Category: Beauty

The Second Look: the Garden Wall at Brookgreen Gardens

So grateful that I returned for a second visit in the light of spring to see what was beyond the garden wall at Brookgreen Gardens.

The flickering candlelight on the slope outside the garden wall in December had been unexpected. The dark night was the backdrop during ‘Nights of a Thousand Candles.” The candlelight in the darkness was such a contrast after moving through the glorious spectacle of the electrical light show that showcased the garden and sparked wonder in so many ways. There was a joyous energy of delight and awe as we explored the garden paths and then, at the back wall, encountered the quiet of candlelight and the backdrop of winter darkness. I wondered, “What is beyond the garden wall?” The darkness offered no clue. But I heard a prompt: “Come back in the spring.”

My curiosity was kindled.

I received the answer when I returned in March 2026.

Continue reading “The Second Look: the Garden Wall at Brookgreen Gardens” →
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The Redemption of Our Wasted Time

During my visit to Brookgreen Gardens and after it, the words “cri du coeur” arrived in my awareness. I remembered that Phil Cousineau mentioned the “cri du coeur” in The Art of Pilgrimage so days after returning home, pulled my copy from the shelf. The cri du coeur, the cry in the heart, issues the calling.

“What if we… long for a form of travel that responds to a genuine cri du coeur, a longing for a taste of mystery, a touch of the sacred?

For millennia, this cry in the heart for embarking upon a meaningful journey has been answer by pilgrimage, a transformative journey to a sacred center. … Always, it is a journey of risk and renewal. For a journey without challenge has no meaning; one without purpose has no soul.”

Decades ago, “Remember them” resonated as my cri du coeur, and was the catalyst for my own pilgrimage.

“Pilgrimage” as noted by Phil Cousineau:
“Pilgrimage is a powerful metaphor for any journey with the purpose of finding something that matters deeply to the traveler. With a deepening of focus, keen preparation, attention to the path below our feet and respect for the destination at hand, it is possible to transform even the most ordinary trip into a sacred journey, a pilgrimage… What legendary travelers have taught us since Pausanius and Marco Polo is that the art of travel is the art of seeing what is sacred.”

“Pilgrimage is the kind of journeying that marks the move from mindless to mindful, soulless to soulful travel. The difference may be subtle or dramatic; by definition it is life-changing. It means being alert to the times when all that’s needed is a trip to a remote place to simply lose yourself, and to the times when what’s needed is a journey to a sacred place, in all its glorious and fearsome masks, to find yourself.”

I am being attentive to the words ‘the cry of the heart.’ Why did the words cri du coeur arrive? There is the need for synthesis that can’t be rushed.

With “The Art of Pilgrimage” off the shelf, I returned to other pages I had read so many times before. “Considering the Marvel,” speaks to Henry Beston’s experience on Cape Cod to witness the “incomparable pageant of nature and the year”:

“Beston’s book, The Outermost House, became a model witness for what nature has to teach us. There was always something “poetic and mysterious, such as the bird tracks in the sand dunes. One day he contemplates the surf and looks out to sea, imagining what lies on the other side—Santiago de Compostela, “renown of pilgrims”—and recalling how when he was there he was offered a scallop shell, but “I would have none of it, and got myself a seashell from some Galician fisherfolk.” This spirit of seeing for yourself and finding your own talisman reflects the true pilgrim spirit.”

“Consider the marvel of what we see,” he writes in the hushed tones of the contemplative traveler. “Somewhere in ocean, perhaps a thousand miles and more from this beach, the pulse beat of earth liberates a vibration, an ocean wave… So, it goes night and day, and will go till the secret heart of the earth strikes out its last slow beat and the last wave dissolves upon the forsaken shore.”

…The gift he (Beston) brought back, his insights, his observations, are a constant reminder of the beauty and mystery available to those, using as the Sufis said, “the eyes of the heart.” Like the greatest of travel writers, he reveals how any journey, whether as part of a crowd or in solitude, can produce the moment of awe, the vision, contact with the numinous. In stillness, at the still point of our journey, is the redemption of our wasted time.”

The pause is the beauty.

The Art of Pilgrimage – The Seekers Guide to Making Travel Sacred by Phil Cousineau


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Beyond the Garden Wall

I returned to the back wall of Brookgreen Garden and looked out on what seemed to be a wide grass path cutting through undeveloped wetland. Most of the gates that opened to stairs leading down into this natural area were locked but to the far left, there was an opening and a path offering access. I walked down the path and found a sign:

This “undeveloped land” was actually developed. Beyond the garden wall were abandoned rice fields. If I hadn’t read the sign, I would have believed the land to be undeveloped wetlands. I had no idea. Further down the path was the Brookgreen Creek, which connected to the Waccamaw River. Both flow with fresh tidal water.

