It became apparent this trip that the focus of my time here is now changing from making an artist garden to utilising the garden as outdoor studio.  Gardening as an artistic endeavour and environmental activism.  With every visit the garden has grown to a state much worse than when I took on the challenge of looking after it.  The internal, mental and emotional side of gardening now coming to the fore.  How gardening can feel like a futile task sometimes – a case of going around in circles (circles being a recurring motif in the garden).  It got me thinking about the process and value of care, how capitalist society undervalues invisible labour and human’s desire for control.

“Care is our individual and common ability to provide the political, social, material, and emotional conditions that allow the vast majority of people and living creatures on this planet to thrive – along with the planet itself.” 

The Care Manifesto: The Politics of Interdependence, Care Collective.