The Idea of a Garden

Pollan states, "The gardener tends not to be romantic about nature" (607). However, White claims "the garden yet remains to be described - a spot of elegance and floral beauty" (167). Both authors are reflecting about the different sides of nature, Pollan about disaster and White about peace. Both sides however show the beauty that nature and gardens can show.

The Idea of a Garden

Gardens that are no more are described by Sharon White throughout “Vanished Gardens.” But this does not upset Sharon for we still live with nature, and beauty all around. This idea of gardens is closest to Pollan’s seventh discussion “The garden doesn’t take it for granted that man’s impact on nature will always be negative. Perhaps he’s observed how his own garden has made this patch of land a better place, even by nature’s own standards. His garden has greatly increased the diversity and abundance of life in this place.” Everyone says nature is disappearing from our lives you just have to look deeper as Sharon proves in the morning glory. She sees “down the street from her the rubble and trash along the narrow alley by a house is covered by morning glories, bright blue flowers popping out over tires and plastic wrappers and pieces of wood.”(136) Sharon stated in one of her interviews that she felt nature is not disappearing, just changing. This goes directly with Pollan’s idea that the “environment in not, and has never been, a neutral, fixed backdrop; it is in fact alive, changing all the time.” “Vanishing Gardens” may even make a person cry for all this beauty and nature that was blossoming in the past is no more today. But this is not a sad book because we all believe in nature.

The Idea of a Garden

Pollan describes  how nature is always changing, and how the gardener should be ready to accept those changes. He states that "[The gardener] accepts contingency, his own and nature's...The gardener learns to play the hand he's been dealt"(606). A good gardener is one that can adapt to the changes of nature.
White describes with great detail the multiple things bamboo is used for in a tea house her son admires " He longs to touch the bamboo fence, the slim yellow pieces held fast by black twine, or the sliding paper windows, or the littlwe bowl wit water dripping slowly from a piece of bamboo, or the woven rush mats,...or the drainpipe made of a large stem of bamboo split in half" (53). The first author, Pollan explains the significance of adapting to nature. White gives an example of how adapting and using nature to the best of its ability can be beneficial.

The Idea Of Garden

Polan said a lot in his essay but he states "The gardener doesn't take it for granted that man's impact on nature will always be negative" . Sharon White also writes that "It won't be long for all this abundance to be whittled down into a place not called a wilderness at all". Both authors are trying to state the point that when nature is tampered with by people no matter the situation there will always be a negative outcome. We definitely need wood for majority of stuff in the world to make it a comfortable place to live but it is destroying trees and nature on the other hand

The Idea of a Garden

Pollan had a section of garden thathe couldn't grow anything in. He tried planting numerous species of plant but nothing would grow. So he stoped to see what naturally grows in the area of his garden and concluded that raspberries would do well. Pollan explains how nature is the true decider of what grows and what doesn't in the quote "The good gardener commonly borrows his methods, if not his goals, from nature herself... in the end she will let us know what does and does not work" (The Idea of a Garden, 609). Sharon White has to abide by these rules in her first garden. "My first garden was tropical. I planted it in my great aunt's back yard in Florida with dust and rocks" (Vanished Gardens, 3) Because her garden was in a tropical location it had to be a tropical garden. Nature dictates what can grow in what places.

Liam Bradley

The Idea of a Garden

In "The Idea of Gardens" and Vanished Gardens many of the ideas about gardens are apparent. In Michael Pollan's essay "The Idea of a Garden" he states "Perhaps he's observed (the gardener) how his own garden has made this patch of land a better place, even by nature's own standards. His gardening has greatly increased the diversity and abundance of life in this place" (pg 608). In one of her stories Sharon White can relate to this quote when she describes "the outline of John Bartram's botanic garden in a slope down to the river" (87). She continues, " a drawing of the garden that William Bartram made in 1758 and his father sent to Collinson shows the garden and the house from the river" (87). William and his father had planted this garden and around their house and after drawing the garden around the house there is a sense of "diversity and abundance" withing the drawing because of the garden that was planted.

