I have always felt that the best gardens aspired to coppice and that the best woods have all the elements of the very best gardens.
Monty DonRead
Gardening is inevitably a process of constant, remorseless change. It is the constancy of that process that is so comforting, not any fixed moment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Gardening involves continuous changes that can be reassuring and comforting.
This quote by Monty Don reflects on the essence of gardening as a dynamic experience that embodies constant change. Rather than seeking a static state of perfection, gardeners find solace in the ongoing transformation of their gardens, understanding that change is a fundamental aspect of growth, beauty, and life itself.
Themes
GardeningChangeComfortNatureGrowth
In practice
Example use cases
During a gardening workshop, I shared Monty Don's quote to celebrate the beauty in the evolving nature of plants.
More from Monty Don
All quotes βI just think that gardening is about the future, a slow thing, that is deep and spiritual as well as spiritually rewarding.
Monty DonRead
Sweet peas should smell. Half the point of growing sweet peas is to cut them for the house; they should fill a room with an almost painful olfactory inarticulateness. But most sweet peas smell of nothing. This does not stop them being beautiful, but they are like food with no flavour.
Monty DonRead
I use the period between Christmas and New Year to potter about, think and completely change my mindset. In that easy no-man's-land between Boxing Day and New Year, loins are girded and mettle readied. It is time, as we voyagers bid farewell to the old year, to fare forward.
Monty DonRead
I am always more interested in people than plants. Nature doesn't make gardens, people make gardens. And the story of a garden is always the story of a person.
Monty DonRead
I have learnt that gardens are like happiness: you cannot pursue them as an absolute thing or moment.
Monty DonRead
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Solitude in the presence of natural beauty and grandeur is the cradle of thought and aspirations which are not only good for the individual, but which society can ill do without.
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All night my heart makes its way however it can over the rough ground of uncertainties, but only until night meets and then is overwhelmed by morning, the light deepening, the wind easing and just waiting, as I too wait (and when have I ever been disappointed?) for redbird to sing
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Come out to view / the truth of flowers blooming / in poverty.
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