Letters to garden makers

Dear Monty, Light I cannot gaze Like those eyes Into eyes Seeing beyond the surface Stars, pools, lights reflecting back. I struggle to see at all Vision blurred by unbelief How did it come to this ? Unlike St Paul Darkness blinds me I search for the light I blunder towards it. Image I look at dog sleeping I see that he is dog No more No less Dog does not strive to be different Does not have to be anything other than himself Dog is dog is dog He bears the image of the heavenly. False Moon Hub cap of former wheel Rusting in hemp agrimony Bracken and teasel A car graveyard Now turned green and purple Gives up its treasure A moon on the apple tree. Faith I agree That gardens can be a sanctuary Voices of sheep, robin and crow Mix in my semi sleep I awake to possibility In this cool pool of morning. Paul.

Dear Monty, My friend Charles Hawes in his excellent blog :  charleshawes.veddw.com  wrote in reply to a comment on a post; that God is good with planting but not with people. Maybe the issue is that people are not good with God ? Nature is beautiful but can also be ruthless and cruel (if humanistic values are applied). We think that death for us is somehow unjust, but we see that in nature it is part of the cycle of this living planet. We can accept the science of natural selection for flora and fauna but seem unable or perhaps unwilling to see that it also applies to us. We strive to find ways of living longer, despite the fact that the earth is beginning to groan under the burden. Horizon on the BBC this week explored how technology will allow us to monitor all aspects of our health, one scientist even suggested that we all be chipped, this suggestion seems to have been put forward in the belief it would be for our 'good' ! The trouble with rigorous sci...

Dear Monty, I'm not sure how long you intend having a cyber holiday, but I thought I would write anyway. Jake and Dinos Chapman said : " If you can't spend a day chucking clay at a wall, then you've stripped off a few of the tendrils that are necessary to doing this" Making art or a garden does involve play, experiment and above all, time out of the usual daily grind. I seem to have stripped off so many tendrils now that I feel as though I am cheating myself and the world by calling myself an artist. I have rarely drawn the garden, when I have the result has been largely unsatisfactory. Of course you cannot capture the whole garden in one drawing, just as you cannot experience the whole garden from one viewpoint. So what do you draw ? I have drawn the apple tree with the view beyond the garden before all the trees grew in the valley below. It is one of the few drawings I am happy with. It seems on looking back through my sketch book journal, that I ...

Monty, My creative elbow has seized up, perhaps painting a landscape will help. I live a small life - as small as it is it expands outwards from here via the web just like it does for many of us. This valley envelopes and sometimes encloses our lives. The folk of this valley are our bread and butter - we listen to their anger, frustration and joy with this thing called life. Life can be cruel, harsh and grim - that is the reality - but also equally real is the joy, sheer joy in the simple things - the love of family and friends, the sun after all that rain, finding a lime hawk moth caterpillar in the garden. 'There are many paths to enlightenment' Mine came through a daydream many years ago, it eventually led to an event in Jerusalem 2000 years ago which lifted me above the rooftops of Southsea in 1982, and lifts me to this faltering day. For me, when things get tough, the one vicar remains, despite ego, weakness and boasting. I will soon disappear fr...