Garden Tree

I’ve often thought nature was the best gardener. Mossy rocks and ferns near a bubbling stream or bleached driftwood surrounded by sea grass and beach pea, sometimes look like they’ve been artfully arranged. Randomness in nature, such as the stars in the sky or the placement of large rocks on a beach, is something artists aspire to capture in their work. As soon as a composition gets too regular, too patterned, it stops looking natural.

The shade of a West Coast forest causes things to grow upward to reach the light, so that an old, tall tree will become like a garden. I’m amazed at how many plants can grow on the tree itself, such as huckleberry and salal, often as far as you can see. Scientists have now discovered a shocking amount of diversity existing in the canopy of trees, places we didn’t think of before because they are out of sight. Wildlife trees (trees that may not be alive themselves but support an abundance of life) start to make me think of the forest wizard Radagast the Brown, from the Lord of the Rings, who had birds nesting in his beard.

A healthy ecosystem is visually pleasing, like a garden. Maybe we are subconsciously visually tuned to recognize a thriving environment. With an appreciation of the beauty and wisdom of nature, emerges a feeling of humbleness and gratefulness for its existence and a strong desire to keep it safe.

Image:  Garden Tree, acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 36″