Art in a garden......

"Art can be a quilt, a collage, a stamped card, a poem, a musical performance, a well-loved garden, a delicious meal, a warm conversation and more."


I was zapping through the "recommended for you" list on Amazon this morning, and spotted a book I thought looked interesting. I am not buying it, but it was about art and how it saves people from loads of things. And then I spotted the line above in the description of the book, and it all made sense to me. A well loved garden is art too. My garden. Art. It certainly is well loved.


When you think about it, it is art, isn't it. Most people plan their garden and then plant them and everything grows into a colour palette the gardener artist saw in his or her mind. Me? Well, I think I am at the toddler artist stage where you toss the whole selection of paints onto a canvas and smear them all around, but take huge delight in doing so and making a mess at the same time. And that is art too. I have paintings done by my children here which also fall into the total delight phase of playing with the medium and the colour rather than aiming for perfection. I always did think that Picasso had the same idea.


Art is also something which involves the heart and the mind. I can't be creative on demand. It happens. And so it is with the garden, except I am like the artist who cannot call it good and leave it alone. I keep adding to the picture. Layers and layers. Seeds and more seeds. More and more.


If you peeled back the layers, you may find the bones of the garden, just like peeling back the layers of the artist may reveal the hidden essence of who they are. Who I am perhaps. Actually, in winter you will see those bones. Not mine. The garden's. (Although seeing my bones may be a good goal as well for winter. They are hidden under layers of... we will not go there, will we...)


Interesting, isn't it?


I wonder what the giant courgette - now of marrow proportions - would say of me. I can't believe I missed it in the flower bed. Actually, it was hiding under the great profusion of flowers, so what else could I expect??? Hidden treasures. If you like marrow. 


Layer upon layer upon layer. Human beings too. 

But I am creative. And why not see the garden as a part of that creativity. Not just a source of food and somewhere lovely to sit in the summer, but as a canvas for the thoughts and dreams inside me. I said the other day that it was my rainbow in what can be a grey and dark world, and taking it a step further and seeing it as that canvas of creativity makes perfect sense. I have unintentionally expressed who I am out there. A kaleidoscope of colour and scents which can overwhelm at times. Practical (food) and airy-fairy. A mix. Like me.


What was it I read....show me a garden and I will tell you all about the gardener? Maybe I am more transparent than I thought.