Paul's Share: Olivia Laing on the Pleasures and Possibilities of Gardens

Thank you, Paul, for sharing this episode. It made me think again in a few ways:

• Time: A different understanding of time: slower, more attentive, less about doing and more about noticing.

• Beauty and power: I’d never thought of beauty as a form of power, especially in the context of gardens. It’s not something you usually hear in garden history, and it shifted how I thought about what we choose to cultivate.

• Looking: There’s a lovely moment when the interviewer asks Olivia about her practice of looking. She says that writing makes her looking better. That really stayed with me.

• A parallel with TTA: It immediately reminded me of how I write these small commentaries. I write to understand what I read or listen to. And knowing I’ll write about it changes how I listen. It slows me down. It makes me pay attention. The process of making sense just isn’t fast.

• Utopia: Towards the end they talk about utopia, not as escape, but as a way of creating some distance from the constant dystopian tone of the news. She says that if we don’t imagine the world we want, it can’t happen. Imagination comes first.

• Real conversations: And finally, a reminder I think many of us need: have conversations in person, and with people who don’t agree with you. Learn to sit with the discomfort of difference, of people who aren’t exactly like us.

Thanks again, Paul. This was a really thoughtful share.

https://timesensitive.fm/episode/episode/olivia-laing-on-the-pleasures-and-possibilities-of-gardens/