Copyright 2006 Karl Miller

Many consider gardening by itself as an art form. And the art of fine gardening is just that, an art. Fine gardening might mean different things to different people, but it means more than just coming up with a garden to me. It embodies all that is beautiful and elegant in gardening and combines them to create a garden that is the culmination of everything you dream of.

The pleasure you gain from fine gardening may come not only from the garden you created but from the long stretches of time that you spend sketching and planning the garden itself, from the very first moment you have a seed of an idea, to the moment you plant the last flower, and place the last sapling. Everything that you want, everything that you can be, should shine through when someone else first steps into this kingdom of fine gardening, where anyone can sit quietly and ponder on the finer things in life surrounded by peace and serenity.

As such, a water feature that ideally makes a continuously soothing gurgle, with a quaint stepping-type of waterfall-cum-pond, placed on gorgeous slabs of flat rock with just a touch of moss growing on it. A beautiful water lily or lotus to provide that contrast in color, and perhaps a fine fish or two. A few ferns and leafy rain-forest type plants set around the pond, and you're pretty much done with this phase of your fine gardening.

And then, imagine having a big tree standing in a corner of your garden, with a luscious velvety dark brown trunk that you can just about span with your arms, burgeoning with rich, bright green leaves overflowing onto the ground in wanton abandon. But then again, this might not always be realistic. So you might settle instead for a few saplings now that will eventually fulfil your dreams.

Since green is what you are going for at the moment, you'd want to see about laying a delightful shady lawn that you can immerse your bare feet into when taking a turn about your garden.

If you are a fan of Zen gardens, but have a leaning towards colors and lots of plants, you would like to include this aspect into your fine gardening efforts by setting a path, made out of natural rough hewn stone, coursing in a leisurely manner through the garden.

And to wrap everything up, you could have a small alcove that gives the occasional visitor a wide-angle view of the whole garden tucked away in a corner of the garden. It is complete with a sun shade, and a low-lying bench with several plump cushions placed haphazardly around, and all of it surrounded by a wealth of arresting flowers.

Some distance off, you would go about putting in place a few boulders that are attractive in appearance and color to the eye, surrounded perhaps by a few flowers.

And amidst all this amazing beauty you would savour the fruits of your fine gardening efforts and emit a sigh of extreme joy and satisfaction. For what more is there to gardening, than the art of fine gardening.