310 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1945 



annually; by the letters which come to my desk from those who feel 

 impelled to tell me "the great pleasure it is to wander through flower 

 gardens and conservatories and to spend quiet, peaceful, restful hours 

 in the grounds," to quote from one of them; by the nearly 150,000 

 people who in 1938 attended the International Flower Show in the 

 Grand Central Palace in New York City between Monday noon and 

 the succeeding Saturday night with an admission charge of $1.10; by 

 the universal interest in gardening and the numerous organizations 

 associated with it, garden clubs, Hock Garden Society, Iris Society, 

 Dahlia Society, Herb Society, Rose Society, Begonia Society, Succu- 

 lent Society, and so on; by the elaborate gardens maintained by the 

 wealthy and the plants raised on window sills in country kitchen and 

 city apartment. 



Someone has said that gardening and a love of gardens are essential 

 components of a full, sane, and rounded life, and traffic with the soil 

 and the green things that grow from it is one of the noblest and most 

 healthful associations man may adopt. To own a bit of ground, dig 

 it with a spade, plant seeds and watch them grow is a most satisfying 

 thing, and fondness for such activity often comes back to a man after 

 he runs the round of pleasure and business. As Henry Ward Beecher 

 once wrote, every book which interprets the secret lore of fields and 

 gardens, every essay that brings us nearer to an understanding of trees 

 and shrubs and even weeds is a contribution to the wealth and happi- 

 ness of man. 



A garden gives the possessor fruit, vegetables, and flowers ; it also 

 teaches patience and philosophy, pacifies and heals the body and the 

 mind. This is recognized in the employment of gardening in occupa- 

 tional therapy by hospitals and prisons, a practice which has been 

 used successfully and is increasing. This was not always so. Oscar 

 Wilde, writing of his own experience in an English jail, said : 



But neither milk-white rose nor red 



May bloom in prison air 



The shard, the pebble and the flint 



Are what they give us there 



For flowers have been known to heal 



A common man's despair. 



At the New York Botanical Garden some years ago we received an 

 anonymous gift of money from an individual who stated that it was 

 sent because the opportunity of enjoying the plantings in the Garden 

 had prevented self-destruction. If one person was impelled to express 

 his appreciation in this fashion there must have been many others less 

 articulate or with smaller need who have felt the influence of plants in 

 times of stress. I believe that in the brave postwar world many are 

 now planning, gardening will be recognized and given an important 

 place because of its occupational and spiritual values. 



