Exploring new places is part of the process of putting down roots. That sounds almost contradictory! Surely putting down roots is what happens AFTER the explorations and moving?
Roots are vital. Yet if when planting a rosebush you make the new “hole” TOO comfortable, the rose won’t thrive. It’s roots have no incentive to spread, to track down nutrition, and make the plant secure against wind-rock (Thank you, Monty Don, for that snippet on Gardener’s World).
So I went exploring. Seven years since we moved back to Sussex and we haven’t found everything that Sussex has to offer… so, off to West Dean Gardens in gorgeous spring sunshine.
Oh, the joy of discovery! Friends had told me how lovely it is. They didn’t do it justice.
Part of the estate is wide open grazing land, tended by nibbling sheep, with sweeping views up to the South Downs. The gardens are a mix of formal and open: a walled kitchen garden, glasshouses, orchards, bedding and superb drifts of naturalised daffodils among the trees and near the stream. Burbling swiftly along, the River Lavant is a shallow-bedded chalk stream which in places has been “persuaded” to wind through the gardens.
There I discovered this beautiful little stone bridge. Moss and ivy soften the outline of the arch over the crystal clear stream. Water “music” is amplified by the bridge, singing a beguiling melody of “Sit, Stay, and Rest.” So I did what the Lavant requested.
What have I discovered- just another “nice” garden? Much more.
It’s a peaceful place, a resting-and-recharging station, a welcoming setting for meditation, prayer, photography, and deep breathing. I’ve discovered a local place “to be” and divest myself of the mental clutter and emotional stresses of inhabiting a world infected by haste and anger.
I have found a haven. Jesus said to his disciples, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31-32)
I’ll be back. Not as Arnie’s Terminator, but as a thirsty soul drinking… Richard’s Restorer.
The Reflectionary 