Continue reading “Beyond the Garden Wall” →
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The Lightness of Being in Bronze

“Wind on the Water” is along Brookgreen Garden’s Live Oak Allee near Jessamine Pond. A sister sculpture “The Spacewalker” is nearby. Its shadow is below. Both sculptures by Richard McDermott Miller.

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Return to the Heart Space

From Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond:

“Next time a resentment, negativity, or irritation comes to your mind, for example, and you want to play it out or attach to it, move the thought or person literally into your heart space because such commentaries are almost entirely lodged in your head.

There, surround it with silence (which is much easier to do in the heart).

There, it is surrounded with blood, which will often feel warm like coals.

In this place, it is almost impossible to comment, judge, create story lines or remain antagonistic. You are in a place that does not create or feed on contraries but is the natural organ of life, enbodiment, and love. Love lives and thrives in the heart space.“

These words are hidden in Appendix D (pages 204-205). By chance, I opened the book to these pages and “heart space” caught my attention. I was instantly reminded of where I needed to be. There is peace in the heart space.

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The silent turning of cycles and rhythms

Wayne Muller writes: “Every day, every year circles around the silent turning of cycles and rhythms. At Christmas we are reminded to look carefully, to remember that God can take birth where and when we least expect it, and to rejoice when we discover even the tiniest, infant manifestation of the divine. Hanukkah reminds us again and again that in the dark the light is born, that it is never fully extinguished, no matter how hopeless and impenetrable the darkness. The Crucifixion reminds us that all things must die, and Easter that all things will be reborn. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur remind us that we must account for our lives, our actions, be mindful of what we have done, atone for our mistakes, and begin always and again anew. In the month of Ramadan, we fast and pray, and devote ourselves to a God who will not leave us comfortless. On Sabbath we rest and remember that we are cared for. “

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Embracing transitions

What a difference a few weeks make. I returned to capture the bare-branch beauty of the Japanese maple after its Autumn show only to discover the tree holding on to some of its leaves. The sight was a visual reminder of transition. Not ‘photo worthy’ beauty, but still, in process of a new cycle that needs to be acknowledged, not dismissed.

Many may pass by the late fall garden but maybe it helps process our own transitions.

William Bridges writes in Managing Transitions, “Because transition is a process by which people unplug from an old world and plug into a new world, we can say that transition starts with an ending and finishes with a beginning.”

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Embracing brief beauty

Autumn’s peak: The sky, the angle of the sun and the Japanese Maple leaves created the most vibrant in-person vision for only a few minutes. We stood there soaking in the amazing show of colors, light and reflection. Even now, in December, I continue to reflect on the vibrancy that my memory captured, but the camera did not. That is the beauty, to see wonder in the everydayness and to draw it (the beauty, the wonder) inward.

Those leaves are gone now but what a delight to receive the nourishment of brief beauty.

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They lived. They loved. They have a story to tell

Remember
You are the hands of the present generation.
You hold the hands of a future generation.
You hold the hands of past generations, some now departed, and they in turn held the hands of older generations.
Hearts that once beat with life still beat in remembrance. 

It is All Souls’ Day, a day not recognized through the spring and early summer of my life.  Since writing the words above as the Foreword of Resurgam – Standing on the Ground of Remembrance in 2008, there have been the departures of older generations and the arrivals of younger generations.

Now it’s a day with meaning, a day to pause, to remember them and reflect on all those hands and hearts that once walked on this earth and cultivated the ground in so many loving ways. All the unseen actions that went unrecognized yet made a difference in the future, which has become the present. 

To honor them and remember them, I’m sharing “Stones Unknown,” about finding peace in the most unexpected place. The inspiration (not surprisingly) was a stone.  This is a chapter from the revised story—The Ground of Remembrance—the fruit received through cycles of seasons from the hearts and hands of older generations. As the early story of Resurgam goes, “They lived. They loved. They have a story to tell.” I have been listening and learning. This small, yet new chapter took 25 years of learning how to listen and trust my heart. It is the beginning.  My heart overflows with gratitude for a gift from past generations that continues to grow.

Read: Stones Unknown

Background: A photograph of a solitary soldier standing on a hill of ruins captured my attention in 2013. (Hill of Loss) Something was familiar. The caption revealed the location: “A solitary American soldier looks at a ruined church on the crest of Montfaucon, France, after the town was captured.” I had been to there! My guide took me to Montfaucon on my way to Cote 304. That discovery and the journey inspired a new chapter of fiction, Stones Unknown in 2022.

