KARREL CHRISTOPHER

One of the greatest joys in life is living with a garden.  More than just walking by and admiring Spring flowers...or feeling sentimental about the showering of golden leaves that paint the ground in Autumn.  Beyond visual appreciation - growing plants is a spiritual meditation full of wonder and peace.  It is about experiencing with all your senses and participating with mother earth. Breathing in harmony with all creatures.  Gardening is an affirmation of life - urging us to live, grow and be reborn - every moment! Increasingly, the troubling headlines in today's world remind me of what has tragically slipped away from our consciousness. Indigenous people have always been highly tuned into and  aware of the interconnectedness of all life..and treated it with sacred reverence and respect. Feeling the energy of plants,  I am continually fascinated by the gorgeous diversity of their colors, forms and design.  Their beauty calms my soul, pleases the eyes, cleanses the environment and connects us to our first mother. Earth.

Worlds within worlds.  The secret worlds of plants. Have you truly embarked on the journey?  Really looked, really studied?  Have you allowed yourself to be carried away?  Not just by a bouquet purchased at the flower shop or a color bowl bought at the home improvement store.  Do you know that feeling of being consumed by that dizzy, light-headed delight of truly seeing the beauty of a plant?  Digging in the dirt, plantings seeds, celebrating the first chartreuse sprouts....watching with great anticipation the meandering path of a stem...and reveling in the glorious design of a leaf and bloom - I truly feel at home.  Even in maturity and passing plants have a rich beauty that inspires painters and sculptors alike! Modern society is so consumed and obsessed with marketing, selling, buying, technology. We have largely become anesthetized and disconnected. The essence of plants reminds us of of our own beautiful origins.