The story:

At the end of March, I decided to start a project I had on my mind since the end of summer last year. All of the gardens at the arboretum have a name so I started work on Roger’s Garden. Catchy name right? Roger’s Garden is a circular raised container about 6 feet in diameter. In my mind, it’s about depicting natural landscapes in miniature.

This year's composition is called Lake Shore. My vacation last summer took me kayaking along the Lake Superior shoreline around Copper Harbor and I wanted to bring what I saw into this year's garden design. I started to work on this on my birthday. Naturally, I received a text from my younger sister asking me how the old man was getting along. I sent her a picture of the work I was doing and predictably she replied with “Great you put a pile of rocks in a pot.” This didn’t actually offend me but I felt that I needed to take this to a higher artistic authority. I showed the picture to my wife. I knew exactly what was wrong the second I heard “Oh, but …”   I have known her long enough to know what she didn’t like about it. She continued “ The trees aren’t planted straight and is that some dead branches in one of them. Why are the trees so thinly branched?” My reply was “Nature is always beautiful but not always pretty.”

Not to be side-tracked from my mission I continued “placing and arranging” rocks and planting creeping thyme to represent a forest undergrowth.

Still, the question remains, what is art? The answer will always be in how the viewer sees and understands the composition before them.

Don’t take my word for it. Stop out at the arboretum and decide for yourself.

What do you think of Roger’s Garden? For me, I will always see the shoreline of Lake Superior from a kayak.

Please feel free to send comments on this and other topics to:

roger@cedarvalleyarboretum.org



Have a great May and happy planting.

The Horticulture Staff

Cedar Valley Arboretum and Botanical Gardens