Gardens everywhere are adorned with signs of welcome and poems that inspire the gardener and the visitor to stop and reflect on the moment in the garden. Why should the pond be any different? There are many poems, rhymes, and verses that can adorn signs in the garden pond.
Inspirational Quotes Inspire Meditation
A garden pond is a place to consider the moment. Sitting on a bench by the pond, the gardener can think about the reflections in the water and pause and meditate on the garden. William Wordsworth wrote eloquently on many facets of the natural world. He had this to say about water: “A lake carries you into recesses of feeling otherwise impenetrable.”
Inspiring an Awe of Nature
Water is an amazing substance. People skate on it when it is ice, watch clouds of water float by, and drink and swim in it when it is a liquid. Water is also amazingly powerful and persistent, with its ability to erode rocks over hundreds of years. Use a water quote like the one from Lao Tzu below to inspire awe in the beauty and strength of water:
“Nothing in the world is more flexible and yielding than water. Yet when it attacks the firm and the strong, none can withstand it.”
The author Hilda Conkling spoke eloquently about the nature of water when she was a child. Her work is found in Poems By a Little Girl (Bibliolife 2009), and much of it focuses on the beauty of nature:
“The world turns softly not to spill its lakes and rivers. The water is held in its arms and the sky is held in the water. What is water that pours silver and can hold the sky?”
Quotes Can Add Humor as Well as Inspiration
Those gardeners with a sense of humor may want to add a quote that provokes thought in a more wry manner. For those who wish to the African proverb, “Only a fool tests the depth of the water with both feet” provokes thought and adds a touch of wry humor to the garden pond.
Choosing a Sign or Banner for the Garden
Some garden quotes are available pre-made in stone or concrete. These are excellent quotes to add to the plants that surround the garden pond. Other quotes and sayings are available on fabric banners that can sway in the wind next to the pond. Colorful banners are a good choice for lighthearted quotes. Choose a favorite quotation or poem and have it embroidered on a custom banner or etched into a custom sign on a piece of wood. It is classic to have a sign hanging at the entrance of the garden or the walkway towards the pond.
Whether it is intended to add humor or inspire meditation, quotes and sayings add to the ambiance of the water garden. They help create a mood in the garden and say a lot about the intent and personality of those who have created this natural space.
Tricia Edgar - Tricia Edgar is a gardener, environmental educator, and science writer from the Pacific Northwest.
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