Naturalized Cyclamen at the Connie Hansen Garden in Lincoln City, OR
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“…the creative potential of disorderly randomness…”
Ben Huberman
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Ben invites us to show photos of ‘chaos’ in this week’s Photo Challenge.
I’m not a great fan of ‘chaos;’ however much it might invite creativity. Perhaps there is that much conditioning left from my teaching days…. But I think it runs a bit deeper in my psyche.
Mother nature has her own sense of order, realized or not by the human mind, and those of us who work with her grow a bit lenient with her exuberance in our gardens. Especially when the plant spreading in all directions is so lovely!
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If you grow potted florists’ Cyclamen on your windowsill each winter, as do I, you may love these little winter blooming hardy Cyclamen coum and Cyclamen hederifolium, and excuse their untidiness. Planted as little bulbs, and hardy in zones 6-9, these lovely plants emerge in autumn to grow and spread all winter. They self-seed easily and form beautiful expanding clumps as the years pass. Once planted, they naturalize and basically take care of themselves.
These grow in an island bed between the entrance drive and the exit drive at the Connie Hansen Garden Conservancy in Lincoln City, Oregon. My daughter and I were there to let my granddaughter run around a bit. Two year olds have a lot of energy to burn, and life around a toddler always feels a bit chaotic… unless they are sleeping.
With two of us, we just managed to keep up with her, and I managed to still click off a few shots. This one may give you a better idea of that visit:
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Yes, those are my Sebagos before my fateful walk on the beach when a sleeper wave caught me…..
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As we were herding her back to the car, this beautiful stand of Cyclamen, mulched in falling pine tags, caught my eye. These have been growing and spreading for quite a few years, by the looks of this lush coverage filling the little traffic island bed.
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I believe we can always find a bit of order out of chaos, once we take a deep breath and concentrate a bit. The patterns begin to emerge. We can understand each burst of unruly, exuberant energy in the context of the whole. And so while little one was buckled into her booster seat, I framed and shot as many images of the Cyclamen bed as the moment allowed.
Exuberant energy seems to be the rule along the Pacific coast. Whether rolling waves, moss covered trees, thick rain forests, or creative people; the energy is contagious. And this special garden captures the vibe beautifully, only a few blocks from the beach.
Forest Garden 