... and gardeners must garden

Fritillaria meleagris, here flowering on my kitchen bench, reminds me of the ones growing at the wild flower meadow in my garden in Saltsjöbaden.

K

Garden shows always make me ponder the meaning of the whole activity of gardening and the hugely different results produced by different individuals pursuing this activity. Leaving out economic gardens where only food is cultivated for survival, the questions of "Why do we garden?" and "What are our gardens for?" come to my mind as relevant reflexions.

K

Charles Quest-Ritzon, a quite well-known British garden writer, gives a kind of an answer to my questions in his interesting book The English Garden - A social History (Viking/Penguin Books, 2001). According to him, gardening is purely social history - it is all about social aspiration, lifestyles and money. He laments the fact that just like many art historians, many garden historians have been mainly occupied by the development of garden styles, particular designers or gardens, and accounts on plant-hunting or botanical phenomena. The subject has all too often been the big gardens, big names and big themes; only lately the garden history has been interested in minor gardens and "secondary" aspects of gardening. Quest-Ritzon claims that gardens have too often been described without adequate reference to the social and economic conditions which engendered them. Deliberately being provocative, he states that gardens are symbols of social status and class, and have little to do with the history of art or the development of aesthetic theories - and nothing whatsoever with moral forces, artistic tasks and the psychology of perception.

K

My girls climbing in an old apple tree in Saltsjöbaden; it was planted by the first owners of the house in 1935. Gardens are not only physical, they are made of memories that follow us through our lives.

Tough stuff, I think, and I heartily disagree with him on this. Unintentionally, my thoughts wander to the (quite worn out) theory of an American behavioural scientist Abraham Maslow, who in 1943 published his article entitled "A Theory of Human Motivation", that has been since taught to millions of college and university students. He argued that people everywhere are subject to what he called a "hierarchy of needs". In his model, at the bottom were the elementary physiological needs for food, shelter, sex and sleep, then come the basic needs for safety and security. First once the basic needs are met, people move up on "Maslow's pyramid" to look for other things, as "belonging needs" for love, acceptance and affiliation, "esteem needs" for self-respect, social status and the approval of others, and at the top, needs for "self-actualization". Later in his life, Abraham Maslow further divided the level of self-actualization into four different parts. These he named the cognitive level: to know, to understand, and to explore; the aesthetic level: the pursuit of symmetry, order, and beauty; and the self-actualization level: trying to find self fulfillment and realize one's potential. The final and "highest" level in his theory is transcendence: to help others find self fulfillment and realize their own potential.

So, what has all this to do with gardening and gardeners? First, I don't fully agree with Maslow's hierarchy of needs (I do feel gloriously opinionated today...); I rather think that we all are born with different "sets of needs", abilities and potential. We make individual choices on how we prioritize fulfilling of our needs; for some, social acceptance is very important, others would rather go hungry than give up their chosen professions in life.

Also as gardeners, our personalities govern how and in which order we fulfill our needs - which leads to the different aspirations and end results in how we garden. Some of us grow things to get food, but very few of Western gardeners are totally depending on their crops for their living. For some of us, the "belonging needs" are important; we are members of societies and clubs, and/or use blogging as a method to connect to other gardeners. For others (and I think Quest-Ritzon's gardeners belong to this group - and many of them probably leave the act of gardening to others), "esteem needs" with the accompanying social status and approval of others are important. Many of us are driven by the needs for "self-actualization"; botanists and plantsmen by their need to explore and to know; design-oriented gardeners by the pursuit of aesthetic pleasure and beauty. We get a feeling of deep contentment and self fulfillment through our gardens, and a few of us even help others to realize their own potential by helping them further on the path of gardening (here I think about the many teachers, unselfishly inspiring garden people and writers).

Hellebores flowering in March 2007 by the side entrance of my house in Saltsjöbaden; the first of these wonderfully dark and prolifically self-seeding Hellebores were planted by the first owner of the house. I gave a seedling of these to his now 76 year old "youngest daughter" last spring - a circle of connected lives and gardeners.

K

So, there are as many reasons and ways to garden as there are gardening individuals. In general, I think we garden because it gives us joy and gratification. Plants and gardens can be wonderful keepers of memories, full of connections to our past and to our beloved ones. Looking small leaf buds unfurl and bulbs peek out from the dark soil in the spring gives a deep satisfaction and a sense of belonging to the nature and the never ending cycle of life. Even Maslow himself said: "Musicians must make music, artists must paint, poets must write if they are to be ultimately at peace with themselves. What humans can be, they must be. They must be true to their own nature." My addition to this would be ...and gardeners must garden.

K

PS 1 - According to Maslow, creativity is a quality that can be applied to any task in life. Maslow maintained that a first rate soup is better than a second rate painting...

