Hi friends! We are back with the final installment of our collaborative 5-part series! Read to the end to learn how you can enter our giveaway!
Catch up here:
Amy and I recorded a very short audio introduction to our series, which you can listen to here.
Plants, and flowers specifically, always strike me as living in some separate realm of time than the one we live in. They seem to have an inner compass that I lack. Perhaps it’s that they are tuned in to what they need… and what they need is linked to the wider natural atmosphere around them.
Most of us live in an artificial environment where any kind of little bug in our houses causes us to freak out. We confuse our bodies with artificial light, sounds, and rhythms. We try to separate ourselves even from what lives in our chemically-treated lawns and we build sound-proof walls around us.
My daughter is learning about planting and the process of growth from a seed to a fruit or vegetable. She told me that plants need soil, sunlight, and water to grow and I was struck by how truly miraculous that really is. They are so simple and yet so complex, infinitely beautiful in their various patterns and colors. If only we would tune in, we could learn so very much.
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We would like to give you 2 chances to win a card pack featuring all 10 images from this series. Please leave a comment below for a chance to win and then leave one on Amy’s post for another chance! We will announce the winners on Monday.
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Amy Putkonen writes regularly about the Tao Te Ching at her blog, Tao Te Ching Daily. She challenges you to reflect on Taoist principles in real life situations and see where it takes you. Stop by and say hello!
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Naomi Wittlin is a photographer, blogger, and artist who lives in Houston, TX with her husband and 4-year-old daughter. She welcomes visitors and new subscribers at poeticaperture.com.
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Our collaborative photo-essay series will feature 10 of Naomi’s photographs, all of which are available for purchase as a pack of blank greeting cards. To see all the images and for details, please click the photo to the left. They’re sitting right here next to me, waiting for you to ask for some!
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I love these responses. I was riding on a plane just now, and have almost finished reading Wild. Whooo. At one point, I missed the woods so much I nearly cried. This week’s essays has made me realize that I need to garden every year and I need to give a high priority to getting out in nature at least every month or so.
Amy Putkonen recently posted…Photo Essay #5 with Naomi Wittlin
When we retire in a few years we have big plans for gardening. In recent years, with me home only half the time, we have not been able to grow anything except chickens. With our climate, we think a greenhouse would be a big benefit. Plants are so important, they make our kind of life on earth possible. Before there were plants, there wasn’t any oxygen in the atmosphere, and even the chemistry of the rocks was different. I’ve enjoyed your essay series very much. Thank you for creating it!
This is why I garden…growing, digging, even pulling weeds, draws me into the world of God’s creation. I am closer to Him in my garden than any other time.
It also means that you work to care for His creation – stop using pesticides that kill our birds and pollinators, stop growing grass that doesn’t do anything for the environment, and start working to create a wildscape in our yards that rejuvenates and nourishes all the little creatures that are helping provide our joy and our food.
Gardening and appreciating other gardens has always seemed (to me too) to nurture a spiritual connection. Being in nature, enjoying close friendship connections, and creative expression… poetry, art, music… I think these are our jobs as humans.