WOMEN IN A GARDEN

When I think of Women in a Garden I ponder God's creation.

THE garden . . .  

the place where it all began.

I wonder if creators of the Naples Botanical Gardens had the same picture in mind.

naplesgarden.org

God, our Creator, the One with the fullness of creativity, created creation.

God's creation was given gifts to continue God's creativity in this world that God created for us.

A WOMAN

IN A GARDEN

She found a place to linger and stretch her ballerina legs,
A place of quiet contemplation as she prepares for her next dance.
An agile woman of elegance with majestic movement in her limbs..

A perfect place to enjoy God's creation surrounding the result of human creativity given to us by God.

She is ready for whatever greets her, standing tall and confident.

The artists of Zimbabwe were at the gardens, creating new pieces, when I visited the gardens.

 They find 'summer' places where the weather invites them.

I hear they have been in many botanical gardens all over the United States.

 What a wonder to enjoy their art before they move to another natural setting.

There were many creations but I choose to focus on the women in the garden.

  

Tall and sure, water pot in hand,
she is ready to conquer another day.
Her elongated beauty rests within.

I am awe struck by the foliage that naturally embraces these creations.

Shades of purple and chartreuse blend beautifully as they create

a blanket for this frolicking family, arms flung into the air.

Can you see papa and mama with the little ones?

FAMILY: a joy-filled day to embrace one's surroundings.

Mother and child.
Mother is dressed in her finest as she presents baby to the world.
FIREWORKS of bromeliads celebrate with her as they display
popping colors that sparkle in the sun.

The twirl of mother's fabric enhances her height.
A sad face?  I wonder.
What a beautiful child she carries through the shell-filled dune.
She almost seems engulfed by palms that squeeze close to her.
Sort of like life that presses in just a little too close.
I wonder if she is protecting her child from all the
pressing anxieties of life until the little one is
old enough to understand.

I wonder as I wander from open space to tight enclosures.
Life is like that, isn't it.
Sometimes I flourish in a sense of  freedom that allows me to twirl freely or linger longer in open spaces.
Sometimes the world presses in, like foliage growing too full and too close.
Sometimes life-breath gets sucked right out of me.
So I stand still.
       I Wait.
Then I take a deep breath.
And move to another, God-created, space.

"Then God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their kind with seed in them," and it was so..."   Genesis 1:11