THE CHARM OF GARDENS 



think the abominations of gardening are leaving us, such 

 as the monkey-puzzle tree in the centre of a round bed, 

 and the rows of half-moon beds cut by the side of our 

 lawns and filled with Geraniums and Lobelias, and the 

 rustic seat (horror !), and the rustic summer-house made 

 of rough pieces of tree limbs badly nailed together 

 (horror of horrors !). Now we know more of the way to 

 make pergolas, and terraces, and how to build summer- 

 houses, and the curse of the Mid- Victorian gardening is 

 come to an end with the antimaccassar, and the wax 

 fruit under a glass case, and the sofa with horsehair 

 bolsters. 



Of course, true gardening is the work and interest of a 

 lifetime, like the collecting of objects of Art, and as such 

 inspires much the same eager passion and healthy rivalry. 

 Therefore let the setting of your collection be as perfect 

 as possible, and those paths leading to the choice collec- 

 tions as fine as the velvet on which priceless enamels are 

 laid. Indeed enamel is a happy word, for what do 

 your flowers do but enamel the earth with their sweet 

 colours, and in pattern, choice, and variety, will surpass 

 all things made by man alone. 



And here I take my leave of paths, that great subject 

 that should indeed be a book to itself, for if a man sit 

 down to think of paths he begins to follow one himself, 

 and, starting from the cradle, ends at the grave, or, 

 pursuing some path of history, comes into the broad high- 

 road of all learning, or looking up and observing the stars 

 finds a train of thought in following the path of a star. 

 In a garden path, or from it, he may meditate all these 

 things with right and proper circumstance of mind, for 

 he has flowers at his feet full of the meat of good things, 

 rare remembrancers of history, and exquisite things on 

 which to base a philosophy ; while, as for the stars, are 

 they not the Daisies of the Fields of Heaven ? 



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