I have a growing need to simplify, bring greater calm and positive thoughts into my own life. Like Thoreau, I too yearn to “simplify, simplify”. I once read somewhere that creativity flows from a quiet mind. It’s true. I’m at my most creative when my mind is calm and not full of clutter. Each time I’m frustrated with my progress or substandard efforts, I’ve learned to bring my attention to what is producing the static and disturbing my thoughts. Anger, remorse, worry, anxiety, fear and, sadness are all factors that get in the way of creating. These emotions are human but it is what we do about them that determines who is enlightened and who is not. Being all too human myself, I struggle on a daily basis to reach for that higher level of being. Nothing helps me in this endeavour more than the garden.
A good hour of weeding has on many occasions resulted in solutions for conflicts or concerns. A more physically demanding chore like pruning, digging or mowing gets rid of negative energy and anger. I turn to relaxing tasks such as watering and deadheading to comfort me when I’m feeling blue or tense. Certainly, any length of time spent in nature is restorative. Nature unfailingly inspires in me a need to be and do better.
However, sometimes, it is other people’s negative energy that thwarts one’s own efforts. For those who live with me, I’m known to send them and their bad moods into the garden to take care of some chore or other. I’m yet to be disappointed by the change when they return. Nothing short of a miracle.
But I’ve been thinking further. Consider elements that always serve a noble if elusive purpose. They are fun to boot. How about mazes, labyrinths and tunnels? Any one of these brings a consistent sense of curiosity, wonder and humor into our everyday lives. A childlike openness to the possibilities of magic and imagination.
I doubt anybody can resist walking through a maze, labyrinth or tunnel. The challenge of finding one’s way out of a well designed maze ellicits a feeling of giddy excitement tempered with a mere hint of fear. I remember my visit to that famous maze at Hampton Court, England. We were three adults and one child. It took us a while to find the exit but the fun we had is still vivid in my mind.
Labyrinths are a bit different. While irresistibly calling to be walked, it magically makes the walker slow down and focus on the path itself. Pretty soon, the mind is calmer and the breathing deeper. On completion of the circuit, the person is in an entirely different, more deliberate state of being. I have discovered a lovely labyrinth on our frequent drives to southern Vermont. It belongs to a church but is very much open to the public. I cannot emphasize how much it means to me visit this place every time we’re passing by. Similarly, last summer, we visited the Heritage Museum and Gardens in Cape Cod. Here, the labyrinth was bigger and contained mighty trees that seemed to stand like sentinels safeguarding both the spirit of the place as well as those who entered it. I watched children who started out running and then gradually quietened down as they followed the purposefully laid out trail.
Tunnels in gardens are rather interesting. They needn’t be long at all. Simply entering one spurs the imagination.What it guides you through and leads up to can be quite exciting. I’ve walked through wisteria tunnels that were heady with scent, laburnum ‘walks’ that cast an other worldly golden light and then the one in Giverny so strewn with bright orange nasturtiums scrambling all over the path that one was forced to look down the whole way. You emerge from a tunnel with a renewed appreciation of freedom.
It is plainly impossible to ignore any of these elements in a garden. So, how come there are hardly any private gardens with a maze, labyrinth or tunnel? They are not as complicated as they might seem. The upkeep need not be costly. So many options come to mind! My own garden precludes them due to the lay of the land but believe me, I’m thinking very hard about it. One day in the not too distant future, such a feature might just be added.
Meanwhile, here is a suggestion, okay it’s a fantasy of mine – consider a maze or labyrinth that must be traversed to get to one’s front door. A perfect antidote for those coming home from stressful hours at work or fighting heavy traffic or simply in a foul mood from real or perceived problems. Imagine a teenager returning from school full of typical whines and tales of woe. By the time they get through this imaginative ‘walkway’, they’ll be in a kinder, gentler state of mind. It’s as though you put out a big sign saying – “ Leave ill-tempers and negative thoughts at the door please”. I do believe, certain unwanted solicitations and pollsters would be reluctant to attempt stopping by. It gets better and better!

Tunnel of wisteria underplanted with lavender.

Nasturtiums almost covering the path. Giverny.

Labyrinth in New York

Simple and elegant.

Labyrinth at Heritage Gardens

Lovely interplay of light and shadow.

(c) 2013 Shobha Vanchiswar

When my daughter was very young, we’d go on Listening Walks. We’d explore the neighborhood in total silence. On our return home, we’d talk about the outing. The experience taught us both to be more present in the walk as we observed sights, smells and sounds. Bird calls, busy squirrels, barking dogs, passing cars, lawn mowers, footsteps, the wheels of the stroller, the wind, the rustle of clothing as one walked, the aroma of wood smoke, cigarettes or roses, – everything was noted. Later, we’d decide if the dog’s bark was friendly or not, what sort of birds we’d heard and seen, the sounds created by different footwear. All of this provided for much richer, textured walks plus some interesting post-walk discussions. By keeping ourselves quiet, we not only heard better but saw and smelt more acutely. Admittedly, for the exhausted parent of an active, precocious child, these walks were as close to a spa experience as I was going to get. Today, we both look back very fondly on those Listening Walks.

Recently, while visiting an elderly friend who is losing his sight and hence unable to garden the way way he used to, I started thinking about how to keep his time in the garden still very enjoyable. I’ve been pondering the Listening Garden.

Some elements lend themselves naturally to such a garden. Water features like fountains and streams, bird houses and baths to attract the chatty feathered ones. Wind chimes are possibly something many would add but I personally am not a fan. I find their sounds intrusive and distracting. Instead, I prefer to hear the winds make their passage through ornamental grasses and trees. So of course, choosing appropriate plant material is important.

The aforementioned grasses are a significant part of a Listening Garden. Different grasses make different sounds. Next time, pay close attention and you’ll learn! Plants that make seed pods that rattle in the breeze are also good. Baptisia, columbines, sweet peas and such are excellent candidates. Interspersing the garden beds with plants that have a free, loose style of growing will also create a type of gentle wind music. Asters, mallows, cleomes, agastaches, cosmos and cimicifugas come to mind. Juxtaposed with more solid shrubs like boxwoods, you’re on your way to organizing a botanical orchestra. Leave hydrangea blossoms and other papery flowers to dry on the plants and they will make a sound akin to that made by the brush stick hitting a drum. A sustained swish.

Include plants that are particularly attractive to birds, bees and other insects. The critters will be wonderfully noisy. There is something quite satisfying about hearing bees and birds going about their business. It is the sound of a healthy garden. I will continue to do some research and seek out more ‘listening’ plants for my friend. I welcome all suggestions. It goes without saying that including the element of smell is crucial. After all, what is a garden without fragrance? It is not just the perfumed flowers that I want to add. As one walks around the garden, brushing against the leaves of scented geraniums and herbs like lavender and verbena stirs the olfactory memory.

Similarly, I shall not overlook the plants that feel good to touch. Velvety lamb’s ears, sand-papery leaves of echinacea and bergamot, plumey Russian sage …

Listening Gardens are not solely about sound nor are they just for the sight impaired. Everybody can benefit. Ultimately, ‘listening’ with all of the senses makes for mindful, deliberate, joyous living.

Baptisia seed pods

Echinacea

Feathery grass for sound and texture

Hydrangea

Bees visit the asters

Cicada

David Austin ‘Heritage’ roses

(c) 2013 Shobha Vanchiswar