Guardians of the Garden
There are photos that can capture a whole lifestyle. For me, this is one of them. I’ve always been drawn to it, but now the connection is visceral. The events of the past two months have, for the first time, given me a first-hand glimpse into what has shaped the understanding of food and the garden for the Italian-born gardeners I document. They didn’t grow up with the luxury of taking their food for granted. Theirs was a more tangible experience - you survived on what you grew with your own hands. They lived with an inherent understanding that the availability of food was a matter of life and death. Food and the natural world that produced it were elevated to the level of the sacred. As I’ve visited old-school gardens across the country, it’s not uncommon to see rosaries hanging in fig or olive trees, beautiful Madonnas and a variety of saints standing guard at the edge of garden beds. I now understand the desire to reverently invoke divine care and protection for one of our most basic needs.
