Hmmmm. Is it art? Great question Mossy2 All the senses are called on and we respond in our own, very individual, ??way to it. That is what art is supposed to do - evoke a thought, a feeling or a memory. So a gardener is an artist, ??working in all manner of media, creating unique works of living art. IMHO a garden is ephemeral art, constantly changing, sometimes challenging (even provocative) but a joy forever albeit several acres or a window box.
Both an art and a craft in the same way as medecine is a science and an art. Ia you want to see the pinnacle in this country visit Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buvckinghamshire. But when a visitor comes round a corner in my garden and gasps with delight i get as much pleasure as when I feast my eyes on a painting i have of my favourite plants - broomrapes! Good art entices you to come back for more. creating good art is never easy. A lot of craft skills have to be learned to be a good painter, sculpture, photographer or gardener.
There's a world of difference between "art" and "artistic". I just don't get "art" from the formulaic religious stuff of centuries to the modern stuff which distorts scale and perspective or is made from so much rubbish though I can appreciate the likes of Vermeer and Constable.
However, I can see that gardening can be artistic in that one takes raw materials such as plants and some objects and makes something pleasing to the eye and the soul - so not modern art.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
One thing that does strike me, is just how un artistic many suppossed garden designers are. In a previous career I used to carry out alot of work for different landscape architects and garden designers, some very well known and some not so. One thing that they all have in common is a complete lack of flare and originality. Without fail you could walk from one finished garden to another and sadly know who designed it. They all just follow the same boring trend, and this follows through into education. I've frequently seen students posting questions on forums about trends etc, and to me this is a major flaw within the landscape industry. Teachers should be teaching the students to set trends, not just follow what is already out there.
One designer who does think outside the box and who I've always admired, not least because he isn't afraid of using concrete as a design medium, is Diarmuid Gavin. You can still tell which gardens are his, but at least he tries and isn't afraid to be different.
I think anything which makes me smile when I've created the overall look of it because its beautiful is art, but there is a craft which is learnt and handed down from generation to generation in order to allow the art to form.
Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response! It's brilliant to have such a wide-range of responses, its been really helpful. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts about what specifically it is about gardens that makes us value them so much?
I value my garden because it connects me with life. The sun and green plants are the starting point for every food chain in the web of life and in a garden you feel that; you feel alive, you feel linked to creation, your senses and your soul are nourished, you feel a real part of all that energy.
Posts
I think a garden is like art in some way it can be whatever you want it to be.
Both an art and a craft in the same way as medecine is a science and an art. Ia you want to see the pinnacle in this country visit Stowe Landscape Gardens in Buvckinghamshire. But when a visitor comes round a corner in my garden and gasps with delight i get as much pleasure as when I feast my eyes on a painting i have of my favourite plants - broomrapes! Good art entices you to come back for more. creating good art is never easy. A lot of craft skills have to be learned to be a good painter, sculpture, photographer or gardener.
There's a world of difference between "art" and "artistic". I just don't get "art" from the formulaic religious stuff of centuries to the modern stuff which distorts scale and perspective or is made from so much rubbish though I can appreciate the likes of Vermeer and Constable.
However, I can see that gardening can be artistic in that one takes raw materials such as plants and some objects and makes something pleasing to the eye and the soul - so not modern art.
One thing that does strike me, is just how un artistic many suppossed garden designers are. In a previous career I used to carry out alot of work for different landscape architects and garden designers, some very well known and some not so. One thing that they all have in common is a complete lack of flare and originality. Without fail you could walk from one finished garden to another and sadly know who designed it. They all just follow the same boring trend, and this follows through into education. I've frequently seen students posting questions on forums about trends etc, and to me this is a major flaw within the landscape industry. Teachers should be teaching the students to set trends, not just follow what is already out there.
One designer who does think outside the box and who I've always admired, not least because he isn't afraid of using concrete as a design medium, is Diarmuid Gavin. You can still tell which gardens are his, but at least he tries and isn't afraid to be different.
Thanks so much for the enthusiastic response! It's brilliant to have such a wide-range of responses, its been really helpful. I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts about what specifically it is about gardens that makes us value them so much?
Mossy
Lots of things, starting with:-
Excitement and satisfaction when things you've sown and/or planted and nurtured grow or when a plan comes together.
Enjoying the changing seasons and the transitions of colours and foliage and form through the year. Harvesting crops in the fruit and veg plot.
Seeing wildlife enjoy it and just calming the soul by looking at it - as long as you can stop twitching at weeds for a sec.
A long hot shower or bath and a glass of wine while you admire your handiwork after a day working the garden.