Everyone has preferences, whether in decorating one’s home, choosing a wardrobe or planting a garden. Most of us think our choices are best, but can you imagine what our homes, wardrobes or gardens would look like if all of them were exactly like ours? Can you imagine having a garden that had only one kind of tree or one kind of flower?
Consider the fact that North America has 750 different types of trees, a small portion of over 100,000 kinds that exist in the world. In my backyard view alone, I see Savannah holly, pine, pear, crape myrtle, live oak, maple, and magnolia. Each is distinctive and unique with its own characteristics of shape, size, texture, color and quality. Together they make a lively and interesting view. Their variety means they will bear different kinds and colors of leaves, blossoms, and fruit, as well as attract a multiplicity of birds and wildlife.
It’s true of people as well. Our differences are what make life together more lively, colorful and interesting. If we were all alike we might soon become weary of the same old thing. We were made to complement each other. While we like to think our “tastes” are superior to others, they are simply that – our tastes. In matters of judging what is beautiful in décor, clothing or gardens, the old maxim applies – the eye of the beholder is the determinant.
