Quotations

Favorite comments selected from various writers over the years:

What fine old walls gilded with lichens shore up these terraces with their patterns and lines of artichokes, their stylish blankets of broad beans beds or the blond mattress stuffing of chick peas and lentils ; but from the balcony where we look down on them, these colours lose their interest as food to take on the dignity of pure pictorial values, and it is thanks to the gardener’s spade that we enter the joyful world of art. Jean Giono, 1961	In the commonplace world, pansies were love tokens and fancies. From at least the Middle Ages, they enchanted people, stirred up romantic imaginings. In this they are one more piece of evidence against the conventional wisdom that country people were too busy or too stupid to have anything other than a doggedly practical interest in wild plants... Richard Mabey, Weeds, 2010.
Although there is no doubt that large-scale destruction has taken place and that much of the shrublands in the Mediterranean are modified or derived––not to say degraded––forms of former forests and woodlands, it is indisputable that the exceptional diversity and dynamic structure of Mediterranean ecosystems and communities result in part from human influence (see Chapter 10). Intertwined processes of human and non-human factors have affected Mediterranean ecosystems and their biodiversity yielding systems not only endowed with stunning biodiversity, but also with exceptional resilience and resistance to disturbance. Blondel, J., Aronson, J., Boeuf, G. & Bouliou, J.-.L. Mediterranean Biodiversity in Space and Time. Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford UK. 2010	It helps to remember that, in times past, the various elements that shaped such a garden nearly always emerged from necessity, often from the constraints that life around the Mediterranean Basin imposed on people… No wonder that food is ever present in Med life. Such limitations and restrictions challenged the imagination of the Mediterranean peoples, who responded with great inenguity and style. Heidi Gildemeister Gardening the Mediterranean Way: Practical Solutions for Summer-dry Climates Thames and Hudson 2006
What can be learned from a large, somewhat tatterdemalion Renaissance villa garden somewhere outside Rome? Look about and take in the picture: massive old trees, bulky overblown hedges, rough grass, tall columnar cypresses, crumbling stone balustrades, stairs, basins, statuary, urns, large empty terracotta pots, dripping fountains, pools, a mossy grotto, runnels, rivulets and brilliant sunshine. What impressions do these create? Overall the cool, dark shadows, varied greens and the bulky mass of the growth contrast vividly with the harsh light, and the garden as a place of refuge from the heat and from the workaday world emerges as the moving force at work on the senses here. The garden has a powerful, still strength that has the capacity to invigorate fatigued bodies and minds. Trevor Nottle, Australian writer, Gardens of the Sun, 1996	My dream…to restore the old Soubeyran orchard as it used to be in my father’s time…A thousand trees, and between the lines there will be rows of muscat grapes on wire; you’ll walk between the walls of bunches, you’ll see the sun through the grapes—and that, Galinette, will be a monument! It will be as beautiful as a church, and a true peasant won’t enter it without making the sign of the cross! Marcel Pagnol, Jean de Florette, 1963
... A secret system of caves and conduits; hear the springs That spurt out everywhere with a chuckle, Each filling a private pool for its fish and carving Its own little ravine whose cliffs entertain The butterfly and the lizard; examine this region Of short distances and definite places [...] From weathered outcrop To hill-top temple, from appearing waters to Conspicuous fountains, from a wild to a formal vineyard, Are ingenious but short steps W. H. Auden. In Praise of Limestone, 1948	The old Italian garden: free circulation of sunlight and air about the house, abundance of water; easy access to dense shade; sheltered walks with different points of view; variety of effect produced by the skilful use of different levels; and , finally, breadth and simplicity of composition… Each quarter of the garden was placed where convenience required, and was made accessible from all the others by the most direct and rational means; and from this intelligent method of planning the most varying effects of unexpectedness and beauty were obtained. Edith Wharton, Italian Villa Gardens, 1903

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