GRASS, GROUND, OR GRAVEL 79 



live flamingoes for hoops and mallets ; the plants have the 

 same habit of taking their vvray, not ours, and this puts us 

 more than ever in conceit w^ith our little plots of green 

 enamel, set with coloured flowers like jewels. 



A grass walk, where there is room for it, is another 

 charming feature. In dry weather, when well kept, 

 nothing is so pleasant to walk on. But no small suburban 

 garden can hope for this luxury ; it is only to be attained 

 in large gardens, that have other walks for everyday 

 wear and tear. 



One of the gardens haunted by me as a child had a 

 very long grass walk. There was a flower border on 

 each side of it, and behind the borders there were trees. 

 How we all delighted in this part of the garden-ground ; 

 how many were the friendships sworn along that silent 

 scented pathway. It was said, moreover, that every 

 engagement in the family dated from it. 



Perhaps it is going too far to praise turf because it is 

 healthy, and poetry is no argument ; but Fuller, about 

 1620, said that "to smell to a turf of fresh earth is 

 wholesome to the body." Ruskin in his best prose speaks 

 lovingly of its " soft and countless peaceful spears," and 

 Shakespeare simply revels in grass. The Bible, too, 

 generally the first poem a child loves and is influenced 

 by, may be responsible for some of the fascination of the 

 green herb : " Like rain upon the mown grass ; " " Thou 

 shalt lead me in the green pastures ; " " He maketh the 

 grass to grow upon the mountains." No wonder one 

 loves and even idealizes grass. 



