There are times where you feel like ripping the world apart. The office, the family, the lover, the cars, the crowd. You can feel that scream about to come out of you. Miss Hoggy had just that kind of day, the other day. But lucky for her, she found a sanctuary, just a 20-minute drive from home. She found the Alfred Nicholas Gardens.
Welcome to sanctuary
Who would have thought pain-killer manufacturing can produce such a gorgeous estate in the Dandenong Ranges? Although it was profiteering, Alfred Nicholas must've felt the stress from his very own Melbourne crowd to actually invest in creating this unworldly serene garden around his Burnham Beeches estate. Just one look over the ornamental lake can rest your wandering minds.
It is difficult sometimes to even wonder why we do the things we do, when everything is so cluttered and so fast-paced. The noise inside your head would just refuse to stop ringing. So it was pleasant to be by the lake, hearing the sound of the waterfall, the duck quacking and see the colours clashing, because with that combination tantalising your senses, you can actually forget why it was so cluttered to begin with. You begin to find clarity in what you do.
And I wonder, when Nicholas was gathering his plants from around the world, did he ever realise the calming effect of his horticultural collection? It did for me, as I spent the rest of my afternoon basking in the stillness, far away from my Melbourne crowd.
As I basked in the stillness, I ponder...