K

PS 2 - Don't let my text above distract you; Quest-Ritzon's book (now out of print) is extremely well-researched and entertaining, and it truly makes an interesting connection between the bigger picture of developments in society while describing the aesthetics and practicalities of gardening. I highly recommend it as reading to anyone interested in garden history.
K

Garden shows and show gardens

Some short notes... I just came back from the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, which is on for the moment in Seattle. With tired feet and a bit of a headache, I have a lingering feeling of a slight disappointment. Despite all the nice displays, I did not think there was anything really "new". The theme this year was (is) "Sustainable spaces - beautiful places", which suits well the current situation of economic and climate related crisis. Of course, a degree of abundance is expected of show gardens, but the general feeling was an overflow of everything, both plants and materials, and combined with a bit too generous use of water and electricity (not to mention the resources needed to build and transport the materials), the gardens did not quite convey the theme of the show. It is an art to know when to stop, and some of the gardens would have profited from this knowledge.

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While wandering around, I could not quite understand why the exhibition room was kept so dark (this also made photographing difficult). Maybe just like old ladies look better in dimmed dining rooms, the arrangers thought that the dark lighting masked possible shortcomings of the exhibitors... Stylewise, many of the gardens had strong Asiatic influences, something that has long traditions here in the Northwest; but though quite pleasing to the eye, generally the gardens were not groundbreaking in any ways. I like the way designers here use evergreen plants, but often there was too many plant varieties and leaf colours, which made the effect too heavy and/or overloaded to my (minimalist) Scandinavian eyes. A large variety of garden societies, nurseries and plant and bulb sellers were on place and all kinds of gardening needs were catered for. But if you ask me, all the knick-knacks frequently present at gardens shows, with nothing else common with gardens or gardening than the eye catching flower decorations on them, could better been left out from the show...

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The best part of the show was the huge number of seminars provided, over 200 of them during the five show days, quite many of them keeping to the theme of the show. It was amazing to see the huge interest for them, long lines of show visitors queued nicely to get tickets to attend. I saw Ulf Nordfjell talk about his beautiful work and about gardens in Gothenburg, and got a glimpse of his coming "Black and White" themed garden in Chelsea in May; I listened to Dan Hinkley talk about "showstopping" and gardenworthy plants, and Nori Pope about his gorgeous colour schemes. And there would have been so much more to listen to, if I only had had the time and possibility. These kind of opportunities come far too seldom. To hear from so many knowledgeable and interesting gardening people, both designers, plant people and other garden personalities, gives so many new impressions and ideas to work with in one's own garden..
K

There was a huge buzz about this being or not being the last Northwest Flower & Garden Show, as the present owner has decided to concentrate on other things in his life. I hope that there will be some kind of a continuation, but this might be a good time to revise the concept and come with a new version. With so much interest in gardening as there is within this area, I am convinced that a major garden event or show still has an important place to fill in Washington.

A vibrant feast for the eyes and mind

"Seeing that full moon, heralder of the white night lilies... Krishna played his flute softly, capturing the hearts of the beautiful-eyed women..." Detail from the Krishna Lila, ca. 1765.

K

After all sad events lately, I just felt giving a small treat for myself. Little did I guess that my choice of a treat, visiting the "Garden and Cosmos: Royal Paintings of Jodhpur" exhibition at the Seattle Asian Art Museum, would be such a feast for my eyes and mind. 60 beautiful and unusual paintings, painstakingly painted in opaque watercolours and gold with fine brushes made of squirrel's tail hair, from the royal ateliers of the kingdom of Jodhpur-Marwar, in what now is Northwest India.

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Detail from Maharaja Bakhat Singh Enjoying the Gardens at Nagaur, 1737.

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The paintings, that have never seen before in the west, display not only scenes of luxurious life in the palaces and their gardens, but also include a mystical series created for a 19th-century ruler who turned over political power to an ascetic sect. As a short introduction to the exhibition tells, "the paintings reveal the emergence of a delightful and sensuous garden aesthetic in the 18th century, as well as a dramatic shift in visual consciousness in the early 19th century, when an amazing series of large images exploring esoteric yoga philosophy, unprecedented in Indian art, led to a sublimely minimal aesthetic." Reading all the explanations and texts on the exhibition walls made me reflect over my shallow knowledge about the highstanding, old culture of India with its different regions and religions, and I truly felt my own shortcoming in this area (I browsed the extensive and well-illustrated, 325-page catalogue, but decided that $40 was a bit too much to invest just now). But still, the refined and luxurious paintings talked their own language, that I can deeply admire.

Detail from Ram and Lakshman Wait Out the Monsoon, from the Tulsidas Ramayana, ca. 1775. K

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As a garden person, I really enjoyed the details of the gardens that these paintings show; most of the paintings are quite large, about 1m (3-4ft) wide and high, so the amount of work that has gone to painting them is incredible. Inside large walls there are geometrical flower beds and water rills with fountains. Outside the palaces are gardens with fruit trees with different kinds of colourful birds and different kinds of animals; large ponds are filled with with ducks and fish. Everything is painted in amazing detail, one can see the feathers of the birds and individual leaves and flowers of the plants, as the gardens and the surrounding landscape are depicted as a pleasure ground for the maharajahs and the gods. Naturally, they also are a symbol for the status, power and refinement or the maharajahs and their courts.

