Kurt M. Jones
Chaffee County Extension Director
I was at a conference recently and was visiting with some
colleagues from across the Western United States. The conversation came around to how baking,
cooking and gardening all relate to one another. It was an interesting analogy that I will
attempt to recreate for you here.
If you think about it for a while, you realize that for many of
us, Baking is a prescriptive
activity. You find a recipe that you
like, maybe tweak it for high altitude adjustment, but then you follow the
directions and let the science of chemistry and physics turn into delectable
treats. Gardening has similar
attributes. You pick plants that will
work in our growing environment, arrange them according to their irrigation needs
(what we call “hydrozoning”), and provide plant care including proper
irrigation, proper plant nutrition to minimize stress, and Integrated Pest
Management (IPM) techniques when problems appear. Even our current Master Gardener textbook is
entitled The Science of Gardening,
and employs many of these concepts for those students.
I have to admit, I may be addicted to cooking shows. I find it fun to see cooks sweat it out when
presented with a basket of mystery ingredients and they need to create a meal
from unusual ingredients. They are
judged on taste, creativity in how they use the basket ingredients, and cooking
technique. In other words, they are
skilled in the art of cooking based
on their understanding of the base ingredients and cooking techniques.
Gardening definitely has an artistic component as well. Landscape Architects utilize design concepts
such as line, color, texture, form, unity, scale, balance, simplicity, variety,
emphasis and sequence when creating themes for the outdoor “rooms” they
create. They create rooms by considering
the plants that make up the floor, walls, and ceilings in the outdoor spaces
based on a family’s desires for that space, and the potential of the site where
the landscape will be located. Plant
selection and placement in the landscape is much more about its “fit” into the
total picture, rather than the “pick and plunk” method that many of us employ.
Much like how the creative cook utilizes different spices and
herbs to elicit different sensations on the palate, the artistic gardener
utilizes plant materials and other garden elements to create different emotions
for those who experience it.
Understanding the science behind how to grow appropriate plants
successfully and keep them healthy is much like the baker who utilizes the
science to create delicacies which compliment the gourmet meal.
It is about time for lunch, so here ends the analogy between
baking, cooking and gardening. Happy
Gardening, Cooking and Baking!
Another good description of the design process.
ReplyDeleteKurt, I think you captured the conversation well! - Deryn
ReplyDelete