Life, with the garden
Location: Gothenburg, Sweden • • • Visit: June 2023
I read an interview with sociologist Anna Tsing. She said: “I fear that no one will listen to our denouncements unless we make them beautiful. /…/ To feel wonder in the midst of dread.”
Then my night train from Berlin was delayed and I missed my connection in Malmö, arriving too late in Gothenburg to make it to my Bergen-bound connection in Oslo.
To not fall apart, I took a short tram ride to the Gothenburg botanic garden. Established in 1923, the garden covers 20 hectares and the arboretum an additional 55. It is open to the public, free of charge, and the varied topography makes it an inspiring place to explore.
In Smith’s hollow, one of the many secluded corners in the botanic garden in Gothenburg, I start thinking about beauty again. It easily comes to mind here in the garden. How they have used the topography and existing soils to create little rooms of plants and birdsong. It has rained today, the smells are bright and lush and alluring, inviting me onto new mossy paths around trees and through crevices.
I feel so present.
I was tired and frustrated, train delays and re-bookings and will I ever make it back home – but now:
I am here.
An unexpected pocket in time. A gift from a willful day laughing at my plans.
I tell my students about the ability to handle surprise, in our world that is ever-changing. And here I am, surprised. I thought I would get to sleep in my own bed tonight. I thought I knew gardens. Instead, sitting on a bench in Smith’s Hollow, wonderstruck.
Katja Malmborg 