Trey Smith
With almost no grass left in our "front yard," the landscape is now nearing completion as a garden of native plants. (The next project is to enlarge the area by taking out the grass from the side yard.) It is nice not having to mow the "front yard" -- now I sit in it!
I'm sure my nearest neighbors probably view this activity as odd. They certainly don't idly sit in their front yards! But it's different went your lawn becomes a garden.
I sit in the early morning hours. Sometimes, when the temperature is moderate, I sit in the garden during the middle of the day. I often sit there towards dusk. Every now and then, I talk to the plants and I marvel at how several varieties have propagated themselves all over the place.
I watch the hummingbirds slurp out nectar from the flowers. I watch the bees as they make their daily rounds. I can become fixated on ants, worms, beetles or spiders as they traverse their way through the luscious landscape. And, of course, I'm always on the lookout for the weeds that pop up here and there. ;-)
Sitting quietly in the garden helps to remind me of the connection of all things. It helps to remind me that each being and each form has a life to live, one controlled by the cycles of the seasons and the Grand Mystery itself.
When I sometimes ask the question that all humans entertain at some point -- What is my purpose? -- I look to my garden for the answer: The purpose of life is to live and die. Some folks might view this as a hollow or pointless purpose, but it's hard to feel that way when sitting in a garden.
There's this really nice Japanese garden near me where I go to read Taoist literature. But I couldn't imagine having a garden on my front lawn. Good thing the neighbors dont mind, some may see your garden as an eyesore that lowers property values. Why the front lawn?
ReplyDeleteI could imagine having a garden in my front lawn. The idea of a front yard being an eyesore is an alien concept to me. In fact, I would actually think that the reverse is true, that a front yard garden would be more likely to raise the property values, not to mention your consciousness, than lower them. Otherwise, I would say fuck the property values! What is the point of owning property if you cannot have a life affirming garden in your own front yard.
ReplyDeleteFood not Lawns!
http://www.foodnotlawns.com/
"The idea of a front yard being an eyesore is an alien concept to me."
ReplyDeleteActually that was a typo, it should read "front yard garden", not simply "front yard", of which there are plenty of eyesores that don't involve gardens, but I think you get the idea.