Four Gardens

 

Who doesn't love a garden? Around the world, gardens nourish people; with food, with peace, with the loveliness of nurturing seeds and seedlings, and the delight of working hand in hand with nature. 

In The Morville Hours, gardener and writer Katherine Swift writes "Gardens are about people first and plants second. Like our multi-layered language, gardening is made up of different elements, bits and pieces from far and near, now and long ago..." 

The two of us visited all sorts of gardens during our three week trip - here's a glimpse of four of them.

Garden #1: The Hortus Botanicus at the University of Leiden is the oldest in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world. Those giant lily pads grow in one of the many glasshouses where hundreds of orchids fill shelf after shelf. We wandered inside and out for most of a day, stopping for a late lunch in the garden restaurant. 

Garden #2: Hidden behind tall houses fronting the canals in Amsterdam are lovely green gardens. During Open Garden Days, hosted once a year by the Museum Van Loon, about 30 private gardens are open to the public. Many are accessed only through the houses or businesses. Some were formal, such as the one shown above, with gravel paths, statues, and neatly organized beds. Others had children's play areas or a more casual atmosphere. Garden houses stood at the ends of several gardens. Lots of greenery and hydrangeas, along with tall trees providing shade. 

 

Participants are given a map with the addresses, and young volunteers mark the gardens visited upon entrance. We visited only a fraction of the 30 gardens, but thoroughly enjoyed those we did. I was so glad our visit coincided with Open Garden Days.

Garden #3: Isafjordur, Iceland lies just below the Arctic Circle, and is surrounded by tall snow-capped mountains that tumble steeply into the fjord below. We discovered there an abandoned sculpture garden, Simson's Garden (Simsonsgardur), built by a Danish artist who settled in this small northern town in 1916. We happened on it by accident while walking to another site. The gate was not locked and so I ventured in alone, my companions wondering if it was quite proper. No sign warned against entry and I found out later that visitors were welcome. Although not well-maintained, the garden structure was visible, with crumbling statues and lush overgrown shrubs. I'm glad I wandered into this small space where memories hung in the air. 

Garden #4: In Akureyri, Iceland another Hortus Botanicus, this one maintained by the town. We climbed from the port to the top of the town where neat paths lead in and around layered beds growing with wonderful views to the water far below. Seen in summer the garden is rich with plantings featuring hardy specimens, many of which are grown in less harsh environments and were very familiar - petunias, roses, poppies. To see them flourish here was lovely. 

In my own garden Icelandic Poppies similar to these grow. Ironically, they are not native to Iceland, but to subpolar regions of Asia and North America. 

How surprised I was to see this small clump of Henderson Shooting Stars, native to the west coast of the United States and in Canada, only found on southeast Vancouver Island. Plant collectors want a bit of everything, it seems. I know that in my own small garden I have a hard time choosing what to grow. 

Meconopsis, or Himalayan Blue Poppies looked at home in this northern setting. Notoriously hard to establish, there were great clouds of them in the garden. They like cool weather, so Akureyri is the perfect place for them to flourish. 

On the way out of the garden I noticed the peonies in full bloom. Since my own peony blooms were long over, I loved seeing these ruffled specimens smiling brightly in the morning sunshine. 

Thomas Moore wrote "The garden reconciles human art and wild nature, hard work and deep pleasure, spiritual practice and the material world. It is a magical place because it is not divided." 

I've been spending time in my own garden these days and I'm happy to see progress. Things are less overgrown and the weeds less populous. Dahlias are beginning to bloom and the roses continue. Tomatoes are setting fruit after a cold start to the season, and pole bean tendrils make their way slowly up the trellis. I love going out right after breakfast, in the cool mornings. 

Do you enjoy gardening or visiting gardens?