A lecture on April 10 in Eugene, Oregon

I will be giving my presentation called 'The Pleasure Garden' in Eugene at the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Hardy Plant Society on April 10.  Eugene is my home town, so it is a pleasure to bring some tales from my adventures back to my roots.  I first gave this talk at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Madrid, Spain last year, and later in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Bellingham, Washington.  It covers the history of gardening from its roots in the deserts of Persia, to the Phoenicians and Romans, Pompeii, the Arabs in North Africa and Spain, the Moghuls in India, and the colonization of the New World.  I follow a thread that binds the gardens that most resonant with, which just happen to be those that inspire pleasure.

A blurry image of the flyer

Growing up in Eugene and camping and fishing in the surrounding mountains instilled in me an intrinsic bond with nature.  We are not separate from nature but we are all too often divorced from it.  True paradise to me is one where the connection to the forces of nature are strongest.  What better way to awaken that connection than by lying down on a comfortable bed with pillows, or to soak in a hot scented bath while tricking fountains sing the song of snowmelt brooks and the sweet scent of jasmine drifts through the air.  The man made structure around it can invoke divinity through symbolism, numerology, and orientation to the sun, moon, and stars.  When the atmosphere is divine, the energy that is cultivated reinforces it.  Birds become trusting hop around while you blend in, and a joyous coexistence results.  To garden is to play with life.

It will be at the Campbell Senior Center at 155 High Street, at the edge of Skinners Butte Park (a place I love dearly).

If you are in the Eugene area and can come, I'll try to make it worth your while.  Ciao, Jeffrey

Glass floats in the pool in my garden