Nature's Sculptures

In contrast to last year,  April in 2011 has not yet brought us any warm spring days. Unable to work in our gardens, we have more time to observe the small changes in the plants around us that are often overlooked when we are greeted with masses of colorful crocuses and daffodils. Therefore, in keeping with the community's current discussions on the creative arts (and here  - a shout-out to the Chester Arts Centre and its Brain Fitness program designed to stimulate creativity), we are offering a few photos of nature's own sculptures. 



 What appears to be an overhead shot of an icy waterfall, frozen in time, with spring greenery beginning to sprout around a rocky outcrop, is actually the hollowed trunk of an old apple tree.

With a little imagination, the subject above might be interpreted as a wise old owl peering out from his lair or perhaps a woodland spirit giving one the evil eye, while the strong forms and "brush-strokes" in the photo below resemble a piece of modern art rendered in an impressionist style.

The last two nature sculptures in this series provide a contrast between two determined plants. One photo shows a wisteria whose coils of branches have entwined the pergola support-post, and each other, with such vigor that they have supplanted the pillar and now form the actual support of  the pergola. With a little more imagination, the slender wisteria form calls to mind a well-know sculpture: "The Three Graces". The other photo might be a take on the famous painting "The Birth of Venus", as a young sapling arises straight up from the ruins of an old apple tree (not quite a clam shell, but with at least a hint of that shape). Life in its many forms is a persistent and mysterious force (as is the coding for blogging and thus a problem with setting the photos in the correct order).  

Those gardeners still looking forward to the beauty of colour in their gardens, however, will be interested in the next meeting of Chester Garden Club, on April 18th,  when Cynthia Spraggs will present an illustrated talk on her recent trip to Nicaragua. Known as "the land of lakes and volcanoes",  the biodiversity of that unique eco-system provides a landscape rich in colour. Be sure to attend her presentation: Wildflowers and Orchids that Grow Around Nicaragua's Volcanoes.