198 



The Garden Magazine, December, 1921 



THE entire courtyard is laid out as a harmonious unit. 

 There is a central motive in the form of a fountain and pool 

 which face the Hospital. The walks pass through a score of 

 individual gardens. There are Rose gardens, and Carnation 

 gardens, a small formal garden, besides lawns, Pansy beds, 

 avenues of Standard Roses, and some most symmetrical hedges. 



Everything is conscientiously labeled. Beauty was com- 

 bined with the practical; for what was the use of admiring a 

 wonderful Rose or Carnation and not being able to tell its 

 name. Weeds are "tabu" within San Quentin, because, in Pat's 

 philosophy, weeds stand for evil, as indeed they do elsewhere. 



Climatic conditions making a realization of The Garden 

 Beautiful impossible without irrigation, ditches were provided 

 in the Rose garden, among the Carnation beds, in short, wherever 

 necessary. Stepping-stones and trellises, boarded walks and 

 Rose arbors — with an ingenuity born of a great idea, Pat slowly 

 but steadily worked toward perfection. The acquisition of some 

 allegoric figures and vases, mounted upon appropriate pedestals, 

 marked the final evolution from an enclosed yard to a garden 

 creditable to any country estate. 



WORK of this kind cannot go on, even behind prison walls, 

 without finding recognition. In due time, The Garden 

 Beautiful of San Quentin became known throughout the state, 

 and even beyond. And the amazing part of it all is that 

 everything accomplished was done without a cent of cost 

 to the institution, other than the labor, which its officials have 

 long since recognized as an enormously beneficial factor in the 

 morale of the prison. 



Besides being an idealist and practical gardener, Pat proved 

 a good advertising man. All he needed was material with which 

 to work. There was plenty of it outside of St. Quentin. To 

 get it within, he founded an Abou ben Adhem Club. 



Periodically some kindhearted visitor would send Pat some 

 seeds, plants, or other garden material. These voluntary con- 

 tributions were turned to good account. Pat asked, and se- 

 cured permission to acknowledge such gifts with a most taste- 

 fully gotten-up certificate. 



This certificate states that, because of a voluntary contri- 

 bution to The Garden Beautiful and his, or her, charitable atti- 

 tude toward fellowmen, the holder has been made an honorary 

 member of the Abou ben Adhem Club of San Quentin. Printed 

 in several colors and gold, on stiff board, it lends itself readily to 

 framing. 



And be it said that among its one hundred or so members 

 are governors of states, merchant princes of America, the fore- 

 most horticulturists of the Golden State, besides many whose 

 names are upon the rolls of America's foremost social and busi- 

 ness clubs. 



Pat Tyrone earned his reward. Before retiring from his able 

 management of the country's most unique garden enterprise, the 

 prison officials voted that, whoever the successor of Pat Tyrone, 

 he should, in honor of the good work done by Pat The First, be 

 willing to assume the name of Pat Tyrone for the duration of 

 his service as head gardener. Pat Tyrone III is on the job. 

 Let the good work go on ! 



[It is hardly possible to over-estimate the importance of this 

 movement, whether looked at from the standpoint of the men 

 within prison walls or of the larger group without. Anything 

 that induces healthful physical activity, that stirs the desire 

 to create beauty under conditions so adverse, means not only 

 bodily and spiritual gain for the individual, but the enrichment 

 of the world to which he returns a distinctly better type of 

 citizen. To readers of Mr. Donald Lowrie's "My Life in 

 Prison" this little article comes with special appeal. — Ed.] 



THE TRANSFIGURED COURTYARD AT SAN QUENTIN 



