Tags
an ecological conscience, compliance, Control, imagination, Jim Nollman, pragmatism, respect, servitude, state of grace, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place
“As the biocentric view suggests, the garden prospers when control is balanced
by equal measures of humility and benevolence. A balance is struck. Control,
servitude, respect, imagination, pragmatism, an ecological conscience, compliance, and a certain measure of mysticism and altruism all meld together to provide nurturance….Try to separate the various aspects into their constituent parts – grant any one of them the status of fundamental gardening definition and one soon skews the entire process. Put them back together again in the service of the two-way street called nurturance, and we express the state of grace called gardening.”
– Jim Nollman, Why We Garden: Cultivating a Sense of Place, 1994, p. 106. 
Our veggie bed!
This is the second time I have shared a quote by Mr. Nollman. If you find this quote interesting you might want to read my first post. His thoughts intrigue me as I myself try to capture in words, to relay to you, my own thoughts on and about gardening. I am a very visual person and words don’t come easily to me. Plants with their amazing colors, textures, shapes, scents and resilience overwhelm my senses and touch my soul. In all my years of gardening I don’t think I ever thought about why, it was just true! Since last year when I started this blog I have found the exercise of writing, has allowed me to delve deeper into myself, as I share my gardening world with you. Thank you for being such an appreciative audience! I come back, time and again, to Mr. Nollman’s book because he helps me think about gardens and gardening on a philosophical level. The words he uses that I connect with most are “state of grace”. I come closest to a state of grace when I am in a garden or gardening. It is when I feel the most connected to the universe. My love of plants has been my path to becoming passionate about protecting our whole planet, as well as working as a landscape designer. And this all gets back to the original premise of this blog. I do learn life’s lessons in the garden. Plants give me so much and I remain forever in awe of and gratitude for the huge roll they play in my life!
If we practiced the nurturance, that Mr. Nollman talks about, in all aspects of our lives, the world would be heaven on earth!
Happy Gardening!
I agree with the sentiment, Laurin, but I am going to be picky and take issue with your friend Mr. Nollman and his use of the word ‘nurturance’. It’ s the sort of neologism that sets my teeth on edge. What’ s wrong with the word ‘ nurture’ ? But then I am an old fashioned pedant as my children keep telling me. Maybe ‘ nurturance’ has a whole new meaning and needs a new word to describe it.
Chloris, I agree with you! I find the plain simple word nurture works better for me but I am a simple plain spoken person. I find when the words get to big and fancy they loose meaning and become too abstract. But that is actually what I like about his writing, it is so different from how I would put words together and it twists and turns my mind in a way that is new. When you look up the meaning of nurture and nurturance the definition is the same : )
I’m not an Ayahuasca user but when I was watching a documentary about its use I think I understood exactly what people were saying when they were talking about a plant spirit speaking to them. I always feel right when I am around plants. Connected. Happy. I don’t know, words fail. I assumed it was the same for everyone but apparently it isn’t. For example, when I go to a garden center with my husband his eyes glaze over not with happiness but with (and I say this with a whisper of horror) boredom. How can this be? I thought he might just need some instruction so I pointed out all the leaf shapes, the flowers, how some are suited for completely different places … after many years of effort I now understand he will never get it. One of the reasons I blog is to give the poor guy a break from my plant obsession. =)
I understand and I am sure i have bored a previous husband or two : ) Thankfully my third husband and business partner loves plants, perhaps not as much as I do…I am a full on plant geek, but he loves them and is happy to walk around gardens and we have a grand time talking. Have you been to one of the Garden Bloggers Flings. I went to the one in Portland last summer and I felt like I had found my long lost tribe. These were my people……..and they were crazy about plants too! I truly believe plants give back to me or I connect with them on some unseen or primal level. Taking a walk in nature is the best high ever!!!
A great blessing to have a partner who shares your interest! Really.
I have never attended any of the flings but I have followed the blogs of several people who go. It is a real treat to see far off gardens from a variety of view points.
I totally agree that nature gives the best high of all.