K

If I have something to wish, I just would have hoped for more detailed information about the gardens and their contents; What were the main elements of these gardens, and what were their origins and meanings? Could any plans of them have been exhibited, as many or the paintings depict real gardens? What are the plants and flowers in them and what do they symbolize? In some paintings there are vegetables and flowers used as offerings; which plants are they and what were their meanings? I know that some of this probably is considered "too horticultural" for an art exhibition, but I still think that many visitors would very much enjoy such information. Maybe including botanical/horticultural and garden history expertise in future exhibitions, when garden related art is included, would be an interesting idea?

K
"Singing loudly to himself, (Krishna), wearing a garland of flowers, frolicked in the forest...", detail from the Krishna Lila, ca. 1765.

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These paintings were created to be shown one at a time for the maharajah(s) lying down on soft pillows. Trying to take in all 60 of them at one time gives a totally different experience, and the royal painters surely would not have thought this was a suitable way to enjoy their art. Reluctantly leaving the exhibition, I felt almost drunk by the splendour and colour, and thankful for having experienced this great, but small glimpse of the old Hindu culture of Jodhpur-Marwar in India.

K

The "Garden and Cosmos" exhibition contains a room full of beautiful photos of the Mehrangarh Fort and its surroundings appearing in the paintings, giving an excellent opportunity to compare the view and perspective of the painters to the reality. The Mehrangarh Fort is one of India's most important historical monuments and draws more than half a million visitors annually. There are many interesting gardens to visit around this area, and I truly hope, that I some day will be able to enjoy them in person...

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Probably totally illegally, I scanned in some postcards of the paintings. Some of them are shown on-line at SAAM web site; if you zoom in you can catch some of the very fine details of the paintings.
K

It is time to reflect...

A bushfire in Victoria, Australia. Photo: AFP.
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There is no way to describe the horror and sadness of following the bush fires engulfing huge areas North of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. So many families there have lost or are losing not only their houses, but also their loved ones; all that nature and wildlife, destroyed for long times to come. It is a time of sorrow, even for us not directly affected.

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Koalas at Cape Otway in Victoria, Australia. Picture taken by me in February 2007.

KKK

A koala emerges from the fire at Christmas Hills. Photo: Tina McCarthy, The Age.

I lived in Melbourne from 1999 to 2003. What was then called "a drought" began about the same time as we moved there. During those years, we experienced temperatures between 33ºC and 38ºC (90º to 100ºF) each summer, which was quite exhausting, especially as I was breastfeeding our daughters who were born in 2000 and 2002. Now the temperatures climb even higher, just a week ago thermometers reached a new, terrifying record of 48ºC (118ºF). When we moved back to Sweden in 2003, Melbourne water levels were at 52% of the total capacity of the storage. Now they are at 32%, a huge difference in only six years, despite all restrictions on water usage. Many of the reservoirs and lakes around Melbourne have disappeared totally, like Lake Wendouree in Ballarat (just one hours drive from Melbourne), where 28 countries competed in rowing and canoeing events at the Melbourne Olympics some 50 years ago. It has been dry at least twice before (in 1850s and 1930s), but this still gives a good indication of how desperate the water situation in Victoria is.

K
The beautiful garden of one our friends at Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia.
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As Freya Mathews, a research fellow in the philosophy department at La Trobe University, writes in today's newspaper The Age in Melbourne:

The fires we saw on Saturday were not "once in a thousand years" or even "once in a hundred years" events, as our political leaders keep repeating. They were the face of climate change in our part of the world. These fires are simply the result of the new conditions that climate change has introduced here: raised temperatures, giving us hotter days than we have ever experienced before combined with lower rainfall giving us a drier landscape. Let's stop using the word "drought", with its implication that dry weather is the exception. The desiccation of the landscape here is the new reality. It is now our climate.

K
Our friend's garden at Mornington Peninsula, in Victoria, Australia.

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It is a scary scenario for all of us, and acutely scary to those living in these areas most effected by the climate change. As Freya Mathews describes it, the consequences of climate change will make the financial crisis look like a garden party, which gives a not very promising picture of our future. Lin Yutang so aptly writes: Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence. Even if I might sound pretentious, I think this is a time to reflect how we can make a difference in our lives to lessen our footprints on this beautiful planet, so that we together can create a road to a better future.

Entrance to Children's Garden at Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens, sculptures like green flames planted with Muehlbeckia complexa (maidenhair vine), Asparagus densiflorus as underplanting. Picture taken by me in February 2007.

K