tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post6263735561867647544..comments2024-03-07T10:06:13.620-05:00Comments on View from Federal Twist: Second lifeJames Goldenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-40170454670731326222012-12-14T00:36:19.674-05:002012-12-14T00:36:19.674-05:00The storm and snow haven't left a lot, but it&...The storm and snow haven't left a lot, but it's possible to find meaning and pleasure in what is left. This is actually the first time I realized the wet can literally make colors more saturated. <br /><br />The garden of the future? The garden for the apocalyptic imagination?James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-26963670983539448902012-12-13T21:18:28.761-05:002012-12-13T21:18:28.761-05:00I was struck by how storms with snow and other dam...I was struck by how storms with snow and other damage revealed more in your garden, especially those grasses. Very saturated colors there speak of everything else you wrote...impressive!Desert Dwellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00952727692048782529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-20959950535092846852012-12-12T21:45:53.522-05:002012-12-12T21:45:53.522-05:00I'm rather stuck with miscanthus. It has many ...I'm rather stuck with miscanthus. It has many virtues in my garden. It loves the difficult soil and wet, it's a profoundly successful ground cover, and it provides visual interest in every season. The photos in this post reveal many of the "holes" in the garden, holes where other plants were earlier in the year but plants without the staying power of miscanthus. I've seen Rick Darke's photos of fields of miscanthus in Japan, and I think I'll aim for that effect around the new area I'm putting in. <br /><br />I think perhaps you haven't liked grasses because they don't look well in a traditional border with other perennials, but if you use them in a mass, with other perennials as accents, they work much better. The same holds true for many other grasses, I think. The important thing is to get away from the traditional border concept. <br /><br />So much for the practical side of things. Then there's the aspect of mystery and emotion.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-65364370651866943662012-12-11T12:07:30.734-05:002012-12-11T12:07:30.734-05:00Such a full and fascinating post. I need to rerea...Such a full and fascinating post. I need to reread it. This strikes many chords with me: the epiphany that strikes even the agnostic; the beauty of the dying. I am even very struck by your words on miscanthus. I used to have a strong prejudice against grasses in gardens and I credit you and another with making me face up to my prejudice and reassess it. Great post, thank you.Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-82112495838475795572012-12-06T22:19:08.034-05:002012-12-06T22:19:08.034-05:00Regarding reconciliation ecology, I recommend Ramb...Regarding reconciliation ecology, I recommend Rambunctious Garden by Emma Marris. Particularly the chapters on Novel Ecosystems and Designer Ecosystems! James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-30175806300641209332012-12-06T22:14:47.136-05:002012-12-06T22:14:47.136-05:00Thanks for reminding me that fog changes sound. An...Thanks for reminding me that fog changes sound. An significant phenomenon that probably has powerful subconscious effects.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-91818270120446947172012-12-06T22:12:24.049-05:002012-12-06T22:12:24.049-05:00The state of the garden is certainly testament to ...The state of the garden is certainly testament to the powers of the earth to take control. After living through the storm in NYC, with flooded tunnels, a paralyzed transportation system, and a large part of Manhattan dark, thoughts of apocalypse come easily to mind. But the garden as refuge and a place for regeneration helps one adapt to reality, and remains a source of hope. James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-35265327121347138392012-12-06T17:00:03.353-05:002012-12-06T17:00:03.353-05:00I had always interpreted the 'genius of the pl...I had always interpreted the 'genius of the place' as reconciliation ecology. My pagan inclinations seeking out the plants that would once have grown here, to support the creatures that would once have lived here. We are pencilling out ideas for the next garden, but Jurg and I know from the first two that our unprofessional gardening travels a very different journey to the paper map.Diana Studerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12286066768376135880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-63491943495164769462012-12-06T15:58:00.155-05:002012-12-06T15:58:00.155-05:00There's definitely a spirit in the garden on a...There's definitely a spirit in the garden on a morning such as this. No wind, acoustics different in the fog. <br /><br />Your grasses look fine in all their tawniness. I've a few panicum 'squaw' and clump of stipa calamagrostis which has buffed up a treat. <br /><br />Hope your journey south goes ok.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Rob (ourfrenchgarden)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05087218232138304239noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-4676238418733995252012-12-06T07:12:59.546-05:002012-12-06T07:12:59.546-05:00A beautiful post both in images and words.
