Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

Probably the most satisfying aspect of working as a gardener at the IMA is to be present at the intersection of art and nature.  Not just being able to cruise the galleries indoors, or seeing some sculpture in the gardens; but bit by bit creating new art experiences – at least in my head.  And that is where art starts forming, as the mind combines the previously unrelated.

Ooooo, the blog is getting a little too deep and self-consciously artsy.

Who said something about art being either plagiarism or genius?  In the horticulture trade, one of the first things a gardener learns is to borrow and adapt what others do. A good gardener  gives proper credit when told, “That is a nice plant combination.”  So, John Teramoto, Marty Krause, Annette Schlagenhauff (am I forgetting anyone?) – thank you for the exhibit Lay of the Land.

The exhibit combining Asian and Western art prints and poetry, set me to thinking about how often images in the galleries, or music and poetry cause me to recall some beautiful place I’ve experienced.  Nice memories and feelings …. trying to capture the bliss of the moment.

So as Autumn brings another season to a close, I offer some images and poems, with apologies to the artists,  that reminded this gardener of the promise and beauty of Spring as compensation for labors…

Work
The corn is baking in blue smoke,
Pickled tomato is piled ready on my plate,
And the chrysocolla of a young cedar branch is close.
Yet the breakfast that should be calm and enjoyable
makes me uneasy.
I’m worried about the manure I threw yesterday
From the horsecart and left on the slope.
Kenji Miyazawa 1896-1933

Manure and compost on vegetable garden at Oldfields

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This week-end is Perennial Premiere at the IMA’s Madeline F. Elder Greenhouse. As some of you know, our retail shop is open year-round with houseplants and tropicals for sale. But the third week of April, we break out the perennials, woody plants, and my favorite: the summer annuals. Sue Nord Peiffer, Greenhouse Supervisor, maintains a good mix of cutting edge new plants and tried and true favorites.

Being the nature woman she is, there is also a wide variety of natives for sun and shade. For those more in to garden rooms than gardens, there’s a wide range of non-plant garden related items as well (I’m a big fan of the battery operated paper lanterns). But since I get to write this blog, I’m going to concentrate on plants-  particularly the ones I like best. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s that time of the year when garden writers (those of us living in areas with real winters especially) inevitably mention the first flowering plants of the year. I don’t want to be one of those writers. But I am. I can’t help it. When you see those first buds swelling, then showing color, then actually in full bloom… ooooowee, it thrills you so. Even the first tiny Crocus pushing itself up through the mulch is most welcome. A few warm days and this little feller will be in bloom.

Crocus pushing itself up through the mulch

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I am ready. Ready to have my house back. Ready to throw everything out of our holding greenhouse. Ready to empty the root cellar. Ready to get on with Spring. By April the urge to throw every surviving plant in my house outside is all consuming. I’m tired of them demanding water (the sink is right there, get it yourself). I’m tired of leaves falling. I’m tired of the ones that just barely hang on so you give them more time but they never really do anything. I’m tired of them taking more than their rightful share of space. So when May arrives each day is marked off the calendar as we approach that most glorious day of all days – the day of frost-free weather.

People who do not garden fail to have even the slightest notion of how important that date is. This is the day when the dahlias can go in the ground. This is the day when the tomatoes can be planted. This is the day the houseplants can go out on the porch. THIS IS THE DAY WHEN WE GET OUR HOUSES BACK! For two months I’ve been fighting with the Enstetes in my laundry room for access to the dryer. I finally cut a leaf off one of them this week. At the same time I am so grateful that my two biggest are still alive and growing. They are actually pushing against the ceiling (say a little prayer for some of the smaller ones in the plant room). In just a few weeks their huge burgundy and green leaves will bring tropical splendor back to my yard. That’s one of them in the background of this picture.

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I love my DNA! I love your DNA! I love everybody’s DNA (Is that a double helix in your pocket or are you glad to see me?). It’s what makes each of us our own little traveling Freak Show. I have always been interested in genetic diversity when I think about it. I grew up in a family of 9 children. Alright, alright, I will tell you. I am 8 of 9. My parents both had essentially black hair in their youth, but the 9 offspring? Let me see – black, dirty blonde, black, dark brunette, black, auburn, brunette, coffee bean brown, dirty blonde. Can you tell which one is me? I swear in the 5th grade if someone said my hair was black I would say, “No, it’s coffee bean brown” (shut up Chad). I got it from a hair dye ad. It’s no wonder I was picked after the ugly girls for softball.

I also remember a picture of my oldest brother taken with one of those Bazooka Joe Bubble Gum cameras – I am so damn old and this is not the Joe of my youth. He was sitting out in the yard in jeans and a flannel shirt I think, about 8 probably. When I was about 6 I would cry because people would say it wasn’t me. Read the rest of this entry »