Jeannette Lindvig, a guide in the house and the garden, shares a beautiful essay and photo of the Winterthur Garden:
The other day I watched a young family walking through the garden at Winterthur. The parents were patient and attentive to their three children, two of whom walked easily with their parents. The one who caught my eye, though, was their toddler daughter. She lagged behind no matter how they cajoled and enticed her along.
.
What was she up to? This sweetie with a diapered bottom bent to study and pick up a bug, examining it closely. She poked her face into the fulsome bloom of a peony. A bit further down the path she discovered a thorn on a rose, and flinched but did not cry when she tested its texture with her delicate little fingers. Then suddenly, and with a flourish, she picked a leaf off a shrub and placed it in her mouth, too quick to stop! A little nip, and then she spit!
.
A primitive memory welled in me. I, too, had enjoyed all these sensory discoveries as a small child. It was just my nature. And so I know, this two year old toddler – who, like me today, cannot simply stroll past the flowers and bugs without exploration and examination – is surely destined to become a passionate gardener when she grows up!