For me ...A beautiful post both in images and words.<br />For me the garden is my refuge, my safe place for want of a better expression. It reassures me. Yes there are times when things go terrbly wrong but we get through them and I think the photographs of your garden after the storm and snow show this. It demonstrates natures irrefutable ability to regenerate to continue and when faced with sadness and the prospect of grief I think that is reassuring.<br />Thank you for sharing such personal thoughtsHelen/patientgardenerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02164036792673009326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-54386393804038226982012-12-06T05:30:20.522-05:002012-12-06T05:30:20.522-05:00Yes, the traditional interpretation suggests somet...Yes, the traditional interpretation suggests something unchanging, beyond our reach. Cooper's interpretation suggests something more active, and something we can ally with.Gardener in the Distancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14478393904059307841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-48172288954297133782012-12-05T23:24:14.708-05:002012-12-05T23:24:14.708-05:00You're a blessed man. Some of YOUR kayak trips...You're a blessed man. Some of YOUR kayak trips on the rivers have given ME epiphanies. I can imagine being where you are. I fear kayaks, always fantasize turning upside down and drowning, but your posts have even made me consider trying one out.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-81618951125242501682012-12-05T23:20:08.695-05:002012-12-05T23:20:08.695-05:00I took it as a compliment, just an unexpected one-...I took it as a compliment, just an unexpected one--the best kind.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-88248048021331619102012-12-05T21:10:26.235-05:002012-12-05T21:10:26.235-05:00Some days I see something that sets the stage for ...Some days I see something that sets the stage for a whole day of epiphanies. My triggers can be some quality of light, an encounter with birds or a simple conversation. Other days I feel veiled. Please enjoy the time with your sister. Leshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18281256160705697856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-7867419710920585792012-12-05T19:57:02.986-05:002012-12-05T19:57:02.986-05:00I did mean it as a compliment. Your garden has th...I did mean it as a compliment. Your garden has this incredible emotional core, but you have the ability to be unsentimental, to make big changes. Ripping out paths, creating voids . . . it's all rather brutal really. I admire that greatly. It is one way we give back and contribute our part of the dialogue. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805682623764800983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-27613722382611173662012-12-05T19:46:31.713-05:002012-12-05T19:46:31.713-05:00Thomas, I believe we think in very like ways about...Thomas, I believe we think in very like ways about "The Garden." I always resonate to your posts in this vein. I'm grateful for the role of chance and accident, the possibility of grace, in the garden. I believe these things leave room (in a metaphorical sense) for the idea of mystery, of something beyond what humans can do. There are cracks in the rational fabric of the world that allow something "other" to make its way in (some may call it God). When I read you, I often wish I could write in such a clear and straightforward way, just state a thought clearly and let it go. <br /><br />I found it a little shocking when you referred to my being "brutal" in changing the garden. Then, after the initial feeling of shock, it felt right. You showed me something new about myself. So I thank you for that, and for your well wishes.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-63710182084894777642012-12-05T19:33:05.401-05:002012-12-05T19:33:05.401-05:00Thanks, Faisal. I'm quite intrigued with Coope...Thanks, Faisal. I'm quite intrigued with Cooper's interpretation of Pope's phrase "the genius of the place." It's usually used in a rather literal sense to refer to the setting of the garden. Cooper reads it in a way that is far more meaningful, at least to me.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-28275846626365940442012-12-05T19:30:10.416-05:002012-12-05T19:30:10.416-05:00Yes, I love Marc Rosenquist's sculpture. Wish ...Yes, I love Marc Rosenquist's sculpture. Wish I had a couple more. There's one that would be perfect in the new area I'm working on, but I doubt I can afford it. In semi-retirement, resources are limited and I'm spending far too much on the garden--though I continue to do it.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-89513018547710223222012-12-05T19:28:05.243-05:002012-12-05T19:28:05.243-05:00Thank you, Lorraine. I'm interested that the I...Thank you, Lorraine. I'm interested that the Inula grows in the wild where you live. It must be an escapee from some garden, or is it? I'd be interested to hear what you know about its presence in the wild.James Goldenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12718058779971621920noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-14361811553640099122012-12-05T15:58:18.989-05:002012-12-05T15:58:18.989-05:00A moving post, James. I’ve already read it twice ...A moving post, James. I’ve already read it twice to absorb it all—and to savor it. I will come back again, too.<br /><br />Epiphany is a wonderful metaphor. Whether you are religious (as I am) or not, the idea of the garden (or “nature” or Spirit or the nothingness that beckons us) manifesting or revealing itself to us is an intensely emotional experience. It is, as you so poetically describe in this narrative, the force that twists our lives together with our gardens.<br /><br />I appreciate the dialogue you establish with my recent post. Thank you for that. Of course, your beautiful language and photographs make the point much more elegantly than my more discursive style. <br /><br />I am also eager to hear more about the changes for the garden you are pondering. I love that you are not afraid to be brutal. To make drastic changes to the garden. This brutality is a wonderful balance to the fact that your garden is a celebration of the ephemeral. The garden is not just that which is received, but that which is given as well.<br /><br />I hope your travels South will enrich your journey. Best to you and your family. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805682623764800983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-51242703687308070652012-12-05T11:21:16.489-05:002012-12-05T11:21:16.489-05:00As ever, James, your post offers much to consider....As ever, James, your post offers much to consider. It's easy to see how 'the genius of the place' here is a force to be reckoned with, operatic. <br />That you allow this force to have its way - rather than concealing/banishing it - says to me that you are in partnership with it. <br />Whatever new planting you decide, I'm sure the result will continue to be dramatic and have an ongoing sense of movement and aliveness. <br />Gardener in the Distancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14478393904059307841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-57334417084930776042012-12-05T10:10:54.616-05:002012-12-05T10:10:54.616-05:00I must also say that I am taken away by the photo ...I must also say that I am taken away by the photo of your sculpture "Pay Dirt" in amongst the textural grasses. Very poetic...Lorraine Robertshttp://www.plantparadisecountrygardens.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20141337.post-37657304974765387012012-12-05T10:01:56.354-05:002012-12-05T10:01:56.354-05:00The garden teaches us to embrace change. It defini...The garden teaches us to embrace change. It definitely is an "unforeseen gift". Therein lies the beauty. I love Inula racemosa 'Sonnenspeer'. In the rural countryside where I live, it grows in abundance. When plants grow "en mass" like this most people seem not to appreciate the beauty and treat it like a weed. You "New American" garden is still looking beautiful with all the textural tapestries of gold and bronze with splashes of red, orange and yellow.Lorraine Robertshttp://www.plantparadise.canoreply@blogger.com