Those of you who know me quite well also know I am a useless gardener! I love being in the garden and enjoy lots of different colours and scents of flowers and shrubs, but I have no idea what any of them are. I still get my geraniums and chrysanthemums mixed up!
But, despite my ignorance on the names of the these beauties, I get immense joy from being around beautiful gardens. Something quite ethereal to walk amongst the diverse colours, smells, sounds of bees buzzing, watching butterflies flit from petal to petal and birds on carried in the breeze.
What is it, I wonder, that attracts – indeeds lures – me in to sit amongst some of nature’s finest creations? Is it my curiousity to learn more about them? Doubtful as still no wiser on any of their names, though did enjoy discovering flowers called ‘Honesty’ (Lunaria annua) and ‘Dignity’ (Erigeron) amongst the more familiar garden gems.
Is it perhaps the quietness offered by benches carefully placed amongst the centrally placed rose gardens where senses of sound, sight and smell all unite in celebrating these wonders around us? Perhaps.
Is it the awe and wonder about the beauty these creations are illuminating to me? Each one different, unique, perfectly created yet vulnerable to the rest of creation surrounding them.
There is something deeply spiritual about creation, something of awe about how all aspects work in sync when allowed to prosper and encouraged in the right environment.
We visited Dunvegan Castle Gardens (https://www.dunvegancastle.com/gardens/gardens/) on Skye.
In the gallery at the end of this blog are some of the wonderful creations we discovered. I wonder which is your favourite and why? Do share in the comments at the bottom of the page.
Sadly, I remain ignorant in many ways about the technicalities of caring for these beauties but, despite my lack of understanding, I can still discover joy, peace and a sense of contentment from being in their midst. I am thankful for their diversity, their colours, aromas and the sounds of nature engaging with them; I am humbled to realise how vast and amazing creation is and how small a part I am within that big picture, and yet still precious in God’s sight.
My soul is replenished, filled up with good things whilst in this garden. A still, calm, beautiful gem hidden behind protective walls to conserve and encourage these beauties to go on bringing life and joy to all creatures who venture in.
I have found myself yet another thin place in which to encounter the Divine.
I find myself smiling as I sing in my head the hymn which usually drives me mad in church but here, the lyrics make sense and become somehow very real. ‘Each little flower that opens, each little bird that sings, He made their glowing colours, He made their tiny wings. All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful the Lord God made them all.’ Amen!
Quest for Spirituality 