CHAPTER V 



THE PATRON SAINTS OF GARDENING 



" Come, my spade. There is no ancient gentlemen but 

 gardeners, ditchers, and grave-makers; they hold up Adam's 

 profession." — Shakespeare : Hamlet. 



With all the myth and legend interwoven with 

 gardening, it is only fitting that gardeners should 

 have a patron saint to guard their interests and look 

 after their welfare, and in this matter they are 

 particularly lucky, having two saints as their especial 

 patrons: St. Fiacre and St. Phocas. 



All through the ages we owe far more than we 

 know or imagine to those grand pioneers the monks, 

 for their skill in flower culture and herbalism; and 

 gardeners, who, to a man, are dedicated to such a 

 peaceful and meditative pursuit, should care to 

 know of the story of St. Fiacre, the Irish prince, 

 who turned hermit, and after his death was hailed 

 the patron of gardeners, and of St. Phocas, the 

 holy gardener who was martyred for the Faith in 

 early days. 



The lives of these holy men should prove of great 

 inspiration to all tillers of the soil in these very 

 mundane days, and true gardeners, being simple- 

 minded folk, will want none of the " New Thought " 

 of these modern days. The old religion and the 

 same patron saints of a few centuries ago will 

 doubtless be quite good enough for them. 



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