Happy New Year 2023

January 12, 2023

How well the skilful gardener drew

Of flow'rs and herbs this dial new;

Where from above the milder sun

Does through a fragrant zodiac run;

And, as it works, th' industrious bee

Computes its time as well as we.

How could such sweet and wholesome hours

Be reckoned but with herbs and flow'rs!

 

From "The Garden" by Andrew Marvell (1621-1678)

 

Humans created calendars and clocks, but have you considered marking the passing of time via garden scents, as Marvell did, or by the opening and closing of morning glories and evening primroses as in Carl Linnaeus' flower clock, or rising in the morning and returning home at night by birdsong, like the Kaluli children in Papua New Guinea?

Impractical, certainly. But imagine the possibilities.

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2023.