Gardening on a Staircase
Posted on August 16th, 2010
In my experience, gardeners approach their gardens as we approach a long winding staircase.
We climb easily onto the first landing where we pause and marvel at the landscape. For the first time in our lives, we see flowers and vegetables – we now know we want some but we have absolutely no idea how to do it.
We climb further.
After climbing another flight of stairs we begin to understand some basics. Plants have roots, they need water and food if they are to grow. And interestingly enough if you don’t feed them properly, they won’t grow.
Some, easily satisfied, stay on this landing but others climb further.
Learning new skills and growing different plants.
We climb further.
Along the way, the landings fill up with those who are happy with their lives and gardens – they visit and rest from their labors. Chatting away, enjoying the company of others and exchanging bits and pieces of experience but no longer moving upwards.
And further.
At some point, the climbing gardener notices others on the staircase. Fellow spirits with ever more knowledge, moving at variable speeds but always moving – upwards, ever upwards. Learning new gardening skills, new gardening techniques, a deeper understanding of the garden.
Further still.
At some point, the garden stops being a thing but a living breathing organism with a living world of its own. The gardener starts to get a glimmer and then an increasing awareness of this life, this simplicity of this space in this time. The gardener interacts. Discards the bulk of learning from the staircase and simply gives the garden what they both know it needs. Techniques forgotten, the garden and gardener are one.
Further again.
There is no end to this staircase. There is only a journey. Ever upward. Ever upward and outward searching for a deeper understanding.
And further.
Further yet.
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