IX 



THE OLYMPIAN ASPECT 



There are many ways of regarding a garden of flowers ; 

 from the utilitarian view it is a reasonable method of 

 utilising a space of ground for horticultural purposes, but 

 I prefer to take the Olympian view and quote from " The 

 Poet's Geography," to the effect that a garden of flowers 

 is — " A collection of dreams surrounded by clouds." 



At first sight the somewhat expansive imagery of this 

 definition might appear over-vague and unsatisfactory 

 where a very definite question, like a garden of flowers, 

 is concerned. But, come to see it in a lofty light, and at 

 once its truth stands clear. A garden is the proper 

 adjunct of a house, and a house, fully said, is a dream 

 come true, yet still surrounded by the clouds of infinite 

 possibilities. It is always growing, is a true home. 

 Like a flower it expands to every sweet whisper of the 

 wind. Like a flower it shuts at night, or opens to accept 

 the dew. It is something so elusive that only the gar- 

 lands of love hold it together. 



The garden, to the real house, is, like the dwelling, a 

 place of the most subtle fancies. Every flower there, 

 every tree and each blade of grass holds mystery and 

 imagination. The Gods walk there. 



The flower beds (accepting the Olympian idea) are not 

 mere collections of flowering herbage, but are volumes of 

 poetry growing in the sun. Take your hedge of Sweet 

 Peas, for example, and tell me what they are — no — tell 



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