The Gardener Who Trains the Vine

Every spring, in the stone-walled courtyard gardens of Provence, old roses that have climbed the same walls for generations are tended by patient hands. They don't grow there by accident. For decades, careful gardeners have coaxed each new cane toward the light, bending it gently and tying it to the iron trellis with strips of soft cloth. Over time, the rose learns the shape it was always meant to take.…