The garden is a very special place in any home. For those who are fortunate enough to have the space, and the time, to create a smaller version of nature in their own backyard, it can connect one to the elements every day. Although the garden has changed enormously over time, and is constantly evolving, there is always something very elemental about the experience of being in one’s own natural space. It’s something that all the great poets have known, where nature is one of the primary sources of inspiration. That’s certainly part of the reason why there are so many words of wisdom about the garden in literature.
Shakespeare ‘s notions of everything under the sun were subject to his changing moods, and it was certainly the case with gardens, and one of its centerpieces, garden fountains . This was an object that could serve as a metaphor for both excess of joy, as well as an excess of powerful heartbreak. It was always connected to the source of life, being a container of water, and serving as a space within the green of nature. Even today, when one is contemplating the moments on a lovely afternoon, it recalls the world of the Bard, where the internal was a reflection of the external, and at times being in nature was the only way to go into one’s own soul.