Garden Senses

Showy Garden

Showy Garden © 2012 Bo Mackison

Of all the ingredients we employ in the creation of a garden, scent is probably
the most potent and the least understood. Its effects can be either direct and
immediate, drowning our senses in a surge of sugary vapor, or they can
be subtle and delayed, slowly wafting into our consciousness, stirring our
emotions and coloring our thoughts. ~ Steven Lacy

I lose my anxieties, my worries of the day, when I am strolling along the garden paths. Perhaps it is the full sensory experience – eyes feasting on a multitude of colors, drifting in and out of floral fragrances, accompanied by the rustling of the overhead leaves, the birds chattering, the flowers bobbing.

And even the senses that seem to be second tier senses in most experiences are available. An invitation is extended in the herb garden — pick a leaf, feel its texture, crush it and release the aromatics, awaken your sense of smell. Deep smell. Rich, luxurious, but ephemeral.

The garden is a sensorium, it offers a full sensual experience. Ah, the pleasures.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bo Mackison is a photographer of the seeded earth and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Ah, the gardens bring smiles to the faces of those who walk their paths…I’m smiling.

Garden Path

Garden Path

Garden Path © 2012 Bo Mackison

The path is always right beneath your feet. ~ Issan Dorsey

The path may not always be as beautiful as this garden path, lined with late summer blossoms, but it is always there. All we need to do is keep on, keeping on, one step and then the next. Never know what is going to appear around the next curve.

—————–

 Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is taking an August break from writing long blog posts, but the photos continue. Bo photographed these flower beds while walking the paths at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.

Walking Galena Illinois – A Sunday Series

Harleys on Main Street, Galena Illinois

Harleys on Main Street © 2012 Bo Mackison

A motorcycle functions entirely in accordance with the laws of reason, and a study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself.  ~Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Desoto House Hotel, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Desoto House Hotel © 2012 Bo Mackison

Galena’s DeSoto House is the oldest continually operating hotel in Illinois. It first opened its doors in 1855 and was six stories high, 250 rooms, and billed as the “largest hotel in the West.” Twenty five years later, following fires and economic downturns in Galena, the top two floors were removed to downsize the hotel more appropriate to its demand. ~ from Scenic Byways

 

Steps Conquer Hillside, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Steps Conquer Hillside © 2012 Bo Mackison

Do the difficult things while they are easy and do the great things while they are small. A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.  ~ Lao Tzu

When we were walking in Galena, I kept seeing huge series of stairs, leading from one street to the next, to the next. Hundreds of steps. It reminded me of the run the town Of Bisbee, Arizona has each October — the 1,000 step race. Surely Galena has at least a thousand steps. How fun to have a similar race in northwestern Illinois.

Chalk Board Menues, Main Street, Galena Illinois

IChalk Board Menues © 2012 Bo Mackison

Mushroom soup, made in small batches with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes, followed by a heaping dish of bread pudding (baked with love) — the top two on my list of comfort foods, any day of the week. ~ Bo Mackison

Wrought Iron Staircase, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Wrought Iron Staircase © 2012 Bo Mackison

The red brick wall was the color of a red brick crayon. ~ Douglas Adams

Many of the houses in Galena are made of a familiar (to me) red brick – there are red brick buildings in most of the river towns up and down the Mississippi. Bricks were made from clay, fired in kilns, and then loaded on barges.

All the river cities had easy and cheap access to this building ingredient. I grew up in a red brick house, went to church in a mammoth red brick structure until its roof and interior burned in a midnight fire when I was 6 years old.

Red Fire Hydrant, Main Street, Galena Illinois

Red Fire Hydrant © 2012 Bo Mackison

Talking is a hydrant in the yard and writing is a faucet upstairs in the house. Opening the first takes the pressure off the second.

~ Robert Frost

Reflection of Buggy in Window, Galena Illinois

Reflection of Buggy © 2012 Bo Mackison

A city is the pulsating product of the human hand and mind, reflecting man’s history, his struggle for freedom, creativity, genius-and his selfishness and errors.” ~ Charles Abrams

_________________

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Galena is one of the most historically rich communities in Illinois. Nearly 85% of the buildings are in a National Register Historic District. It is also a hub for artists and craftspeople.

Rainbow Water Lily

Water Lily at Olbrich Botanical Garden

Rainbow Water Lily © 2012 Bo Mackison

A lake is the landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature.
It is earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature.
–   Henry David Thoreau

I was entranced when I looked closely at this water-lily. Never have I seen so many separate colors in one lily. From the center, moving outward — yellow, red-orange, orange, red, magenta and green. Almost like a rainbow lily. Such a beauty!

——————-

 Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is taking an August break from writing long blog posts, but she is still busy with her photography.

Bo will be at the Agora Art Fair in Fitchburg, Wisconsin (Madison area) on Saturday, August 18. Stop by if you’re in the area and say hello!

Dancing Leaves

Layers of Leaves

Layers of Leaves © 2012 Bo Mackison

“And see the peaceful trees extend
their myriad leaves in leisured dance—
they bear the weight of sky and cloud
upon the fountain of their veins.”
–   Kathleen Raine, Envoi

 

August Break 2012

 

Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. She is taking an August break from writing long blog posts, but the garden walks and the photos continue. Bo photographed these gorgeous leaves at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin.