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The Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden
From the Foreword
Ecclesiastes 2:4-6:
I have done great things: I built houses, I planted vineyards; I made gardens and orchards, and I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made ponds to water the grove where the trees grow.
I begin with Solomon’s thoughts, the wisest and richest man, who did everything he wanted, had everything his heart desired, and finally arrived at a sad but true meditation: Then, when I looked carefully at all the works I had done with my hands and the labor I had labored in, I saw that all is vanity and chasing the wind, and that nothing is more lasting under the sun (verse 11).
This book is a collection of original images and fragments of memories from my life in California, 15 years ago. There are more than 600 photographs, sketches, and projects that I had the courage to dream about and later put into practice. Some dreams were too ambitious and did not end the way I expected. Others exceeded my standards and gave me energy and hope that still remain with me.
I was a dreamer, an artist-engineer, and I tried to create a little corner of heaven on earth, a utopia that also remained in my dreams. I carried with me a rich past from Transylvania, where I lived for 9 years, and there too I had great aspirations. I took an old house, a fortress with 1-meter-thick stone walls and a gate on the street, so no one could see inside. In the back there was a yard with a vine-covered trellis, a huge fir tree, a wheel fountain, and a wood shed. Behind it was a hill with trees and an orchard, where the bear would come at night to eat the fruit. The path through the orchard led to the forest below the 700-year-old fortress of Michelsberg. I struggled with the hardships of the communist era and the harsh winters with huge snowdrifts, with the indifference of the local Germans, cold and closed off, and with the envy and contempt of the communists, who looked down on me. I managed to build a little house like those in fairy tales, a castle rebuilt to suit my taste and my strength as an artist-engineer.
I took up the past again and, dream after dream, I slowly put it into practice with the help of my sons Edy and Berny and my wife Miki, who supported me with understanding and financially. Sometimes my dreams went beyond reality and she would scold me and stop me from going further. I dreamed and drew in notebooks and on the computer, played with 3D parametric modeling, and had my own sense of color and beauty drawn from nature, flowers, birds, the murmur of springs, and swarms of bees. I brought them home as dream images: whispering and restless fountains, exotic pheasants in red and blue, fruit hidden in the jungles of Hawaii and the Amazon, palm trees, and giant bamboo forests that rustled over the streams.
I built 5-meter-high cascades with many steps, falling through reeds and bamboo forests, and fountains with mustached lions whose water-silk faces were worn by the sun, reminding me of old monasteries in Europe or along the Pacific coast. Stories of wild jungles, fiery colors and bees, singing birds with colorful exotic feathers, fruit from faraway islands, and lemons with witch’s hands… these broken images from stories can be seen in fragments across the pages of this book.
Alongside the fulfillment of dreams and aspirations there are also sad stories that came unexpectedly. The envy of neighbors and the contempt of bureaucrats, who tormented me, are also true, and I mention them briefly at the end of the book.
The chilly nights of December and the night hunters, the gophers, were also my enemies. The lack of water and the clay soil in the garden also kept me from fully realizing my dreams. I was enthusiastic, I took classes at community college in tropical plant studies, and I attended many conferences with the most passionate gardeners in America, CRFG (California Rare Fruit Growers), where we exchanged plants, fruits, ideas, and friendships.
I also brought a few brushstrokes, vibrant as fire, a handful of paintings, and drops of my soul from the garden of dreams… In the end, looking back from afar, I watch with nostalgia and compare Solomon’s thoughts with today’s reality. What remains after you? It is a fair question, one that leaves every reader to answer for themselves.
Pavy Beloiu, 2022, United States
About
- A collection of images from 15 years in California
- The dreams of an artist-engineer trying to create a corner of heaven on earth
- Tropical gardens with cascades, fountains, and exotic plants
- Stories about Transylvania and life under communism
- Life lessons drawn from failures and achievements
Book Details
- Title: The Garden of Eden
- Author: Pavy Beloiu
- Publication Date: May 25, 2024
- Pages: 158
- ISBN: 979-8326499615
- Languages: English (EN)
- Formats: Paperback, PDF