Dr. Colin and Marjorie Archer’s Garden – Winton

I have always felt closest to my Creator when connecting with nature.  As a child, rambling in the wild in New Providence and Eleuthera, I became fascinated with a variety of plant life, wild flowers, unusual rocks and wood.  I try to bring all of these aspects into the confines of my garden.

There are many images of life and life lessons that are learnt, in the garden.  I have become tolerant of a snake in my garden (a small one of course) with beautiful markings on its skin which I could speak to (from a distance).   I once watched with fascination as one gracefully slithered over to a patch of plants, skillfully grabbed a lizard scurrying by, embraced it completely (loved it to death), devoured it before my eyes and went merrily along its way.  It is also a delight to watch the turtles, including 30 year old “Mutt”, after escaping the harassment of “Mr. Speckles” (a different breed from the others) basking in the sun before plunging back into their pond.  There they enjoy a feast of gelatinous eggs left by the frogs after a night of symphony (croaking like you have never heard).

It is a peaceful experience to sit by the fish pond listening to the trickling water and watching the goldfish, sharks and albino catfish swim aimlessly together.  This is sometimes temporarily interrupted if a heron manages to force its way into the pond enclosure to snatch a goldfish.  While my first instinct is to “wring its neck”, I accept it is only doing what it was designed to do, and gently shoo it away.  The peaceful mood is restored when suddenly a pretty little hummingbird appears, stopping in mid-air for two seconds, eyeing me before yielding to the seduction of the bromeliad’s bloom tasting its sweet nectar.  

Of course there is always the element of surprise in finding a beautiful orchid in bloom (my favourite flower) that was not there the day before.  Or the explosion of colour from the orange blooms of the plant that gives painful warning from its thorny branches to “touch me not”.

Gardening, in all of its aspects gives balance and wholeness to life.  It is therapeutic, a kind of medicine for all ailments.  With nurturing, pruning, patience and placing everything in the right spot, the result is sheer joy.  The gardener would say after we finished watering the plants, “They happy, they smiling.”  And so am I.

Marjorie Archer