The Idea of a Garden

Pollan writes, "This was part of the same storm that ripped open the bark of my ash tree," (596, The Idea of a Garden). Sharon White says, "My first garden was tropical. I planted it in my great aunt's backyard in Florida with dust and rocks and dry thick leaves as big as my hand," (3, Vanished Gardens). Both of these quotes talk about some event that reminds the writer of something meaningful to them. Pollan remembers his ash tree when he thinks of the tornado that hit his town, and White thinks her first garden when she thinks of her great aunt.

The Idea of a Garden

The garden of man, is mans attempt to continue, cultivate, and preserve certain natural fancies. A garden has always been considered a very natural endeavor of man, at least more so than most other interests. However, upon reading Pollan's essay "The Idea of a Garden", we see that perhaps we have a distorted and subjective perspective on what a garden should be, if it should be at all. White says of her garden, "I like to think its like walking past a woodland garden, the hot breeze pushing the striped lilies this way and that" (179). Here she is talking about how the garden is something preserves the idea of another place, or more, it represents that other place and time in itself. Here the garden is described as a place to preserve something that no longer is, for fear of losing what that was forever. Pollan describes it as "pitting the interests of man against nature", in a much more extreme, but still similar sense (597). In Pollans essay, he is describing this battle of interests over a plot of forest that some wish to preserve for future generations to enjoy its beauty, against those who would leave it to its natural course. In this way we see that gardens are not so much their own stemming or representation of nature, but more what nature was, or what man would like to take from it.

"The Idea of A Garden"

In his essay, Pollan states that a gardener "cultivates wildness, but he does so carefully and respectfully, in full recognition of its mystery " (607). His belief in humans respectfully utilizing nature's many resources is illustrated within White's observations of how Asian cultures connect with nature. She reflects upon how even their houses are designed "to remind us of our imperfection and our oneness with nature" (54). Bamboo, in her essay also serves to represent a bond between man and his environment. She asserts that bamboo is regarded as "a sign of fertile land" (55) and is revered in Asian culture. Her example of how one culture holds nature in high esteem helps Pollan's essay successfully suggest that if humans are to nurture their environment they must learn to respect it's essence.

The Idea of the Garden

Polan says that "The gardener doesn't take it for granted that a man's impact on nature will always be negative" (608). This is connected to White's essays in one way because she says " But a place where families clear the land for beans and corn, squash and pumpkins, vegetables from the south and the elaborate terraced gardenst there. And sometimes they kill birds taht are on their way north or south and fish baskets full off shad from the river on their way up to spawn." This suggests that when man attempts to tamper with nature wether it be good or bad it will always have a negative affect.

The Idea of a Garden

Pollan's last idea that, "if nature is one necessary source of instruction for a garden ethic, culture is the other," is shown through Sharon White's book (609). Most of her stories about each individual plant has a lot to do with what else goes on in that specific place, and therefore culture. Sharon White says, "Pieces of Greber's design still exist: the pool at Logan Circle, the tiered bushes in the Azalea Garden, the Italian Fountain spewing silver water north of the art museum," when she is speaking about water lilies (48). In this place there is a large population that fishes, and the have somewhat of a water theme to their culture. Not only does this aquatic nature give sense for the water lilies, but also that everyone there embraces the aquatic nature as part of, or custom to, their every day lives.

The Idea of the Garden

In Polan's essay he states "The gardener doesn't take it for granted that man's impact on nature will always be negative" (608). This is directly connected to when White writes "It won't be long for all this abudance to be whittled down into a place not called a wilderness at all" (32). Both writers are trying to show the point that when nature is tampered with by people, even if the intentions are good willed, there will be negative outcomes. An example is when people knock down trees to create more homes. Even though the outcome for the people is good, nature is being hurt in the process.

The Idea of a Garden

Pollan says, "This was part of the same storm that ripped open the bark of my ash tree" (596, The Idea of a Garden). Here is what White says, "My first garden was tropical. I planted it in my great aunt's backyard in Florida with dust and rocks and dry thick leaves as big as my hand" (3, Vanished Gardens). Both of these quotes are of some event triggering the authors memory of a plant, or multiple plants, that they used to have. The difference is that White is reminded of her great aunt when she thinks of her tropical garden, and Pollan is reminded of his ash tree when he remembers the tornado that hit his town.

