Garden, Revised

Revision is a tough process. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” say the pundits. But who’s to judge the brokenness of things? What will “do” for one person, another might find intolerable. Words like “intolerable” are strange to introduce into the gardening vocabulary, though “tolerance” is heard commonly enough. Perhaps it’s better to say that what one person finds pleasing, another finds less so. Gardens, when they are public spaces, are especially fraught with opinions. Someone will inevitably be upset when the tree is cut down, when the shrubs have to be removed, when the perennials turn out not to be immortal after all. But as all gardeners know, a garden is a living organism. Change is inevitable. The slow-growing mujo pine, dainty for so many years, finally reaches adulthood The blue spruce did what it was meant to do: sprinted toward its 100-foot maturity, though its roots were wedged in a narrow trench. And so, revision, a word that literally means “re-seeing,” or “seeing again.” The garden is seen again, in a new light. Because the one constant is change, we must cherish it while it lasts.

from “Blackwater Woods”

To live in this world

you must be able to do three things: to love what is mortal, to hold it

against your bones knowing your own life depends on it, and, when the time comes to let it go, to let it go.

–Mary Oliver

Meet BGC

We’re all about school programs, public gardens, happy bees, satisfied birds, healthy lands, and garden literacy. Curious?

FYI

Great local nurseries, new tools, information, & more. Get Info.

Hands holding single seedling

Hardening Off

Your seeds have sprouted and turned into actual plants! After all that work, don’t just toss them into the ground. Plants need to be accustomed to their new environment for several days before you put them in the ground. The Farmers’ Almanac (https://www.farmersalmanac.com/how-harden-seedlings) tells you how.

Calendar

Join
DONATE
Visit