Still Places : A Philosophy and History of Gardens
Across centuries and cultures, gardens have been sanctuaries of beauty, healing, and connection—shaped by spirit, creativity, and place.
This series is intended as an examination of the role of gardens in our lives. I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the timeless human impulse to shape nature and on why gardens matter; exploring their role as spaces of reflection, recovery, community, and belonging.
I hope that these short pieces will encourage you to consider your outdoor spaces in a slightly different way and at a deeper level.
Still Places #10 : Something of Our Own
A new garden style is emerging—resilient, diverse, and deeply Australian. Our gardens are changing, grown from the soil beneath our feet, shaped by our climate, and alive with the character of this continent. They are becoming something of our own.
Still Places #9 : Designing for Peace
To shape a garden is also to shape relationships and understanding: between people, between cultures, and with the planet that sustains us.
Still Places #8 : Building Community
A community garden is far more than the sum of its beds and paths. It can be a stage for human flourishing.
Still Places #7 : Gardens of Recovery
Gardens of recovery are not only about healing and the easing of pain, but about the renewing of life. To walk through such a space is to be reminded that patience, care, and time can bring life back again.
Still Places #6 : Returning to the Wild
Where once an ideal garden was all about symmetry, control, and a highly ordered arrangement of plants, many contemporary gardens are welcoming the wild back in.
Still Places #5 : Garden as a Private Sanctuary
We all have a need for moments of private sanctuary; a place of retreat, where we can simply be still.
Still Places #4 : Women in the Garden
Throughout history, women in gardens have cultivated knowledge, resilience, autonomy, authorship, and creative voice.
Still Places #3 : Gardens of Reflection
Reflective gardens are for anyone who feels the pull toward peace, who sees in their garden not just a space outside, but a place that restores their soul.
Still Places #2 : The Garden Through Time
A garden, in different forms, has long been used to answer an ancient need: to feel part of something larger, more enduring, and more beautiful than ourselves.
Still Places #1 : Why Do We Create Gardens?
In a world full of noise we find something in our gardens; somewhere there can be quiet - knowing that beauty can be shaped with care and patience.