Revisiting "The Foetid Forest". 14 inches x 17 inches on Paris paper.
The garden imitates life. There are the divas that bloom once every few years and then last for only a few days, high maintenance. There are the ones that are covered with buds but they take so long and when they bloom they are overwhelming and intoxicating like Christmas celebrations. The flowering plants are like friends that visit and bring gifts and tidings on special occasions. There are wall and ground covers, very hard working but they need monitoring or else they get out of control, like striking union workers? Of course there are weeds, useless, they don't contribute anything, they just take resources and destroy the plants, like the criminals, vandals and thieves. Ah, there are some weeds that bloom, they get propagated and incorporated into the garden, they are the foreign species introduced into the country legally or through migration, sometimes smuggled by some collector and thrown in the wild because they don't die, like lantanas, kudzu and water lilies, then they choke off the natives and soon destroys the entire landscape, forests entire ecosystems. There are pretenders that imitate useful plants but actually suck the nutrients like parasites - do you have friends like those? Then there are the low maintenance prolific plants with beautiful leaves that provide regular satisfaction. They are like families, reliable, beautiful and constant. I have not even mentioned the oaks, the fruit trees, they are the mothers and fathers, our parents; but then again there are the show trees. that need constant pruning and trimming. Shall I mention the fetid plants and flowers? Of course I have to think of metaphors to to overcome this heat and humidity. Pen and Ink illustration: The Foetid Forest. Have a happy holiday weekend.
