IS ALL SAID AND DONE?

Fish Pond – a "nonagenarian" perspective

When I came back to Stockholm from my two months' visit to Berkeley in June 2010, an intriguing miniseries was shown on Swedish television. It was called "John Adams" and gave us Swedes a refreshing course in the American independence years. Educative as it was, there is only one episode that etched itself onto my memory. It dealt with President John Adams as a nonagenarian.

Old and worn down, almost crippled and bowed he staggered along in his garden, grasping with his trembling right a staff whilst leaning heavily on his son. Still, his mind was unbroken and full of the uncanny creativity of age. This showed clearly in a declaration he made to his offspring, which I take the liberty of quoting verbatim:

"I have seen the Queen of France with 18 million livres of diamonds on her person. But I declare that all the charms of her face and figure, added to all the glitter of her jewels, did not impress me as much as that little shrub right there! My mother always said, that I never delighted enough in the mundane. But now I find, if i look at even the smallest thing, my imagination begins to roam the milky way!"

… did not impress me as much as that little shrub right there!

John Adams (mini-series). Click on the picture to see the sequence!

I have not quite yet arrived at that level of enlightenment, even if I see myself closer to John Adams' stage of life than to that of Emil Ems only five years ago! Still, this little story got me thinking. I have been a very busy man during the first seven years of my retirement, restlessly hammering away at the keys of my computer, so as to arrive at the ultimate end: the publishing of my great "oeuvre". Now that is finished, I am somewhat at a loss. What should I do now? Can there possibly be a task still worth doing?

Fish pond – a "septuagenarian" perspective

The John Adams episode told me to relax. As we grow older, the world around us appears to be shrinking. Old friends pass away, old passions fade, formerly strong feelings only leave an afterglow, however pleasant. But the genuine urge to investigate the universe remains; the brain accepts that the world has become smaller, and starts appreciating details in the small.

"Objets trouvés" in Marcia Donahue's garden "gallery"

Thus, I can permit myself to cease dreaming of grand projects. Even small ones, which would concentrate on what my aging mind is interested in, will suffice to keep the creative flame alive and burning.

A recent experience reinforces this conclusion. I am presently back in Berkeley for a short stay. This time no grand projects, just the simple task of meeting old friends and acquaintances, and present them my new book as a gift. In that context, one of those, Karl Reeh, invited me to visit an old artist friend of his, called Marcia Donahue.

This picture and the following are all taken in Marcia Donahue's garden

Now, Marcia is an intriguing artist. She takes a delight in shaping small objects, hiding them away in her lustrous garden. The latter is so densely planted that it likens a wild jungle in South Asia, barely leaving room for small pathways and, in its center, a small pond where golden fish are feeding on the water lilies.

Each Sunday afternoon, she keeps her garden "gallery" open to visitors. Whilst Karl was chatting with the artist, I ambled around within the dense greenery, admiring all the miniature marvels created by Marcia. Unfortunately, my camera chose to quit on me, to my despair. But the artist, recognizing my creative eagerness to document it all, graciously gave me permit to revisit the garden at any time, whenever I would deem conditions favorable for picture taking.

So Saturday last, in late afternoon, I got my act together and walked down to Wheeler Street to revisit this enchanted place. The result can be seen in the pictures I am adding below. They all inspired me greatly, let me tell you. But before letting you look at them, a final exclamation seems in order, in the spirit of John Adams, to honor a great Berkeley artist and for having found a new perspective on life and work:

There is no hurry anymore, when all is said and done!

"Rejoice evermore!"

Sculpture shaped by Sara Tool, Marcia Donahue's daughter 

IT'S POTLUCK TIME!

Time to get our attention back down to Earth from the lofty cupolas. But this time, we are not gazing at flowers, at least not directly: rather, people, in their most neighborly activity, is what we will be studying.

The cosy neighbors of Stuart Street, organized in SNAP, arrange a street party twice a year or more, called a "Potluck". For us Europeans, this means you bring your own food and drink and have a ball around a large common table. The place for this event is the street segment just above the signs you see in the above picture, the barrier fending off any unwelcome motorists who might interfere in the general fun.

I had heard this party mentioned some time ago, but it had slipped my mind until, Saturday last, I got the feeling in the morning of having missed something important. Sure enough, soon I got an e-mail from Mugur, Karl's partner, that a potluck was in preparation. Off I rushed, grabbing a bottle of wine on my way out, eager not to miss the fun. Karl was just about to put the above signs on the street, blocking off the second segment of Stuart Street between Fulton and Ellsworth.

No sign of a party yet, but, further up the street I could glimpse some activities on the roundabout at Ellsworth. It turned out that the good neighbors of Stuart had found it fruitful to start the event by doing a bit of gardening on the flowerbeds there. This gave me a sudden flash-back to the co-operative on Myrstuguberget in Huddinge, where I used to own a small house, and where all of us partners used to clean the commons twice a year.

Myrstuguberget, a nice residential co-operative south of Stockholm
Architect: Ralph Erskine   Photographer: Ambercroft

It was heart-warming to see how, even in this the most individualistic country of them all, there was a vivid community spirit expressing itself in the neighborhood.

Whilst this was going on, other participants started to put tables and chairs on the street, under the warm sunshine of a Californian morning. I was a bit ashamed of having brought only wine, but this did not prevent me from savoring all the delicious food being served smack on the street and having a good time, whilst observing the local mores.

In contrast to us Swedes (counting even myself among this tacit crowd) the Stuart residents are a mighty talkative bunch. During the meal, the latest news were being traded and an easy sense of comradeship reigned over this small enclave. With the food and drink all finished, and when us Swedes would tend to leave for home, the real fun began with a great round of story telling and joke rendering, to the great amusement of all of us. But why spill unnecessary words on this; better let the pictures below do the telling. But, dear readers, stay tuned; there is more text to come after those pictures!

Thank you, dear readers, for staying with me on the blog post. I would now like to take the occasion to present to you two Master Gardeners that happen to live opposite each other on that special stretch of Stuart Street where we are having the Potluck. Both have earned rewards from the City for their innovative and sustainable street gardens. The Gentleman below is Wilbur Hoff who, together with his partner Kris, keeps a wonderland of many flowered buds in front of his house. The small marvels are native plants, who are economical, if not to say parsimonious in their use of water. You see him standing in his backyard, who is no less colorful than the front. 

Master Gardener Wilbur Hoff     Below his Prize

Not to be bested by his friend and close neighbor, the Gentleman below has chosen quite a different route towards sustainable gardening. Karl Reeh, already well known to you from earlier blog posts, has, together with his late partner Jerry Rodgers built up what I only can describe as a kind of South-East Asian jungle, with bamboo trees, banana trees and all, and so densely cultivated that his house can  hardly be seen within this green overwhelmingness.

Master Gardener Karl Reeh    To the left his Prize

I am lifting my cap to these two floriculturists. But the story would not be complete without recalling a third Magnus of all things flowery:  Rudi Schmid, Professor in Botany, retired from UCB and editor of a prominent journal in the field. You have met him already in an earlier blog post (Lofty Parks). Between the three of them, you would be hard put to get a question about gardening and the flowers therein unanswered, let me assure you!