April Prompt: Gorgeous Gardens

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

Book Club is celebrating Gardens and Greenhouses in April!

Yay for flowers! Yay for gardens! Remember the Mandrake lesson in the Greenhouse where no one wanted the pink earmuffs? What about those Fanged Geraniums? Watch out for the teeth!

What book, or books, have you read where you were shown a garden, or a greenhouse, which was described in such a way that you immediately felt that you were there ... or that you wanted to go visit.

Me? I think of the flower in the book series 'The Mortal Instruments' (by Cassandra Clare). In City of Bones, in the Institute's rooftop greenhouse ... when the clock struck midnight, Jace directed Clary to look at a green shrub where they'd been sitting. The plant opened up a blossom -- which only opens at midnight.

I'd love to be there in that rooftop greenhouse and see the many many different kinds of plants which are collected and growing there, as well as watch that plant flower at midnight.

What book have you read, where you feel a need to just transport yourself there and enjoy the gardens and plants therein?

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[Hiya Debnath]

One of my favorite gardens is the one in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Shakespeare. In it, the fairy queen Titania has a bed, when the fairy king Oberon after a quarrel with his queen, Titania, asks his mischievous servant Puck, to drop "love juice" into Titania's eyes so that she falls in love with the first creature she sees on awakening. The garden in which Titania sleeps is vividly described by Shakespeare and my impression of the garden on reading the book was that the garden was a thing of beauty in which I would have loved to spend time in and sleep.
Shakespeare describes the garden as being in a bank where the wild thyme blows, and where oxlips and the nodding violet grows, and which is quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine, with sweet musk-roses and with eglantine. That description is obviously given in Shakespearean style in the book and it makes me dream of the beautiful scents and the prettiness of the garden. I would have loved to be there and be mesmerized by its beauty if I were there.
Shakespeare writes - "There sleeps Titania sometime of the night,
Lull’d in these flowers with dances and delight".
What a beautiful bed to have. I would pay Galleons to sleep there. It would be better than any five-star hotel resort. Ohh, and I would definitely not mind the fae company as well as the mischievous Puck's antics even if he played those pranks on me, because the fairy king Oberon would anyway make it right in the end. Oberon did make it right for Titania at the end of the story, using Oberon's magic, by fixing all the intentional and unintentional mischief and mess caused by Puck.



2.10.2024 - Beans sent - Tarma

[Galena May]

When I was about 6-7 years old, I read a translation of Oscar Wilde's short story, The Selfish Giant. It was about a giant who had a very beautiful garden full of lovely flowers and strong but climbable trees. The giant was initially friendly, and children played in his garden, never afraid of him, because of his amiable nature. One day, for a reason, he acted selfishly and walled up his garden, barring the children from entering and playing in it. The children were very sad. But, unfortunately for the giant, the giant was sadder because of the eternal winter with snowcapped bare trees and absolutely no flowers that took over his garden leading him to repent his selfish nature. The story then describes how his repentance brings the garden back to life as he realizes an important life lesson, that life is only beautiful because of kindness, humility, and compassion, and would be barren as his garden during the eternal winter if he chose to be selfish, lonely, and miserable. He also realizes the importance of sharing and caring, and of having friends. As I read this beautiful story, I used to dream of being one of the children playing in the giant's garden, because I was attracted by the description of the pretty blossoms and the branches and boughs on which the children swung and played. I wanted to be one of the lively children playing there. I am still not revolted by the idea of visiting the giant's garden, if not playing in it. I do not know if the garden had a name, but reading about it attracted me nonetheless, even more so at the idea of children playing in it.



11.15.2024 - Beans sent - Tarma