---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create…"
description: "\"Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend. What all great gardens have in common are their ability to pull the sensitive viewer ou..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg"
---

#  Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens…

![“Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend. What all great gardens have in common are their ability to pull the sensitive viewer out of him or herself and into the garden, so completely that the separate self-sense disappears entirely, and at least for a brief moment one is…” quote by Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg)

> “Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend. What all great gardens have in common are their ability to pull the sensitive viewer out of him or herself and into the garden, so completely that the separate self-sense disappears entirely, and at least for a brief moment one is ushered into a nondual and timeless awareness. A great garden, in other words, is mystical no matter what its actual content.”

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Great gardens transcend mere design, creating a timeless, non‑dual awareness that dissolves self‑boundary.

**In simple terms:** Gardens can be mystical.

Key Takeaway

Seek immersive experiences.

Themes

art nature spirituality perception transcendence

Mood

contemplative inspired

Type

artistic spiritual

When to use this quote

- garden visits
- meditative walks
- art installations

Key Concepts

aesthetics mindfulness philosophy

Questions to Reflect On

- How can design evoke timeless awareness?
- What elements foster self‑loss?

A Different Perspective

Commercial gardens may prioritize profit over depth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Ability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/) [Awareness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awareness/) [Brief moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brief-moments/) [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Copies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/copies/) [Disappear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disappear/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Gardens Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardens-create-2629195/) [Gardens Transcend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardens-transcend-2629196/) [Good Gardens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-gardens-2629194/) [Great garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-garden/) [Great Gardens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-gardens-2629193/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Mystical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystical/) [No matter what](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/no-matter-what/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Sensitive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sensitive/) [Separation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/separation/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Spirituality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirituality/) [Timeless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/timeless/) [Viewers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/viewers/)

## Related quotes

> [Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-great-gardens-transcend/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [It is God's world still. It has been given to man not absolutely, but in trust, that man may work out in it the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phillips-brooks/it-is-god-s-world-still-it-has-been-given-to-man-not-absolutely-but/)

[Phillips Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phillips-brooks/)

> [I thought I'd love to be a gardener because I grew up with a vegetable garden and I love being close to the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-stone/i-thought-i-d-love-to-be-a-gardener-because-i-grew-up-with-a/)

[Curtis Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-stone/)

> [Gardening gives one back a sense of proportion about everything - except itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/may-sarton/gardening-gives-one-back-a-sense-of-proportion-about-everything/)

[May Sarton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/may-sarton/)

> [My mom used to make everything. She had a great garden and composted and made everything from scratch - peanut butter, bread, jelly, everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-roberts/my-mom-used-to-make-everything-she-had-a-great-garden-and-composted/)

[Julia Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-roberts/)

> [Gardening requires lots of water... most of it in the form of perspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-erickson/gardening-requires-lots-of-water-most-of-it-in-the-form-of/)

[Louise Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-erickson/)

> [“The many great gardens of the world, of literature and poetry, of painting and music, of religion and architecture, all make the point as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-many-great-gardens-of-the-world-of-literature-and-poetry-of/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The whole inside of the Pyramid on the ground level on the New Earth is one great Garden within the City, a great City…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berg/the-whole-inside-of-the-pyramid-on-the-ground-level-on-the-new-earth/)

[David Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berg/)

> [And one of the things I find most moving is the way people with infirmities manage to embrace Life, and from the cool flowers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-maria-rilke/and-one-of-the-things-i-find-most-moving-is-the-way-people-with/)

[Rainer Maria Rilke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-maria-rilke/)

> [There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirabel-osler/there-can-be-no-other-occupation-like-gardening-in-which-if-you-were/)

[Mirabel Osler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirabel-osler/)

> [We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-austin/we-come-from-the-earth-we-return-to-the-earth-and-in-between-we-garden/)

[Alfred Austin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-austin/)

> [If you've never experienced the joy of accomplishing more than you can imagine, plant a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-ve-never-experienced-the-joy-of-accomplishing-more-than-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The best way to garden is to put on a wide-brimmed straw hat and some old clothes. And with a hoe in one hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/texas-bix-bender/the-best-way-to-garden-is-to-put-on-a-wide-brimmed-straw-hat-and-some/)

[Texas Bix Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/texas-bix-bender/)

> [The time will come when this luscious golden tomato, rich in nutrition, a delight to the eye, a joy to the palate whether fried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-johnson/the-time-will-come-when-this-luscious-golden-tomato-rich-in-nutrition/)

[Robert Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-johnson/)

> [Gardening imparts an organic perspective on the passage of time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/gardening-imparts-an-organic-perspective-on-the-passage-of-time/)

[William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/)

