Devising a vocabulary for gardening is like devising a vocabulary for sex. There are the correct Latin names, but most people invent euphemisms. Those who refer to plants by Latin name are considered more expert, if a little pedantic.

Knee-deep in the cosmic overwhelm, I’m stricken by the ricochet wonder of it all: the plain everythingness of everything, in cahoots with the everythingness of everything else.

Words are small shapes in the gorgeous chaos of the world. ... they bring the world into focus, they corral ideas, they hone thoughts, they paint watercolors of perception.

As fleeting emotions stalk it, a face can leak fear or the guilt of a forming lie.

Tranquillity hides in small spaces, and when found needs to be treasured, because you know it's a phantom that will slip away again.

We are defined by how we place our attention.

I am a great fan of the universe, which I take literally: as one. All of it interests me, and it interests me in detail.