Garden Bones

The bones within the established enclosure we call the garden, are dry bones and living bones. The presence of mighty conifers, old orchard trees and venerable ornamentals have "ruah" and are living bones. If they are well placed it is unwise to disturb the skeleton created by Mother Nature and embellished by earlier man. They carry their own sinews and flesh and lift them up as a risen testament to life. The dry bones are another matter. Not withstanding Ezekiel, these dry bones will not rise again, they will not be covered with sinew and flesh , and they are expendable. The thoughtful gardener will work with the living skeleton to complement its beauty and only flesh out the bed on which it rests. The dry, man made bones, of terraces, lattice works, fences, new beds and structures can be changed or modified to suit the palate of the current garden custodian. You can add sinews and flesh to these structures, and you should, but they will never grow sinews or flesh themselves, nor will they have "ruah". No tree can be replaced in a gardener's lifetime. No birds of a variety will frequent your enclosure without trees. No sweet or otherwise songs will fill your air with passion! Your exhilaration in meandering will be muted. " Thus there are two books from whence I collect my divinity:besides that written one of God, another of his servant Nature,that universal and public manuscript, that lies expansed unto the eyes of all; those that never saw him in the One, have discovered him in the Other". (Religio Medici)"Don't change what aint broke!" There is an infinite number of shorter term things you can do to put your own imprimatur in place on the page. Just don't change the parchment!