‘Inspiration is needed in geometry, just as much as in poetry’

We were in the grounds of Harewood House the other day. Well, mainly we were in its adventure playground: we had our daughter and two year old granddaughter in tow. But we did walk through the formal outdoor areas near the house too, and we happened upon this hyper-geometric topiary garden.

I wondered if the quotation by Aleksandr Pushkin which forms the title of this post fitted the bill. A well-formed garden seems to me a thing of poetry. And this well-formed garden, which I was surprised to find I rather liked, is a thing of geometry too.

It’s the first time I’ve joined in Paula’s Words of Wisdom challenge, where she invites an image with a matching quotation. Let’s see if it cuts the mustard.

Unknown's avatar

Author: margaret21

I'm retired and live in North Yorkshire, where I walk , write, volunteer and travel as often as I can.

27 thoughts on “‘Inspiration is needed in geometry, just as much as in poetry’”

  2. That topiary must take a lot of work to keep in shape! Talented gardeners, I would say. It puts me in mind of scenes in Alain Resnais’ film L’Année Dernière à Marienbad (just sent you a Still from the film by email)

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I see you still have boxwood. Beware of the box tree moth. It is an Asian moth that thrives on boxwood. It was first observed in the south of Germany, apparently coming from Italy, and each year they marched further north. Leaving completely defoliated and dead boxwood hedges and topiaries in its wake. You can fight them with chemical weapons but you have to be hyper vigilant. They are now rescuing old populations, particularly in castle gardens and the like. But I gave up after two years. – I like the rule of thirds in your photo.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Oh, I know all about box tree moths. They have decimated gardens in the south of England, so it can only be a matter of time, unfortunately. And thanks for the technical compliment. I was quite pleased when I realised that was what I had done.

      Liked by 1 person

    1. Theoretically, I should have hated it, those poor box hedges being so constrained. But somehow, I admired the tension between the extravagant and extreme geometry of it, and the needs of the plant to do what it had to do.

      Liked by 1 person

  11. My wife keeps telling me there is no straight line in nature when we garden, but gardens aren’t really natural, they are the naturalist’s way to create and share beauty and joy. Even our backyard garden without straight lines does follow some human form. Thanks for the inspiration to get out and garden.

    Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.