The image of the Hortus conclusus—literally “enclosed garden”—has had a place in Western art and literature at least as far back as the book of Genesis. The Garden of Eden was humanity’s first home, an earthly paradise walled off from the wasteland. Gardens have always been places apart, spaces of contemplation and respite from the travails of everyday life. They… return to article
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Reader Comments (13)Page 1 of 1 pagesThe fig was the first domesticated plant, not so long ago. People started gardening when population pressure denied them adequate nomadic hunting and gathering territory.
A few more English words both noun and verb: kill, fight, forest, clam, and share.
Posted by barkless1 on Dec 27, 2006 at 2:37 AM Cycle.
So gardening is born in defiance, and assumes a starring role in the theatre of denial.
Posted by barkless1 on Dec 27, 2006 at 4:14 AM And we got to get ourselves back to the garden ...
A late planting for the garden. Or maybe it’s an early planting for the next season.
That’s another word for your list, Barky.
Season. And plant. Don’t forget to plant .
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 2, 2007 at 10:18 PM Read in the Guardian that Saddam was gardening weeds in captivity before he was harvested.
Posted by barkless1 on Jan 3, 2007 at 8:06 AM Harvest too.
I read the same and that Saddam fed bread to birds during his imprisonment.
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 3, 2007 at 12:10 PM All this talk of gardens and weeds reminds me of Matthew chapter 13 with the various parables about seeds and the kingdom of heaven. Here is one of them:
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Matthew 13:24-30
This parable is good gardening advice. While the garden is growing it is difficult to tell the difference between the weeds and the wheat and when you weed it is difficult not to uproot wheat at the same time. Still more difficult because the weeds can weaken the growth of the wheat. Best to wait for the harvest when a weed is a weed and the wheat is the wheat.
And, in my humble opinion, as applied to Saddam and Iraq;
To bring one man to justice, many innocents have died in the process.
To kill a few weeds, the field of wheat has been set afire.
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 8, 2007 at 8:25 PM And as it regards Saddam and his masters of the harvest; He was a weed deliberately planted amongst the wheat and burned up with the field when the time was right. Just to clarify who the enemy sowing the tares really is.
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 8, 2007 at 9:06 PM Seed.
I saved some seeds from last years pepper plants and tomatoes. I have always simply bought new seeds every year when I plant the garden but decided to try my hand at seed saving for a few plants. Don’t tell the ‘seed police’. Defiant garden, indeed!
Hunt. Fish.
That reminds me. I have to get a new fishing license soon. The old one expires at the end of March. Last year I forgot until the middle of the summer when I was camping and fishing and a friendly park ranger caught me without a license. He let me off with a warning since I was able to show him my collection of old fishing licenses in my tackle bag.
Vote.
Do you think we will have a federal election soon, Barky?
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 9, 2007 at 11:21 AM Try. Hope. Wish. Want. Need. Will. Time. Quiet. Force. Focus. Comment. Note. License. Pardon. Affect.
What is soon? Soon enough? For whom?
Posted by barkless1 on Jan 10, 2007 at 10:02 AM Sooner as opposed to later. Soon enough to convince most people that anything has really changed, I guess. And for all of us Canucks.
I would really like to see a Green Party candidate take a seat. If we have to put a good face on the corruption that we call politics I wouldn’t mind a green tinge to that face.
Posted by David in Canuckistan on Jan 10, 2007 at 6:37 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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