babylon5_love | Jun. 18th, 2018

Babylon Five Reverie 2: Plants and Gardens

A series set on a space station, spinning in deep space, all the air and water recycled, is not the place for a garden. And yet, plants and gardens play important roles in Babylon 5. I think it makes sense…nature is where we came from, and even in the dark of space, light and what it brings forth, matters. Not just for air, and food, but for connection to where we came from. Tech is distance, nature is connection.

Let’s look at a few examples, shall we?

Londo had starlilies grown for his love Adira. So romantic! The starlilies appear again when Adira returns, though she doesn’t get to enjoy them that time.

Red roses appear in Susan’s life, first when her ex-lover Malcolm gives her a single bloom. It’s obviously expensive and touches her inner romantic. This is early in the series and Susan has been presented as a hard ass straight line type, and we get to see some of her soft side. Later in a comic misunderstanding times two, she almost gets rose from Lt. Corwin, who is too scared to present them as his own offering. She decides they are from Marcus and flings them in his face. He of course is thrilled. French farce, de la rose.

G’Kar talks about the lost forests of Narn, destroyed in their first war with the Centauri, then whatever they had recovered was pounded to dust in the second war. There is a plant that is important in a religious ceremony, and the ship transporting it to the station has a problem. There is another one available….but G’Kar has a problem. Londo has possession of the last G’Quan Eth in nearby space. It’s vital, the ceremony has to occur at a certain time and Londo is too, too pleased that he can hold his possession of the plant from his enemy. Sinclair works it out, and G’Kar gets his candle time.

Lastly let’s talk about the gardens in the core of the station. They are used mostly for growing food, for recycling air and water, but also importantly for that connection. We hear about Ivanova’s secret coffee stash, we see each ambassador taking time to meditate, and we see the revelation of the Vorlon’s true nature. And the Zen Garden, well, it’s an important place for my main OTP, John Sheridan and Delenn. They have meetings, both planned and unplanned, conversations, mutual discoveries and disclosures, and their love is underlined by their connection through the garden.

I wish we’d seen more of the gardens, especially the alien plants. There were over 150 species of plant in the garden, and examples from many other planets. The Fresh Air restaurant overlooks the garden, and the transit tube runs through it. In many ways it’s the heart of the station