Not Zen

Patrick Lima. The Art of Perennial Gardening: Creative Ways with Hardy Flowers.

There may be some folks of a more Zen cast who come to gardening with a built-in appreciation for leaves. I admire the austerity and clean lines of a Japanese meditation garden—but not in my backyard. Italian gardens, all green and gravel, fail to move me. A hearty amen to the writer who said, "I continue to feel that flowerless garden is a sad place." But when the bloom is off, so is a garden planned entirely around flowers. Balance is called for. Grow the flowers you admire, but understand that they will look lovelier in a setting of enduring foliage.

And similar principles may be applied to culinary practices — a bed of good rice to support the curry or the stir-fry.

And so for day 2026
30.06.2012