Tapestry@25: gardener Marjorie Harris

Marjorie Harris is a writer and gardener from Toronto. She's always found signs of the sacred right in her own backyard.

"Any time of the year, you will find a bloom out there, something that's in bloom. And if you look directly in its face, I always think you're sort of looking into the face of God," Harris said. "I mean, if God is everywhere, which some people think, God cannot not be in the face of a plant."

Tapestry host Mary Hynes spoke to Harris in the spring of 2005, just as her garden was coming to life for a new season.

"On those days when I'm ready for it, it is perfect," she said. "And it's like walking into a cathedral where you think, how could anybody have created this? This is perfect."

Harris is hardly alone in these observations. 

In her book In The Garden: Thoughts On Changing Seasons, Harris writes, "Nuns and monks in medieval times used gardening as part of their sense of worship. And that has persisted among the gardeners I know, whether they belong to an organized religion or not. They are always intensely spiritual people."

Harris says a life in the garden has given her a certain perspective; she's able to take the long-view of things:

"Before I started gardening, I was probably the worst tempered person you've ever met in your entire life and I may not have improved a lot. But I learned how to tone things down. I no longer have any sense of urgency about my garden. I can wait to see this little stick I'm putting in the ground now. It's not going to do anything for 15 years. I can wait."

This interview was produced by Susan Mahoney, Marieke Meyer and Alisa Segal.