in the middle of this with the wind blowing through the trees or bushes. One time I startled a bat that launched and circled above my head. These are some of those experiences that are like salt and pepper, they enhance the flavor of living.
I only have a container garden on my balcony where I grow herbs and flowers. It's a little jungle that provides herbs for my food and some visual beauty. But I also spend a significant amount of time in the gardens of friends and family and taking time out to vacation in natural surroundings where the sound of a creek or river are the only sounds around. I envy those of you who have blackberry bushes and plots of veggies. This is a great past time. It slows you down, it teaches you things, it enhances the experience of being alive in the world.