In one chapter she describes her failed efforts to convince a clematis to grow over a pergola crossbeam. The polite but uncooperative plant reminds her of Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess in Downton Abbey murmuring, “My dear, I told you so.”
On another adventure she accidentally sits on a favorite woodland peony bush, squashing it. Consoling herself, she contrasts Giotto’s hovering angels to the necessary destruction caused by humans, who cannot hover but must walk on the ground. From there she’s reminded of Gertrude Jekyll’s boots, now preserved at the home of that famous English gardener. Plants, fine art, a garden icon – lots of ways to think of a short trip outdoors.
As in many travel journals, the reader gradually learns the author’s personal history – in Scotland, England, New Brunswick, and eventually Vancouver, BC. In her garden at night she remembers commuting by bus in the dark to her mindless job in a cornflakes factory, when she was a student. That memory leads her to
Video Night in Kathmandu,
Pico Iyer's 1989 travelogue examining cultures that thrive at night and in shadows.
Several chapters deal with animals and birds – chipmunks, deer, and particularly hummingbirds. A favorite was Alf, an alpha male Anna’s, who ferociously drove interlopers from the author’s garden feeder.
Journeys to the Nearby
makes a strong case for paying close attention to the neighborhood one happens to live in – watching, listening, making connections to other parts of one’s life. And not taking any of it too seriously.
![three apples from Chase fruit and flowers in natural colors / Rochester, N.Y, Chase brothers company, [c1922] from Biodiversity Heritage Library](https://depts.washington.edu/hortlib/graphix/Chasefruitandflowersinnaturalcolorpage91922.jpg)