From the book “RESURGAM – Standing on the Ground of Remembrance” – the discovery of Montfaucon, France (and the Center for Peace):

(c) 2022 Jean Niedert, an excerpt from “The Ground of Remembrance”

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John ‘O’Donohue writes: “…the life within us calls out for expression. This is what creativity serves. It endeavors to bring some of our hidden life to expression in order than we might come to see who we are. When we are creative, we help the unknown to become known, the invisible to be seen and the rich darkness within us to become illuminated. “

From the book: Beauty: The Invisible Embrace by John O’Donohue

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The spirit of a tree

St. Simons Island is known for its tree spirits. I was determined to visit all eleven listed in the Tree Spirit Scavenger Hunt. Finding some are challenging.

Most interesting, the “tree spirit” with the most presence was not on the list. The featured photograph is a majestic live oak at Fort Frederica on St. Simons Island. As I walked the Broad Street path to the fort, the presence of the tree drew my attention. It’s not an original tree from colonial times but it’s an old tree that’s weathered many storms. All I know is the tree had a presence and spirit not carved by human hands.

Creativity calls out to me, “Pick up a soft pencil or charcoal and draw it.”

Continue reading “The spirit of a tree” →
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Tree Places

“Tree Places” is pattern 171 in A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander, Sara Ishikawa and Murray Silverstein. “Trees are precious. Keep them. Leave them intact.”

From the book A Pattern Language: “The trees that people love create special social places: places to be in, and pass through, places you can dream about, and places you can draw. Trees have the potential to create various kinds of social places:

  • an umbrella—where a single, low-sprawling tree like a live oak defines an outdoor room
  • a pair—where two trees form a gateway
  • a grove—where several trees cluster together
  • a square—where they enclose an open space
  • an avenue—where a double row of trees, their crowns touching, line a path or street
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Waiting without an agenda

Macrina Widerkehr: We know there are stars so far away that their light has not yet reached the earth. Could the same be said about the bright ideas, virtues, creativity and dreams of our own lives? Perhaps some night when you get up to pray, something will turn over in someone’s heart and find its voice all because of your small prayer. Never underestimate what little acts of love can accomplish. Do not take lightly the sacred connections that are possible in daily life. Perhaps our very waiting in the darkness gives some struggling unknown pilgrim of the hours hope.“

Waiting without an agenda

“Vigils is a time of exquisite beauty. It is a time for waiting and watching under the mantle of mystery. It can be a prayer of waiting without agenda, without urgency. We often wait for things we cannot change.

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The rill garden: a place of enchantment

If you’re not familiar with the rill garden created by Geoffrey Jellicoe, here’s a lovely introduction that provides sight and sound.

Watch: Shute Garden (4:16 mins) This is a BBC video clip from episode 4 of “The Secret History of the British Garden” by Monty Don.

The moment Monty Don and Suzy Lewis passed through the gate of Shute House Garden, I was instantly transported to a place of enchantment. The water is channeled from the River Nadder into a series of canals, pools and waterfalls. It pours down a series of copper chambers in the rill which create different notes on the musical scale.

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Sound: Warm as sunlight… a calming, centering glow

David George Haskell writes: “A tone clear and warm as sunlight sounds from the giant bronze bell. The ring contains no hint of clang or jangle, just a single frequency, sweetened and fattened by overtones, pitched a few notes below middle C, exactly at the midpoint range of human speech. 

His words create a sound.  I imagine listening to this bronze bell while wondering where it might be. 

Haskell continues: Although I stand two meters away from the bell, the sound seems to emerge from within me, a calming, centering glow that spreads from chest to extremities, then flows outward into my perception of the park which I stand. 

Haskell reveals he’s standing in Hiroshima Peace Park listening to the Peace Bell, which visitors can ring. The resonate sound of the peace bell arrived in my imagination and awareness. I heard it. Here’s a different version of place making and peace making—of cultivating sound and a sense of peace.

“A child stands on tiptoe and reaches up to haul on a rope dangling from the beam. She pulls back, then releases, and the wooden striker swings onto the bell. The sound rings again. Pure and steady toned, with a slight pulsation, a swelling of amplitude that comes at a pace just slower than a calm heartbeat.” 

David George Haskell writes about the Peace Bell, it’s maker, Masahiko Katori and introduces the 100 Soundcapes of Japan in his book, Sounds Wild and Broken—Sonic Marvels, Evolutions Creativity and the Crisis of Sensory Extinction.” He notes the ringing of the Peace Bell is Soundscape 76.  

The 100 Soudscapes of Japan is a government program launched in 1996 to combat noise pollution, to honor significant soundscapes and to prompt people to rediscover the natural sounds around them and encourage deeper listening.

Haskell reminds us, “The wonders of human culture and the living world come to us through many senses. To only honor material objects and spaces is to exclude much of what gives life joy and meaning.”

I pause to recognize how much sound gets cast into the background, and yet, it’s often the sounds of nature that give life joy and spark a sense of wonder.

