A friend of mine read our recent blog post, Spread the Love, Go Organic, and he disagreed with my whole theory about the soil being "a great place for a good time if it has plenty of air, water and organic matter". I think good organic soil is the perfect place for a party full of healthy plants and grasses that we can enjoy and roll around in.
But, maybe my friend has a point…
All partying aside, an organic lawn or garden can also be a place to teach and to learn about literature, math, history and science. It can be a place to reflect and relax.
The article, "Muddy Waters", from Heronswood Voice reads "Plants and seeds provide students with new ways to understand the world and their place in it. A small, modest garden supplies tactility, shape, color, fragrance and flavor: all key ways we apprehend reality. Finally, gardening provides an overarching narrative that connects and unites all aspects of humanity…"
So, are organic lawns and gardens like a party or a quiet place to learn and reflect? Or both?
What do you think?
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Write of Passage
Whether you embrace “Spread the Love” or “Muddy Waters” a garden is the only place I have ever known that offers solace in times for difficulty, hardship and despair. The world today has certainly dumped a lot of that on us recently. It certainly is a sanctuary to pause and reflect but is a perfect venue for fun and enjoyment too. Each of the above mentioned essays certainly stands on its own merits but when placed in juxtaposition to each other is when the imagination is sparked, ideas are ignited and the essence of what gardening truly is happens.
I heard it said the other day “that we live in the age of communication.” I sadly disagreed. My retort was “that we live in the age of communication devices.” As a people our communication skills are dismal. That is why I was pleased to see the creation of this blog. The entries are timely not only in the horticultural sense but reflect deeper life experiences and the good in the human spirit. Hopefully, it inspires a “write of passage” among its readership and will encourage others to thoughtfully pen their gardening trials, tribulations and triumphs.
For I believe, it is the written word in concert with poetry, literature, art and music that will help us to render a better definition of “place”, help us find a place to “land” and provide direction if we are ever truly to come “home”.