## More by Ken Wilber

> [A language possesses utility only insofar as it can construct conventional boundaries. A language of no boundaries is no language at all, and thus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/a-language-possesses-utility-only-insofar-as-it-can-construct/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Gaia's main problems are not industrialization, ozone depletion, overpopulation, or resource depletion. Gaia's main problem is the lack of mutual understanding and mutual agreement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/gaia-s-main-problems-are-not-industrialization-ozone-depletion/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [If Spirit has any meaning, it must be omnipresent, or all-pervading and all-encompassing. There can't be a place where Spirit is not, or it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/if-spirit-has-any-meaning-it-must-be-omnipresent-or-all-pervading-and/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Evolution occurs in the world of time and space and form, whereas Spirit's primordial nature is finally timeless and Formless, prior to the of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/evolution-occurs-in-the-world-of-time-and-space-and-form-whereas/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [The most striking feature of the perennial philosophy/psychology is that it presents being and consciousness as a hierarchy of dimensional levels, moving from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/the-most-striking-feature-of-the-perennial-philosophy-psychology-is/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Is this a topic whose time has truly come? The integration of science and religion? Or have I just written a clever book that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/is-this-a-topic-whose-time-has-truly-come-the-integration-of-science/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [In other words, the real problem is not exterior. The real problem is interior. The real problem is how to get people to internally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/in-other-words-the-real-problem-is-not-exterior-the-real-problem-is/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Authentic spirituality... does not render the self content, it renders it undone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-does-not-render-the-self-content-it-renders-it/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [When it comes to spiritual teachers, there are those safe, gentle, consoling, soothing, caring; and there are the outlaws, the living terrors, the Rude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/when-it-comes-to-spiritual-teachers-there-are-those-safe-gentle/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Conscious means "having an awareness of one's inner and outer worlds; mentally perceptive, awake, mindful." So "conscious business" might mean, engaging in an occupation,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/conscious-means-having-an-awareness-of-one-s-inner-and-outer-worlds/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [I believe that evidence shows that there is a real spirit, a real Beach, but it is beneath no pavement whatsoever, for all pavements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/i-believe-that-evidence-shows-that-there-is-a-real-spirit-a-real/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Furthermore, it is not that Spirit is present but you need to be enlightened in order to see it. It is not that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/furthermore-it-is-not-that-spirit-is-present-but-you-need-to-be/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/authentic-spirituality-is-revolutionary-it-does-not-legitimate-the/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [What's my philosophy? In a word, integral. And what on earth — or in heaven — do I mean by integral? The dictionary meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/what-s-my-philosophy-in-a-word-integral-and-what-on-earth-or-in/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

> [Matter begins evolving back to Spirit and, when it's reached, the whole process begins over again for the billionth time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/matter-begins-evolving-back-to-spirit-and-when-it-s-reached-the-whole/)

[Ken Wilber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

[Explore all 200 Ken Wilber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/)

## More Ability quotes

> [I don't think there's a direct correlation between my sexuality and my skiing ability. But I think because I was so concerned about it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gus-kenworthy/i-don-t-think-there-s-a-direct-correlation-between-my-sexuality-and/)

[Gus Kenworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gus-kenworthy/)

> [“the importance of ability. The things that make a great job great, I discovered, are rare and valuable. If you want them in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/the-importance-of-ability-the-things-that-make-a-great-job-great-i/)

[Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/)

> [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/)

[Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/)

> [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/)

[Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/)

> [Maybe law enforcement would like the ability to turn on the camera on your Mac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cook/maybe-law-enforcement-would-like-the-ability-to-turn-on-the-camera-on/)

[Tim Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-cook/)

> [I've seen guys come along with more ability - they've been faster or bigger or stronger - but they never worked hard to develop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-largent/i-ve-seen-guys-come-along-with-more-ability-they-ve-been-faster-or/)

[Steve Largent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-largent/)

> [The youth of India has the strength to move the entire World with a click of a mouse, we have generated that ability!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/the-youth-of-india-has-the-strength-to-move-the-entire-world-with-a/)

[Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/)

> [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/)

[William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/)

> [An absolutely necessary part of a writer's equipment, almost as necessary as talent, is the ability to stand up under punishment, both the punishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/an-absolutely-necessary-part-of-a-writer-s-equipment-almost-as/)

[Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/)

> [I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-washington/i-d-be-more-frightened-by-not-using-whatever-abilities-i-d-been-given/)

[Denzel Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-washington/)

> [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/)

[Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/)

> [You can only do the work to the very best of your ability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-baranski/you-can-only-do-the-work-to-the-very-best-of-your-ability/)

[Christine Baranski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-baranski/)

> [Judge a person not by his ability to make money but by his ability to retain it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/judge-a-person-not-by-his-ability-to-make-money-but-by-his-ability-to/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [Bobby had faith in my ability as a singer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-london/bobby-had-faith-in-my-ability-as-a-singer/)

[Julie London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-london/)

[Browse all 9,990 Ability quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ability/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend. What all great gardens have in common are their ability to pull the sensitive viewer out of him or herself and into the garden, so completely that the separate self-sense disappears entirely, and at least for a brief moment one is ushered into a nondual and timeless awareness. A great garden, in other words, is mystical no matter what its actual content.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Ken Wilber"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-great-gardens-transcend-what-all/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ability"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-great-gardens-transcend-what-all/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/771/ken-wilber-1886_ability_bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-gre_2687286.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create, great gardens transcend. What all great gardens have in common are…” — Ken Wilber",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Ken Wilber",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-wilber/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Bad Gardens copy, good gardens create,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-great-gardens-transcend-what-all/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-wilber/bad-gardens-copy-good-gardens-create-great-gardens-transcend-what-all/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
