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Dish Forests : Definitely The Next Grand Thing!


My fascination with botanical sprouts goes a long way back to childhood.  I was born and raised   in an agricultural college [which eventually became a university] in Bukidnon . To crossover in a lush environ is a phenomenon in itself ; growing up gazing at vasts mountain ranges is another thing.  You are effortlessly  drawn towards a sacred vacuum where nature reigns supreme and absolutely convey  a mystical thought that indeed man is one with his Supreme Creator.
 The wind chants prayers that the breeze disperses; the birds and insects sing and recite songs and stories of creation while the sun assures of a healthy cycle ; within and without any religious consciousness.   All my years [give or take a few years spent in Utah] in Musuan were trance-like episodes which have ingrained upon my being that life should be lived much like how plants survive  Oblivious of each other but nurturing a greater community of a zoobotanical coexistence.  Plants merely spring out from wherever and commence a cycle with extreme precision to ensure an existence of perfection.

 Although my mom was not too keen of my wandering deep into the nearby forests, she nevertheless might have felt that I was too into the tranquility that it offered.  There were days when I would just sit in some fallen tree and sang songs that came spontaneously.  I would notice snakes and lizards peeking away but they simply took their distance.  When I had to finally untangle my ties with a world I thought was mine, I simply took with me images that to this day reverberate in a mind that long to recreate scenes from a childhood.

Then this dish garden thing-ies.  I cringe whenever there is a garden show because surely 'dish gardens' with cacti and some hydrogenic foliaged numbers will be on display and priced exorbitantly.  It is a fad really, a fad that should be phased away into the deep crevices of kitsch.  Until recently, I finally saw a chance to recreate childhood forests scenes in earthen dishes and bowls.  I simply had them almost filled with garden soil; collated an array of peebles, stones, cracked rocks , and for cohesive attempt : marbles and seashells.  I then collected some cuttings, planters, and moss which were to be the main players.  It wasn't that easy though since they had to be strategically implanted on areas where they shall accent each other.  What I came up with were truly satisfying [at least to me] and it was quite an experience to imagine yourself roaming around the dish...  DISH FORESTS!

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