Ms. Needleman happily smears the vast majority of gardeners with a colorful and broadly brushed layer of political labels, buzz words and allusions. She confuses proponents of a variety of gardening techniques, styles and approaches, both measured and extreme, together into one big lumpy group and paints them all as dreaded liberals.
At the same time, she proclaims herself a conservative! Sadly, this backs her into a tiny limited corner of the gardening world where the only gardens worthy of consideration are exemplified by the sheer excess that is Versailles, or by select gardens manifesting traditional European garden style and sporting French labels. You know, the kind in italics: "trompe l'oeil" would be acceptable in her type of garden. But we liberals aren't supposed to be able to appreciate little conceits like that.
Curvilinear design bothers her, and for some strange reason any relaxation of rigid geometric formality is for her the moral equivalent of an unshaven armpit. Frankly, I've never wondered where armpits fall on the continuum of political correctness, or attributed personal hygiene to the beauty of a garden. Part of her reasoning seems to commingle preserved or designated natural areas with both naturalistic and naturalized gardening styles, and this results in some pretty good entertainment. In this context, using a spread of ground cover instead of manicured grass lawn would be the equivalent of bra-burning. I expect Ms. Needleman is a firm supporter of the "Lawn Police" too.
In case you're wondering, we mow our lawn regularly and I adore topiary. I also just happen to believe that all gardeners, not just Conservative gardeners are, as Ms. Needleman describes them " part of nature, albeit a quirky, self-conscious bit of it — we feel we have the honor and privilege of tussling with it." That's what makes us gardeners instead of mere observers.
I suspect the conservative/liberal divide is a false one. I think what Ms. Needleman is really ranting about is the lack of good design in gardening today. Why? Well, although Ms. Needleman implies that conservatives are the only gardeners capable of appreciating the higher aesthetics of gardening, she skips over the basics of balance and proportion, the importance of integration of the whole, and other fairly universal tenets of good design. They are discernible across all styles, and I believe her appreciation for those elevated formal gardens is derived from an appreciation of those principles. Principles which, incidentally, apply equally well to good design regardless of national origin or economic status or plant palette. Good design requires rigor, be it formal or informal design. Good design does not include senseless elements, no matter what the style. Good design requires discipline and order, be it for a naturalized garden or a parterre.
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