Collaborate

Because a garden is collaboration with nature, it will always be a work-in-progress. Look at a garden, any garden, formal, relaxed, or natural. In each one, Nature has had its say. Even in the most strictly formal gardens, the plants and stones exert their unique qualities. A yew tree, clipped to geometric standards, fulfills its nature by making a dense layer of needles. A column of granite will grow moss on the north side. A manicured lawn will change color in the course of seasons. If the gardener knows this he or she will be capable of collaborating with nature to create a garden that lives both inside us and outside of us. True collaborations require us to listen as well to our partner as we do to ourselves. And then to act.