Growing up in the Ozarks you cannot help but be inspired by the hills and valleys, rivers and creek beds as I came to know in my youth and have now returned to. It is our environment that shapes us, as we in turn return the favor. Our love of nature has been shaped by our appreciation for times spend in outdoor activities. We have and make new memories as we live every day. Traveling to Arkansas and gaining an appreciation for the mountains to the south and the rivers, especially the Finley, Current and Jack’s Fork Rivers. Surrounded by lakes in every direction that shape the contours that give life to what we have come to love and appreciate.
Garden design places great importance on preserving and using natural surroundings, i.e., characteristics bringing what was always present into reform by man (us). We should see ourselves as gatekeepers or a bridge to illustrate how things should be in line with our natural surroundings. Our own Springfield Botanical Gardens and Master Gardening program leads the way in teaching and showing by example best practices and techniques to follow.
For myself garden design begins with institutional memory, books, and other reference material. Something Spanish poet Federico García Lorca (1898-1939), wrote when looking to horizons that serve as ladders to ascend to the pinnacle of the soul and heart. Or to my own favorite gardener the painter Monet and his gardens in Giverny when he said, “My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.”
My own planning background tells me to look to the outcome we hope to achieve and to be willing to change things as we go. In the days and weeks to come we’ll go there, looking to the best of nature, horizons, and to a universal heart and soul.
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