Some of my strongest memories are images not generally stated in descriptions of gardens. I remember the time when my wife, Kay and I were sitting on a bench in the Sydney Botanic Garden admiring an exotic tree when a creature stalked out of a bush not six feet away. It was a large black colored bird with a bright red stripe running over its head, ending at the tip of its beak. So help me it was walking on stilts. The Moorhen marched by our feet and returned to the bushes, totally ignoring us.
I will not restrict us to only planned gardens. Doing so would miss many surprises. On the track around Lake Matheson in New Zealand I came upon blue toadstools. Now when I say blue, I mean the brightest of bright blues. Who ever heard of blue toadstools? They seemed to be denizens of a different world. I will have to admit though that we were in a different world with the nearby tree ferns and the view of the snow capped Southern Alps as seen from a clearing. This was not upstate New York back home. The difference was further emphasized in a small park not far away. A night stroll through it was to walk within a galaxy of minute lights from the glowworm inhabitants of the shoulder high bushes.
Meticulously organized gardens like Butchart Garden or the Generalife should not be overlooked. Who can forget the stately cypresses, the orange trees, the reflecting pool and the massive living arches, most especially when seen with a loved one after a day in the Alhambra. An adventure closer to home consisted in building a brick walk leading to our front door. Do most people really know how heavy hundreds upon hundreds of bricks are? An inkling of weight came when this large truck with a crane to unload the pallets of stacked bricks pulled up to the house. Other adventures, also closer to home, have taken place in gardens within New York State or in nearby Canada. These seem less exotic to me since they are so within reach. I am more impressed by places that take a bit of effort to get to and have flora and fauna that can't exist here, like the Boojum trees at Boyce Thompson Arboretum in Arizona or the bamboo forest on the big island, Hawaii. We'll be taking a look at these and more in weeks to come.
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