Wild Gardens of Lemuria

In September, these giant sunflowers turned their faces to soak up the sun, bright yellows and greens. In October, after the first frost, this sunflower field looks a little wild. In another month or two, snow will cover all but the flower heads. Madison. Wisconsin, USA.
photographed by barbara © 2007

Many, many years ago, more than I am willing to say, there was a weed-choked, trash-strewn plot of land on the northwest corner of my high school campus.
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Lori Gloyd (c) 2007

Bee to the blossom; Moth to the flame;
Each to his passion; what’s in a name?
Helen Hunt Jackson
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An update on the apartment garden project:
As I reported a few days ago, my lemon balm seeds have germinated. Since then I’ve been wondering when the parsley would follow suit. At first I thought I had ruined the process because I did not notice the instruction on the package that said to [...]

I didn’t have a particularly good afternoon. I will not elaborate on the details but let it suffice that most of the afternoon I felt very low. If my mood were palpable, it would be like mud—dark, sticky and awful.
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Lori Gloyd (c) 2007

I’ve been pondering gardens quite a bit during the last week. There is something deep within me that yearns to stick my hands into dark, moist earth and smell its fragrance. There is something about being around plants that energizes me. There is something hope-filled about seeing the first sprouts of germinated seeds……
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Waves wash and water breaks against the wall
A thousand ripples radiate
Slipping beneath the surface
Sinks silently
Stone
Splash
Stone
Sinks silently
Slipping beneath the surface
A thousand ripples radiate
Waves wash and water breaks against the wall.
Chefleur 

The label “wild gardens” is comprised of seemingly contradictory terms. One scholar has written that gardens are “enclosed, protective places that…are metaphors for [the] cosmos in the face of chaos.”1 Similarly, another writer has defined the garden as a symbol for the subjugation of nature2. This would appear to be true: [...]