The Idea of a Garden

"The gardener tends not to be romantic about nature" (609 Pollan).

"Sometimes we would go out to a dock on the river at night and kiss by the side of the silent water. I could smell the perfume of night flowers, the heavy roses as I kissed the lips of this American" (115 White).

These two quotes are related through contradiction. Pollan says that nature is no longer romantic to the gardener, but White makes a statement that uses nature to add to the romantic atmosphere. White not only used the environment to set the atmosphere, but also her sense of smell. I agree with White on this one, because I also think that nature is romantic to anyone that believes in natures beauty.

-Austin Richardson

The Idea of a Garden

"The 'environment' is not, and has never been, a neutral, fixed backdrop; it is in fact alive, changing all the time in response to innumerable contingencies, one of these being the presence within it of the gardner. And that presence is neither good nor bad." (Pollan 607)

White speaks of the people that used to live at the mouth of the river and the effect they had on the environment. The environment has been "cultivated and coaxed by the many people who lived here before the first Europeans came up the river and built their houses, and fenced their land, and planted their daffodils." (12)

Both writers speak of the effect that people can have on nature. Nature is a constant in the world. As generations pass, nature more or less stays the same. But each passing generation can have an effect on it. And each succeeding generation can see the effect of the past. Nature, always remaining, will bear the marks of every generation, but it continues on forever.

the Idea of a Garden

“The leaves of the sycamore had fallen, their large brown shapes disintegrating with pieces of paper and plastic cups” (White 20). This is relating to Pollan’s 5^th idea of a garden. “The gardener tends not to be romantic about nature” (607). This means that the gardener does not get upset when plants decay in the winter. A few sentences before the quote from White, there is a discussion about how the place being described is a beautiful place to be. Passionate gardeners do not fret at the death of nature, but appreciate the cycle of renewal that is continuing.

The idea of a Garden

"The gardener doesn't take it for granted that man's impact on nature will always be negative"(Pollan, 608). There always exists conflict between man and nature. In his quest to create a new environment which best satisfies his meaning of civilazation, man has adversely affected nature and as a result, natural environments such as forests, savannas, parks,rivers, gardens, and countless others no longer exist in places they once were, but rather, tall buildings and concrete pavements.It would also interest you to know that amimals species have also disappeared because of the nagative impact which man's involvement with nature as produced on natural places, and, for instance, "These places had lost most of their breathing space to factories and crowded rows of houses where there had once been small parks and backyard gardens"(White, 29). The point is, man's idea of urban nature has led to depletion of nature.Man has transformed the landscape to reflect his own design.
On the whole, man has tempered with the natural order of the environment to the disadvantage of nature itself.

The Idea of a Garden

"The gardener learns to play the hand he's been dealt." (Pollan, 40) is something that refers to the fact that a gardener cannot choose the environment in which the start a garden. Pollan repeatedly suggests that a gardener shouldn't worry if he is changing nature because in order for the human race to survive we have had to adapt and change our environment. Like Pollan suggests Sharon White follows his ideas and "Cultivate several gardens. Pots on the deck off [her] bedroom" (White, 9) despite it not being the best place to start a garden. She took her location and the surrounding environment and made it work for herself. White continues to talk about how she lives "on a corner that attracts trash but catches the morning light." (White, 9) which works perfectly for her garden.

Nature Literacy

As a whole, or average, the generation into which I have been born is absolutely losing its touch with nature. I consider myself a contrasting exception to this trend, however I am quite the minority. Through my observations of students personal interests and activities, I have concluded that ideas of what is considered "fun" are partly reflective of the environment. As my scope is limited to the Temple University populace, my deductions may be skewed relative to that of a more rural college. However, the population density of an urban campus far exceeds that of a rural campus, and therefore, the average trend may be preserved in my observations*. Most temple students do not in any way experience nature during their stay, and since their free time is limited to a certain radius within campus, their exposure to nature is also limited. The most nature is discussed, viewed, or pondered is under the flourescent hum of a dim lamp in one of the Universities lecture halls. As time goes on, the focus of a students knowledge is primarily within their major, and unless that major relates to nature, few students will have even a second thought about it. Although some students will show an increasing interest in nature, their in-depth interest in nature cannot make up for their numerical minority among the student population, therefore leading their valuable insight down the path of the dodo.

