Green - 11/19/22

    A few weeks ago we discussed the differences in English and French gardens, functionality versus class. I have always preferred English gardens, wild and providing a more natural system for insects and wild plants to thrive in. English gardens, when done right, can benefit the already-existing ecosystem they are in rather than suck nutrients and preserve land for unnatural, heavily manicured plants like French gardens.

    I had always wished I went to a school with English gardens, to me they create feelings of wild and unkempt growth in new environments. They are more physically appealing in my opinion and give the impression that resources are being used elsewhere. French gardens, on the other hand, speak of haughtiness and indulgence. CNU pours so many resources into its perfectly trimmed and spaced land, but there is nothing of substance. When I walk through the campus, it feels stale and lifeless. It feels like how I imagine a hospital would feel outside: everything intensely monitored to a concerningly expensive degree. I see French gardens as the tower, and English gardens as the mountain. They communicate such different messages, and both try to reach an “Arcadia” differently.

    The English garden attempts to form a more natural Arcadia, one with little effort that gradually flows into a state of wild perfection. This, in my opinion, may allow Arcadia to exist a little bit longer, as it is in its nature to be a state of temporality. French gardens whip the world into shape to fit their ideal Arcadia. Money, chemicals, labor, everything is poured into this perfect vision, and the result feels strained and false. This Arcadia will shine a bit brighter, but burn out much quicker. The state of French gardens do not nourish time, and exist as spectacles of the present.

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