African Garden + work

The Ever-changing Garden
Tricyrtis 'Gilt Edge', Actaea 'Black Negligee' and Lobelia siphilitica - 09/22/11

The garden is like the proverbial river: it's never the same, no matter how often a person steps into it. I was looking at last year's photos from the same date, which brought this truth back sharply into focus in my mind. Each year is different, bringing plants into and out of bloom in myriad variations, making new combinations and views. This doesn't even include the changes the gardener implemented by new plantings and moving plants around.

Even if I set the camera in the same place, the image captured will never be identical with that of last year or the year before.

the same grouping - 09/20/10

If things are blooming together at the same time, the vagaries of the weather, both earlier in the season and at the moment, have altered the scene, with plants in various stages of precociousness or delay. Sometimes this change is for better, sometimes not.

Life is about change, to remain the same is contrary to its dictates. Plants get bigger, plants diminish. They age and change. Sometimes we need a reminder that we aren't creating some immutable sculpture of clay, steel or stone. This is a good thing. The gardener will never become bored with his or her garden, despite having lived with and worked in it for years.