*(For example, as listed by www.collegeboard.com, Kutztown university is a rural campus with a population of about 10,000, where Temple University, an Urban school, has a population of about 27,000.)

THIRTEEN WAYS OF SEEING NATURE IN L.A.

As we've discussed in class, the genres of nature writing/eco-literature have been slow to include writings on urban nature. Against this grain, here's a link to an excellent article on urban nature (Jenny Price, "Thirteen Ways of Seeing Nature in L.A."):

www.believermag.com/issues/200604/?read=article_price

Nature Literacy

I think our generation is the most unique generation to exist in a very long time. Technology especially has a large influence on my opinion. The use of technology nowadays has limited but also expanded the knowledge and understanding of the world in this generation. We easily learn through computers, cell phones, I pods, and other electronic devices. And because technology has such a strong impact on this generation I would have to say this generation is becoming less nature literate. We are brought up in a time were most cities and places are urbanized with the type of technology being used. Therefore, I think my generation pays less attention to nature and what it has to offer. Its kind of like technology and nature flip flopped throughout time. In the past nature was paid attention to; as a matter of fact people needed nature to help them live. Now its as if this generation needs technology to live. What I'm trying to say is because we have technology (especially) we will pay less attention to nature but it doesn't mean that we aren't aware of nature itself. In fact there are still people in this generation fighting to save forest and other nature environments. For example, there is a group on campus fighting to save a forest from Pizza Hut building its business on it. This shows that this generation does have regard towards nature. To me nature literacy means knowing about nature and the environment that is surrounding us. Nature can be animals, trees, forests, insects, and in some cultures humans.

Nature Literacy

My generation lacks in animal interaction. As proven in class the only interaction during the day that we have with animals is a bird flying to get some crumbs in front of us, or a squirrel running through or path. It matters were you live and what type of life style. Some people live on a farm and interact with animals every day, but others like us in a city may not see an animal in ages. But the true back of the matter is that animals are disappearing every around us. The more people expand the more we kill of the rest of the world. Like in the movie Matrix, the agent says that humans are a disease a virus that destroys and infects everything. Nature literate is to be aware of the environment and animals. To have knowledge on the wild world.
The less animals are seem the more people want to bring them back. Just look at TV how many channels are about animals, and the environment. There was even a show about the fishing on whale called “Whale Wars”. Yes TV shows are made to make money but they are an educational source for us. They drill information into our heads everyday about animals and love for animals into our hearts. Animals may be disappearing but the fight for animal rights is just increasing. At the moment this topic may be out of congress: animal rights, because of the war and the bad economy but it is on many politicians’ agenda. The call to stop killing of the nature is at its all time high, forests are preserved, more people are recycling, and pollution is at its all time high in everyone’s mind. Because of this constant flow of information into my generation on nature, I feel my generation is becoming more nature literate.

Nature Literacy

Nature literacy to me would be defined as how in touch someone is with the natural environment around them. Our generation has become and even more so becoming very illiterate in many important aspects of life as a whole. As for nature, this disconnection varies in different areas. Being African and living in an area where nature is the main source of living for the country I currently reside in, we all learnt to greatly appreciate the beauty of nature and its importance. In the states on the other hand where everything is developed and we have very little raw nature, I think its harder for people of our generation to relate or get in touch with nature under such circumstances. Yes, its easy to get a dog and live with it or take a trip to the beach and be one with the ocean, but how often do we just sit back and enjoy fresh, unpolluted nature at its very best? ...

-Emerald Tawe

Nature Literacy

Nature litracy for me is that knowledge of what nature means backed by concrete action aimed at supporting one's knowledge of nature. If nature literacy has to do a whole lot with man and his natural environment ,then it is but fair to argue that my generation is becoming more and more nature literate. For instance my generation is keen on addressing such things as green house gases, preservation of wild life , forest utilization, waste management, just to name a few as concrete demonstration of how more and more my generation is becoming nature literate.

