Books and Gardens

  • Post published:04/01/2009
  • Post comments:9 Comments

When You Open a Book
by Rory Matthews (age 12)
When you open a book
A journey begins
In which many people can take
Whether they read poetry or novels
Either is fine.
Both take you to lands unknown
From fiction to sci-fi
Or drama to action
Maybe Moby Dick or Swiss Family Robinson
Or even a Wrinkle in Time.
From one galaxy to another
Or on a big wooden ship
With mast and all
All you have to do
Is open a book
and each page is a journey for you.

My grandson Rory has been greatly enjoying a poetry project in school. They are reading poetry from Emily Dickinson to haiku. Then they write poetry. I’m happy that Rory is not only a poet, he is a reader, and celebrates the pleasure he gets from books in this poem.

Over the past months I have had to do my garden journeying in books. Some have gorgeous photographs like The Inward Garden by Julie Moir Messervy with photos by Sam Abell which come at garden design from the standpoint of different archetypal landscapes that appeal to different people.

Covering Ground: Unexpected Ideas for Landscaping with Colorgul, Low Mainenance Ground Covers by Barbara Ellis is less grand but so useful. It also has great photos.

Sometimes all I need is the words. So many conversations, with deep thinkers and quirky specialists. Roses: A Celebration is a collection of essays about their favorite rose by 33 eminent gardeners and Otherwise Normal People: Inside the Thorny World of Competitive Rose Gardening by Aurelia C. Scott may seem even funnier to non-rose gardeners than to rose lovers. Not just for rose nuts.

So many gardens. So little time. Journeys on each page indeed.

For more Muse Day posts visit our host Carolyn Gail at Sweet Home and Garden Chicago.

This Post Has 9 Comments

  1. Anna

    Such wise words from a young man. Rory is lucky to have discovered the joys of reading and creative writing which will give him much pleasure over the years. I had not heard of Julie Moir Messervy before and she has been mentioned on another GBMD post too. Must find out more about her. Thanks for yours and Rory’s lovely post.

  2. Shady Gardener

    CommonWeeder, Thanks for visiting today. I appreciate learning about good reads. However, I anticipate being Nearly too busy to read much as the weather warms. 🙂 Love the poem. It’s very special when the author is one of “yours!” (I look forward to this in a couple of years or so.) Happy Spring!

  3. Commonweeder

    Anna, Rory is wise and I heartily recommend Julie.
    Shady Gardener – Those garden journeys do mostly take place when the ice and snow keep me closer to home. Just recently I been travelling across the lawn down to the new vegetable garden.

  4. Carolyn gail

    I’m so impressed with Rory’s poem. I started writing poetry at a young age as well.

    Your post makes a great addition to our Muse Day.

  5. Jan

    As soon as I started to read Rory’s poem, I immediately thought of Emily Dickinson’s poem that starts “There is no frigate like a book.” As a voracious reader, I really think Rory’s poem is “right on”, esp. the last three lines. This was a great GBMD choice.

    Jan
    Always Growing

  6. donna

    Oh, your Rory is a special boy. Love a kid who likes to read and write. If you need another “grandkid”, I’d be willing to travel to MA and frolic in your Frog Pond!

  7. Commonweeder

    Carolyn Gail, Thank YOU for inventing Muse Day!
    Jan – I think Rory found a soulmate in Emily Dickinson
    Donna, Rory is very special – and so is the Frog Pond. You have an open invitation to frolic anytime.

  8. walk2write

    I’m following threads today, finding new blogs by comments left on sites I usually visit. I’ll bet you’re very proud of your grandson. Ours is only two years old, so it will be a while before he’s ready to be a “guest” on my blog. I kind of skimmed through some of your older posts and really perked up when I saw some info on worm farming. We would love to try vermiculture, but no one around here seems to know much (not even the local extension people!). I’ll be back here to glean from you, if you don’t mind.

  9. John

    What a great poem. I used to love to read and write at his age, too. It’s a pity how life can become so busy and cause us to lose touch with our creative spirits!

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