Eye - 23 May 2014

From geese to quiet gardens

Lessons from Woodbrooke Geese by Joan Patton

The vocal geese by Woodbrooke lake
Call loudly to each other – and may disturb our peace!
But they do communicate!
               —maybe to argue, chastise or say, ‘I love you’.
They walk mindfully across the grass.
What are they looking for? What will they find?
They glide smoothly through the water
                                                   in search of weed and tasty bites.
They curl up with head under wing basking in the sunshine.
Or squat under a bush to hide from the world.

Am I like a goose?
      – disturbing someone’s peace with my chatter and noise?
How do I communicate – without hurt but with love?
Do I mindfully walk over the world with some purpose?
How often do I rest to bask in the Light?
Or glide gently through my life looking for glimpses of truth?
Do I hide from the world because of shyness or fear?
Or walk with my friends
                                        sharing laughter and care – together?
The geese may be noisy but they teach us some lessons –
          — as we walk through the world let our lives speak!

A quiet winner

Green-fingered Friends have been quietly wooing the public at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Malvern Spring Festival.

A garden developed by The Quiet Garden Trust, with the help of some Friends from Beverley and Jordans Meetings, has won the prestigious People’s Choice Award. The garden was also awarded a RHS Bronze Medal.

Angie Turner, who designed the garden with Patrick Swan and Kristina Fitzsimmons, described it:

‘At the heart of the garden is a labyrinth. Walking along the turning path of stones, your mind is stilled. The path leads to a pond where the sound of water provides a focus while a resting stone provides a place to stop and reconnect with the natural world.

‘The soft colours of the plants add to the tranquillity. The garden becomes a sanctuary, a place of rest and safety enclosed at the back by a wall with metal arches and tall planting.’

Angie added that the team was delighted to win the people’s vote, and was especially pleased that the show garden is to be recreated as a quiet garden in a school in Buckinghamshire.

Several Meeting houses make their grounds available as quiet gardens, including Boscombe, Disley and Aylesbury, Mary-Anne Hall, administrator at The Quiet Garden Trust, told the Friend.

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