The morning sun has warmed and dissolved the last remaining mist.
We pass through an old garden door, hanging in its hinges, on which has been painted:
“…… You must go through many doors to reach the enclosed garden of your soul……”
written by Charles.
Bordered by a variety of fruit-bearing trees and plants you begin your walk in the garden of the fertilization. At once you are struck by the sculpture “The Kiss”. Inspired by a painting by Gustav Klimt, Hans IJzerman gives you a first impressive example of the intimacy which Charles and he are regularly able to create in this nature. Through a part of the garden which is dark and thickly covered with trees and plants ( the garden of darkness, which symbolizes pregnancy) you come to an open space, where the morning sun emits a lovely warmth. The garden of birth with a lovely cottage. A beautiful view of the surrounding meadows and the nature reserve “Het Woudhuis”. Here the stream of life begins and feeds a well which is almost filled to the brim, the life gardens. As you can see in our human lives, you can (must) make a choice here. How do you continue this journey of discovery through this wondrous nature? You choose all three options, after all you have plenty of time and …..can we also recommend it to you? .. do take all three paths; the fern-path, the jungle and the subtropical valley.
Next, the red garden symbolizes one of the colors of the rainbow of chakras. Do you feel a surge of your energy? After this your path leads you through a swamp, where wooden planking makes it easier for you to walk. The garden of sound, one of the five gardens of the senses, opens out in front of you now. From a hill (with a meditation-centre like a parish-church), mainly covered with a rockery, water streams gradually down to a fantastic water garden. Opposite, on a peninsula, you can see the mystical “standing stones”. Amidst rustling bamboo-bushes you can hear thaw gurgling of a wall fountain. Seated around a romantic basin you can listen to the diversity of the sounds of nature.
After the bamboo garden there are the orange and yellow gardens with, subsequently, the garden of sight. You go through the garden of touch, where you can feel the exhibited statues and sculptures. Watched by the Indian and the Pharaoh you have a beautiful view of the island with the romantic bower. During the garden season, several people will play their music here. You will find your peace and quiet a bit further, near the big Buddha-statue near the edge of the pond. After the green garden with a collection of tree-ferns you pass a spinx bridge with a waterfall. A romantic avenue of roses is in front of you. The warmth garden is a place for rest. Here you can relax in the victorian pavilion and enjoy a cup of tea or coffee. Then descend to the subtropical beach. Take a seat on one of the benches and enjoy a wonderful view of the pond. You take your leave of this garden of love and arrive at the crossroads of life. Here Charles and Hans again symbolize the choices we have to make in our lives.
We turn right and experience the blue and the pink garden. In the latter a zodiac garden has been laid out In the meantime, flowers and plants are basking in the sun. The mineral garden is surrounded by a few stone walls and is filled with a variety of grasses. In the middle there is a mineral hill. From this garden you have access to a really mystical part of the Life gardens; the “standing stones”, situated on a peninsula next to an attractive pond. By way of the afore-mentioned butterfly garden and scented garden, you are finally welcomed and lovingly accepted in the Soul of the Life gardens; the white garden. A Zen-like garden, still and hidden. You take your leave of this awe-inspiring garden, pass the crossroads of life again, and now cross “The Channel”. You continue to the Greek temple in the garden of death. Terence Hill (an American artist) shows you by means of refined and imposing wall paintings the course of life to the transition, the moment of death.
You leave through the garden of taste. Here you can let everything sink in and in and around our second tea house you can sample something delicious.
