Garden Reality

I was lucky enough to not have any commitments after our class yesterday, so I was able to stay out in the garden and glen for a long time after everyone else left. It was beautiful, as everyone else has already noted, and I had a perfectly wonderful time reading, napping, and reflecting in the garden. However, at one point, a little boy and his mom walked through the garden. The boy was saying how pretty he thought the flowers were, and he asked his mom if they still had pesticides on them. She replied that no, the pesticide application had finished a few days before. Echoing off Clark's post, this exchange brought be back to the reality of man's control over the garden. Obviously we have structured and control the garden, but it's easy to get caught up in the tranquility of it and forget how much work, money, and chemicals go into maintaining it. I'm not sure if this detracts from its appeal, but there's something inherently romantic about an untouched, wild, and beautiful environment, and I was a bit disappointed when the little boy brought the truth back to my attention.