My aesthetics were formed by a country childhood and an Adelaide adolescence, as were my stereotypes; I’m afraid my cultural baggage includes low hopes of finding unexpected corners of natural beauty in this larger metropolis of Melbourne.
Exploring these new surrounds, I’m fortunate to be continually proved wrong – on a daily basis. Sometiems I love being wrong!
Whether it’s admiring the simple vigorous wonder of a thriving lawn, or the flowers which seem to thrive atop brick letterboxes down my street – a verdant miracle unseen in Adelaide – I’m teaching my eyes to expect to see nature pushing up through the concrete jungle.
Sometimes it’s making its own way, as the blackberries surviving the council's best eradication efforts alongside the overpass by our home. Other times someone has planned a really successful planting in a public space, which “just works”.
A few of these gems lie alongside the Monash Freeway (the M1, this eastern side of Melbourne). As the exits reach towards the twenties, natives have successfully been planted in the serrations of sound barriers. I particularly like the trees just before and after the South Gippsland Highway – the specimens on the left as you’re heading east approach the spectacular. Other beauties lie near the Belgrave-Hallam Road exit, or the Narre Warren exit, particularly if you’re driving towards the city.
Perhaps my favourite is the mix of (? I'm no botanist) aloes and shrubs on the slope leading up to Ernest Wanke Road*. The mix of species seems to have developed well together and looks great early in the morning, under full daylight or as the day fades to gold.
This finding-of-beauty reminds me to see beauty in the other mundanities of life – those gracious interactions with a friendly shop assistant, the generosity of a fellow train commuter. Beauty, perhaps, lies within the open-minded beholder’s eyes ... kept open.
* For people who aren’t local – I didn’t make that name up!
No comments:
Post a Comment