Ornamental Hermit for the 21st Century

A Hermit on "my" Hill? Sure, it would be great. He, or why not she, would have wireless Internet for their laptop and would also be kitted out with the latest and greatest camp gear from Canadian Tire. I mean, after all, workers' rights have improved a bit since the 18Th century. The Hermit could eat up some of the destructive invasive alien introduced critters that overrun the place - grey squirrels, eastern cotton tailed rabbits and American bullfrogs. And after eating hearty eliminating alien meals, the Hermit can get to work at the endless task of pulling broom (Cytisus scoparius). I hate that stuff and pull it every chance I get - about 20 a week - following a broom pull strategy. I dislike broom so much I won't even show a picture of it.

Would my Hermit be territorial? Would I be bailing him/her out of jail for warring in barroom brawls with the Skirt Mountain (AKA Bare (Bear) Mountain) Hermit? Well I am sure it would only occur every payday when Hermits gets tippled at one of the local pubs in the area. And since Hermit paydays are once every 5 years, I don't expect this to be a big problem.

http://www.hermitary.com/faqs.html

So, yes, a Hermit for my Garden Brae it is. Some nice, old, wisdomful ancient who talks to the wind in the forest, who is a wizard with a dowser for divining water (sure to come in handy with global warming on its way here) and who would dine on rabbit and deer to keep them from feasting on my flowers.

What has this all to do with Genius Loci in my garden design? Blogging it down is like keeping a journal on the discoveries and thoughts about what it is like to live here. The conclusions that emerge from the blogging will hopefully reveal the Genius Loci.

Sins of A Gardener

Hermits Wanted

Do People Piss You Off?

Want To Get Away From It All?

Like to Read - A Lot?

Then we have a job for you!

Hermits wanted for ornamentation of gentleman's estate. You must never be seen. If you have to poke your head out of your grotto/cave home, it better have a long, long beard on it and be stroked by your long, long fingernails. You will be paid a small fortune, but not until you complete 5 years of service as a garden ancient - an ornamental hermit . If you don't last the five years you forfeit all earnings.

Yes, it was quite the fad in the 18th century to have a live ornamental hermit installed in your garden estate. The most famous employer of one of these decorative solitudinarians was Charles Hamilton. (Hmmm I wonder if good old Chuck is sitting in my family tree somewhere?)

Genius Loci, Hermits and Homelessness

Homelessness - what has that to do with gardening and garden design? How does it connect to the Genius Loci of creating a timeless garden of beauty?

"Achieving a connection between culture and nature has become increasingly difficult in modern society. This difficulty extends from the vast gulf separating "nature" from the human visions of progress growing out of the Industrial Revolution of the 1800s. Brian Black, Department of American Studies"

The issue of homelessness definitely informs the Genius Loci of where I live. How will it inform my garden design? Is the spirit one of paranoia - high fences, gates, walls to keep "them" out? Somehow I feel the spirit of this locale is more one of understanding, respect, sharing. This is Lotus Land mild and moderate climate and gentle landscape that lulls you into days of wasteful dreamy do-nothingness of the laid back Lotus Eaters. So we will see how this plays out in my garden design.

Hermits in Lotus Land or Squatters in Mill Hill

Squatters were found living on the otherside of the hill I live on. Parks employees had the tough job of cleaning the debris from the sites. During all the hiking we do we have never seen the squatters, or park employees for that matter. But we stick to the trails to avoid damaging wild flowers. Here are some pictures of Mill Hill beauty (in case you are tired of ferns - I am not).Here in Lotus Land, the nickname of where I live (more on that in future blogs), it is one of the top 20 most expensive cities in the world to live. Rental vacancy hovers around 0% and has for decades. The climate and the people are generally mild (hence Lotus Land and us as Lotus Eaters -BC Bud may have something to with that, too) so the homeless population is large for such a small city.