Elizabeth Dudley Landscape Architecture

As a Landscape Architect Elizabeth Dudley is closely allied to the ideals of Jens Jensen, whose landscape designs articulate a belief in the strong ties to not only the land, but the local native landscapes where one lives. Robert E. Grese in his essay on Jens Jensen “The Landscape Architect as Conservationist” in the volume Midwestern Landscape Architecture, edited by William H. Tishler, writes of Jensen's Danish background with its celebration of the seasons and legends and mysteries of the land and spirits. Jensen believed that maintaining a vital connection with the land is essential for a healthy society. At best, our gardens reflect the natural surrounds of one’s immediate locale and bridge the connections between the earth and our spiritual health. The natural philosopher, E.O. Wilson writes that only in the last moment, in terms of the scale of human history, has the idea prevailed that people could flourish apart from the rest of the living world. Wilson has coined a term, biophilia, to describe our attachment to the earth, one that we still carry as part of our evolution from nature despite the intrusions of modern life. Nature persists in our hearts, in our souls and in our heads. It is because of biophilia that we are drawn to the land and labor to connect with it: our connection with nature is based in the very fiber of our being. In her book “The Healing Garden” Gay Search notes that ‘it’s interesting that when people are learning relaxation techniques that involve visualization, the place they most often conjure up is a garden or the countryside. Some choose the seaside initially but don’t stay with it for long while those who chose a garden do.”