Nature Literacy

I believe our generation is defiantly becoming less nature literate. Most teenagers today are grossed out by animals or are frightened by them. during our summer vacations we hang out with friends and work jobs at pools and stores. But not long ago the entire reason of summer vacation was to harvest crops. Many of the people in my generation wouldn't be able to survive a night or two out in the wilderness. But people from past generations would be able to light a fire, hunt food and possibly survive several nights. To me nature literacy is the ability to feel at one with nature.

-Liam Bradley

Nature Literacy

I define nature literacy as being able to look at nature, understand, and read it the way we look at a text and are able to do those things. Out generation is definitely becoming less literate. Today much of nature is being replaced. Even in my own neighborhood, I constantly see new housing developments and such where trees once were. Although houses are both essential and beneficial to humans we must also realize the importance of nature. This can be done by improving our literacy of nature by simply making an effort to learn a little more.

Nature Literacy

In my mind nature literacy refers to environmental and ecological books, essays, etc. I also believe it can refer to any reference to the natural world and the environment made by an author. Personally, I believe that my generation is slowly becoming less and less nature literate. By this, I mean that as we progress through the 21st century, we are seeing more and more advances in technology, and, as a result, we are seeing differences in styles of writing. Nature Literacy hit its peak during the 1800's when such authors as Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson arose on to the literary scene. I believe also that technology is creating a less natural world. We have scene the rise of such innovations as iPhones, GPS navigation systems, and other breakthroughs that have greatly altered our lives and how we perceive the world. However, with a heavy emphasis on "Going Green" and saving the environment, I believe we may see a rise in eco-literature in the near future. For now, however we are very un-nature literate, in my mind.

Nature Literacy

Since the time of our species beginnings, we have used and interacted with nature in various ways. These interactions, whatever they may be, have allowed us to evolve into what we are today. Although this relationship began as a simple need for survival, it has, over time, become an extended exploitation of the various resources that nature provides. Nature Literacy is the ability to understand and interact with nature in meaningful and useful ways. As a species, we have and still are evolving further and further away from nature. Our technological advancements, namely our increased means of social communication and entertainment, have caused us to drift yet further, and even allow some to bypass nature altogether. My generation is at the forefront of this evolution away from nature; we are the proponents of everything that will increase this distance. Unless there is a drastic change in direction for the evolution of our advancements, I believe each succeeding generation from here on will be much less nature inclined than the one before.

Nature Literacy

I would say that my generation has to definitely be less literate than previous generations. My generation is very advanced and caught up with technology. Today, we rely heavily technology in our every day lives. We wake up by an alarm clock. We used electric toothbrushes. We drive cars to work. We have smart phones that we use to text all day, receive emails, and plan out our weeks. Almost every kid has some form of video game that they play endlessly throughout the day. My generation does not do what the older generations do, which is play outside. My generation does play outside, however it is less then before. The older generations always played outside and therefore interacted more with nature and knew more about it. I define nature literacy by not only knowledge of nature, but also of experience with nature. Just walking around and exploring can teach someone a lot about nature.

Nature Literacy

Nature literacy could mean a lot, every individual might have their own definition to nature literacy. From my point of view nature in two words is our natural world, physical world or material world. Nature literate refers to knowing about the natural, physical and material world, understanding it and appreciating it. I believe my generation, as compared to previous generations is much less nature literate. The lack of connection to the natural elements has been reducing gradually, I believe we are more in the technological age and thus no longer care about the earth and what it has to offer. My generation today care less about nature because of the introduction of technology in the world. Majority have no clue of what is called the "third place", where they could hang out with other people and enjoy nature. Rather we do everything technologically, people would rather interact on their computers through skype, oovoo, msn and a few others, than meeting at the park to talk, ride their bicycles and admire nature. Social networks now do not allow individuals in my generation to go out to make friends but rather hit a couple buttons on their "gadgets" and they through with other peers. The youth would play online games with their friends rather than go to the field or court to play physically. A lot of people do not know anything about the environment, talk about pollutions and preservation. Just a few people know what global warming or green house effect are, and thier consequences on nature and the world. People do not come in contact with animals these day to understand the nature of animals. My English professor once asked a question in class "How many of you have had an encounter with an animal today?" and with over 10 or more people in the class only about 2 had. That should tell you a lot, I wonder if he had asked how many of you had been on facebook or twitter today and the whole class would have had a response to that. This all shows that nature illiterate is more common in my generation and people could care less about getting in touch with nature.

