2 WOOD AND GARDEN 



in them. For the love of gardening is a seed that 

 once sown never dies, but always grows and grows to 

 an enduring and ever-increasing source of happiness. 



If in the following chapters I have laid special stress 

 upon gardening for beautiful effect, it is because it is 

 the way of gardening that I love best, and know 

 most about, and that seems to me capable of giving the 

 greatest amoimt of pleasure. I am strongly for treating 

 * garden and wooded ground in a pictorial way, mainly 

 with large effects, and in the second place with"^ lesser 

 beautiful incidents, and for so arranging plants and 

 trees and grassy spaces that they look happy and at 

 home, and make no parade of conscious effort. I try 

 for beauty and harmony everywhere, and especially for 

 harmony of colour. A garden so treated gives the 

 delightful feeling of repose, and refreshment, and purest 

 enjoyment of beauty, that seems to my understanding 

 to be the best fulfilment of its purpose ; while to the 

 diligent worker its happiness is like the offering of a 

 constant hymn of praise. For I hold that the best 

 purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give re- 

 freshment of mind, to soothe, to refine, and to lift up 

 the heart in a spirit of praise and thankfulness. It is 

 certain that those who practise gardening in the best 

 ways find it to be so. 



But the scope of practical gardening covers a range 



of horticultural practice wide enough to give play to 



K every variety of human taste. Some find their greatest 



pleasure in collecting as large a number as possible of 