Wikipedia: 100 Soundscapes of Japan

Read an excerpt from David George Haskel’s book that’s repurposed as an article in Spirituality and Health:  100 Sounds and a Culture of Listening

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“What will happen to our hearts if there is no place to find the beauty of emptiness in an overstuffed world? “ – Joan Chittister

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Finding a sheltering space (not a coffee shop)

In my creative meanders, this garden visit was on a whim. (Proving “yes” is the best response to an encouraging inner nudge to explore something unknown or forgotten.)

I entered a canopy of white crepe myrtles that created a sheltering space. It seemed as if two hands held an offering to any visitor. I sat on a bench and listened. The gentle bubbling of the fountain, the birdsong, the wind rustling leaves. I watched the water run down the side of the marble fountain. It was a place of peace. I felt unexpectedly happy as my eyes explored this space of details easily missed by sweeping surface glances. 

Continue reading “Finding a sheltering space (not a coffee shop)” →
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Learning about restorative gardens

Taking the Introduction to Therapeutic Horticulture course (online) during May-July enabled me to see the “hidden” structures in gardens. Of course, the structure is always in clear view, but I haven’t attended to those details until now. 

My interest has landed on restorative gardens, the characteristics in healing gardens and the therapeutic power of beauty.  Here’s what holding my attention this month:

Four phases of interaction in nature (addressed in Johan Ottosson’s doctoral thesis, The Importance of Nature in Coping):

  • Phase I – Inert objects
  • Phase II – Plants and greenery 
  • Phase I + II – Nature 
  • Phase III – Animals 
  • Phase IV – People 

Eight characteristics of a restorative garden (Grahn, 1991) (Stigsdotter 2015):

  1. Serene
  2. Wild
  3. Rich in species
  4. Space
  5. The common
  6. The pleasure garden
  7. Festive 
  8. Culture
Continue reading “Learning about restorative gardens” →
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Placemaking inspires reinvention

porch swings in a park

From the Project for Public Spaces: Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Strengthening the connection between people and the places they share, placemaking refers to a collaborative process by which we can shape our public realm in order to maximize shared value. More than just promoting better urban design, placemaking facilitates creative patterns of use, paying particular attention to the physical, cultural, and social identities that define a place and support its ongoing evolution.

When you focus on place, you do everything differently

Read more from Project for Public Spaces: What is Placemaking?

You’ll find a Placemaking booklet on the PPS page that you can download.

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Discovering “place maker” and contemplating “peace maker”

“I feel called to be a ‘place maker’ to set down roots in a society that is constantly on the move.” – H.D.

My introduction to “place maker” arrived when I read H.D.’s forum post regarding her interest in therapeutic horticulture as the course ends.  My mind kept playing with “l” and “e”: place maker | peace maker.  I could see the interconnectedness in the interplay of place and peace.

What else could I find?

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The plant would still be distinguished… and that in itself is its own reward

“Struggling over steep hills covered with hedgerows, trees, and generally impenetrable jungle, one of my men turned to me and pointed a hand, filled with cuts and scratches, at a rather distinguished-looking plant with soft red flowers… – Sandy Kempner

I received an email on Friday and learned an acquaintance was reading Resurgam. Although he was on page 39, he offered feedback, which included:  “Phil, we learn, is a poet, but there is also Sandy’s beautiful and profound letter.  The reader is led not simply to hear such voices respectfully but to think along with their spirit.  His cherished plant among the blasted warscape provoked in me this remembrance of Whitehead’s words….“

With the mention of Sandy Kempner’s letter, the plant with red flowers waving gaily in the downpour and the tired Marine who wrote the letter arrived in my memory.  What timing.

Beauty as a form of emotional nourishment

This letter records beauty as a form of emotional nourishment. Originally, I found Sandy’s letter in the early months of my search for Alpha Company way back in my late twenties. For me, so much was unknown and there were many battles with doubt at that time. The unexpected beauty described in Sandy’s letter offered a completely different perspective. 

Continue reading “The plant would still be distinguished… and that in itself is its own reward” →
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Beauty as seen by Sandy Kempner

“It makes a sound, and the plant was beautiful, and the thought was kind, and the person was humane, and distinguished and brave, not merely because other people recognized it as such, but because it is, and it is, and it is.“

Dear Aunt Fannie,
This morning, my platoon and I were finishing up a three-day patrol. Struggling over steep hills covered with hedgerows, trees, and generally impenetrable jungle, one of my men turned to me and pointed a hand, filled with cuts and scratches, at a rather distinguished-looking plant with soft red flowers waving gaily in the downpour (which had been going on ever since the patrol began) and said, “That is the first plant I have seen today which didn’t have thorns on it.” I immediately thought of you. 

Continue reading “Beauty as seen by Sandy Kempner” →
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