Human Flower Project
Hanoi, VIETNAM
Tokyo, JAPAN
Columbus, Texas USA
Monday, November 17, 2008
Gethsemani’s Ginkgo Tree
An ancient golden tree lights up the inner man. Allen Bush, traveling to the Trappist Abbey of Gethsemani, finds a gift from Japan and a garden inspired by it.
Leaves of Ginkgo biloba
Photo: Allen Bush
By Allen Bush
There is in all visible things an invisible fecundity, a dimmed light, a meek namelessness, a hidden wholeness. This mysterious Unity and Integrity is Wisdom, the Mother of All, Natura Naturans…
Thomas Merton
I didn’t expect a whole lot this fall. We had scarcely any rain for three months and there wasn’t a hint of color by mid-October. I imagined the leaves in our garden would turn brown and that would be it. But there was a good soaker one Friday evening and overnight a steady unveiling kicked-off a brilliant show for two weeks. The colors kept getting better and better. The sassafras was red and orange, the big dogwood was burgundy and a strong-growing golden larch was golden-brown. I waited on my little fifteen year old ginkgo to turn yellow and wondered about an unforgettable ginkgo that I hadn’t seen in seventeen years.