SATURDAY AT THE ARBORETUM

Japanese Moon Garden Pond


Garden Trellis

I am going to end the year with a special poem by one of my all time favorite poets, Taylor Graham. Thank you so much for this special poem Taylor. I absolutely adore this verse and though none of my garden photos could do it justice, I chose a couple of my favorite photos to accompany Taylor's poem. These photos, as always, were taken at the Botanical Gardens in San Francisco. Thank you and Happy New Year to all of you!

SATURDAY AT THE ARBORETUM

Wrought iron gates opened like a fairytale
beckoning up a drive that curved under boughs
to the gingerbread Victorian. We imagined
girls of bygone days in satin frocks,
sitting straight-ankled at tea.

But it was the garden
that drew us, along walks scented
with jasmine, greenly overhung with fronds.
Goslings swam in waters
Arcadia blue. We’d whisper young

secrets as we followed winding paths
to the grotto. Who lived there? A dragon,
or an anchorite? a wizard or the Queen of Sheba?
Myth remains, illusive as childhood.
A grotto guards its secrets.