as eve said....

EVE OVERLOOKING THE GARDEN

The garden has ignited.
It’s feverish. Even the white clematis
flutters with sun,

and the red lilies and coral bells
burn back at it. Windblown petals
of cardinals flash

across the buttery primroses:
a good year for gardens.
Everything shines.

I write this standing at my window.
I don’t go down into the garden.
From here I see everything

at once, all the flowers trapped
in color, in their showy, slow
ignition — petal, pistil, leaf and stamen

separating off. Perhaps
there is a way
out of such fiery

gorgeousness. It must
be wearing. Even at night
when I’ve gone blind
I hear this splendid confusion

of harmonics, what only can be
the sharp yellowing
of gloriosas, the speckle-

throated oranging
of the Canada lilies.

—© John Engels


Is there anything new under the sun?
Certainly there is.
See how a bird flies, how flowers smile!

—© yone noguchi

(source)

(i think it is also worth mentioning that since in both cultures, what was most often being painted were the upper classes, it is not surprising that this interest was shared.)