Unnatural nature

I can only guess that my first strongest memory of a garden would be Parrot Jungle- a relatively large attraction filled with all kinds of tropical plant life, ponds, and some animals including of course parrots and macaws. Most of the birds were free to fly about the park- and the city- but knew where the people that fed them were and would return. I frequently awoke on weekend mornings to the chatter of Parrot Jungle green parrots in our old coconut trees. The other animals' enclosures were spaced throughout the planted forest and I remember racing behind large tree stumps and climbing the moss lined rock walls to get a closer look at an albino alligator or some other creature.

Growing up going to that place as often as I could convince my parents, I remember the plants being somewhat overgrown and unruly- staying true to their Jungle namesake. Monet's garden, in its resurrected state, is well manicured and orderly from what I could see. The level of control is different in these two places but they are actually similar. Yes, Monet's garden is nature, the plants react naturally in their given home like the tropical plants of Parrot Jungle. However the arrangement of these plants is unnatural, man-designed, and placed in a way that suited the artist, the visitor, the families. After reading the handout on the restoration of the area, it became more clear that when left alone that land would be less of a garden, rejecting Monet's placement of pretty flowers, and become more of an overgrown forest. What would be natural animal interaction with these plants is controlled in both places. The turkeys and chickens (although probably unnatural in such a location anyway) are caged and put on display like the alligator. Even the parrots were trained and controlled in such a way that they would always return to their "home".

In both cases nature is manipulated to suit the needs of the people in charge. Whenever man is in control of a small plot of land it is unnaturally managed, but plants will always behave as nature intended.