Gardening doesn't require a green thumb. Gardening develops a green thumb. Fine gardening may mean many things to many people, but to me fine gardening means more than just a garden. It encompasses all that is good and graceful in God's creation and combines them to make a garden that reflects His glory.
My enjoyment of fine gardening comes not only from the finished garden but from the endless hours that I spend designing and planning the actual garden, from the moment I first have the germ of an idea, to the moment I place the last sapling, and plant the last flower. That's how a green thumb is developed. All I want, all that I can be, should show through when first a person steps into this land of fine gardening, a place of peace and calm where a person can meditate on the finer things in life.
Therefore, a water feature, ideally one that will make a continuously soothing gurgle, with a small stepping-type of waterfall-cum-pond, placed on lovely slabs of flat rock with a hint of moss growing on it. A nice water lily or lotus to give off a contrasting color, and perhaps a fish or two. A few ferns and leafy rain-forest type plants placed around the pond, and I'm finished with this stage of my green thumb gardening.
Ideally I would love a big tree to stand in a corner of the garden, with a luscious velvety dark brown trunk that I can just about span with my arms, overflowing with vibrant green leaves spilling onto the ground in heedless abandon. Since I might not always get what I want, I'll settle instead for a few saplings that will one day fulfil my wish.
Since green is my target for the moment, I'd also see about laying a lovely shady lawn that you can sink your bare feet into when taking a turn about your garden.
I love the idea of a Zen garden, but prefer colors and lots of plants, so I would incorporate this feature into my fine gardening efforts by placing a path, naturally made out of rough hewn stone, zigzagging in a leisurely course through the garden.
And to finish it all off I’d have a little alcove, unseen from afar, that afforded the curious visitor a wide-angled view of the whole garden, with a sun shade, and a low-lying bench with a few plump cushions strewn carelessly about, and all of it surrounded by a profusion of welcoming flowers.
In the distance I would set about placing a few boulders, pleasing in stature and color to the eye, surrounded perhaps by a few flowers.
And amidst all this fine splendor I would walk amongst my heartfelt efforts of fine gardening and sigh in satisfaction and peace. For what more is there to gardening, than the art of fine gardening.
