Gardener's Faith 



In the garden, the whole aim and endeavour is 

 to get the maximum effect out of the energy of the 

 flowers, and trees, and plants, and the earth, and 

 the gardener, and yourself : to get the maximum 

 effect without exhaustion, so that there is an 

 infinite reserve to draw upon. Waste of time, 

 waste of money are as nothing : time and money 

 are only symbols of energy, which is life, and life, 

 as Samuel Butler has observed, is an opportunity : 

 a thing not to be wasted, since there is no certain 

 knowledge that it will occur again, and it is known 

 that an opportunity disregarded brings its own 

 punishment. 



Fortunately it is not necessary to digress into 

 theology to confute Elisabeth. The garden as it 

 stands is answer enough for her. The garden 

 as it will be should once for all squash her 

 desire to reduce all classes to the level of the 

 derelict class, which has excited her sentimental 

 pity. 



Almost all the plants and shrubs in the brown 

 garden were transplanted from some other position 

 in which they were languishing in obscurity. The 

 rhododendrons were thinned out from those joining 

 the croquet lawn to the wood, the lupins were 

 wherever they had seeded themselves, and the iris 

 were tucked away under the plum tree by the 



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