Revelation and pipe dreams

We're on to the theory of garden design in my course now, something I was kind of afraid of... Until my instructor started the lecture with, "A good garden design hangs off a good concept - an idea that unifies it". Suddenly, an Ah-ha moment (I can't remember who called it that - but what I mean is that I experienced one of those internal smack-yourself-on-the-forehead Homer Simpson 'doh!' moments. I finally got it). "It's just like a good ad," I realized. "I can do that."

You see, I work for the Man. I work in marketing. And one of the first things you learn about creating a good advertising campaign is that it has to have an idea behind it. You can't just throw words and images together - no matter how pretty they may be - there has to be an Idea that makes it compelling and cohesive. And, yes, I can see that about good garden design. At that moment, I actually thought, "maybe I could be a garden designer." Maybe.