Nature Literacy

To me, nature literacy means the ability to possess a deep understanding of the environment and how it functions. Despite our growing awareness of how we affect the environment, my generation is still very far away from becoming nature literate. Awareness can not substitute for understanding. Our society stresses the importance of taking care of nature, yet we have not taken any steps to create a relationship with it. We allow ourselves to be so preoccupied with our busy lives that we do not have the time to take notice of or even enjoy our surroundings. Instead of coexisting with nature, we pass around it. What is the point of protecting something we are not closely acquainted with? How can we possibly know exactly what it needs?

Nature Literacy

To me, nature literacy is the ability to read and appreciate all of the many things that nature has to offer. While there are some who still admire its beauty, for most of our generation it has been surpassed by things such as the internet. Viewing pictures of nature on the internet is not nearly the same as experiencing them firsthand. I know that I am not very nature literate, since I would much rather spend the day fiddling with technology than viewing the many stories nature has to offer. I know that it has these stories; I just think that I, and many others in my generation, have placed nature at a much lower level of importance than it actually should be.

Nature Literacy

I believe my generation, as apposed to previous ones, is much less nature literate. There has been a gap and/or a lack of connection from the natural elements and I believe we have become much more materialistic, and thus no longer care about the earth and what it has to offer. The fact that most kids nowadays would rather play their Xbox, PlayStation or, any of their other game consoles instead of simply going outside and having fun speaks to the lack of nature literacy in my generation. People no longer leave the comforts of their home unless they are forced too. Part of the reason on why our Earth is suffering so much is that we are constantly polluting it by throwing trash on the ground, putting dangerous chemicals in the air, and smoking etc. Pretty soon we will have no open territory nor land to cultivate, it is constantly being destroyed and having construction done to it. We need to get back to respecting our Earth like our ancestors did and only use it for good and thus extract resources but, also give back to the earth.

I define nature literate as knowing about the natural world around us. To know and appreciate and not to abuse is being nature literate. to understand the 'circle of life" of how plants die, go back into the soil and become reborn again. To appreciate and to know that everything that we have, that we eat, our existence comes either directly or indirectly from nature itself is being nature literate.

Understanding Nature

I believe that we as a generation are more our of touch with nature than previous generations. With the ongoing age of technology, our minds are more focused on the newest gadget and how many gigabytes our IPods have. We might think we know a lot about nature, but what we have learned is from the television or the internet. Most people in our generation rarely have encounters with nature outside their "norm". Taking a walk in the park and the only thin you can think about is why you have no cell phone service is not being very in touch with nature. Individually, we might think that we are in touch with nature, but as a whole generation. The nature illiterate are more common and could really care less about "getting in touch" with nature.

-Austin Richardson

Nature Literacy

My generation is becoming less and less nature literate. Many people do not even recognize nature as a separate being; most people view their surroundings as boring, passive scenery. Young adults are growing up in a place that is converting into a more wireless and paperless world every single day. Even here at Temple I hand in the majority of my assignments online, never actually having a hard copy in my hand. Nature literacy to me is the ability to recognize and interact with nature on a regular basis. One should not only notice the natural environment, but appreciate it too. If the ways things are going now continue for nature, there will be less of it every year.

Nature Literacy

Nature literacy may mean many things, but to me it means how good we are at reading the many signs of nature. By signs I am not only referring to the sounds and physical characteristics that nature exhibits but the very essence that makes nature. By essence I'm referring to the roots of nature such as our roots. being literate in nature means understanding that we are a part of nature and we are not as disconnected as we think we are. When we walk into a forest most of us appreciate the simple beauty but when a society walks into a society they see the potential of converting the "wilderness" into something with purpose. What they don't realize is that the forest is the epitome of potential. The people who do now see the whole aspect of natures wonders are truly illeterate in the language of nature.