POOR MEN'S GARDENS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXII, Issue 2808, 26 July 1866, Page 4

POOR MEN'S GARDENS.

No waxen blossoms stained with rainbow hues, No crimson -flush of petals, heaven-dyed, No spoils of distant zones and eastern shores, Snatched from the poisonous woods to feed man's pride' ; No spiked *nd spotted aloes, dagger-fenced, No lilies floating on their leafy raft, .No air-plants dappled like great butterflies, Spice odours from the Orient isles to waft ; w But just one little bush of southernwood, Fragrant and evergreen as honesty, And clumps of purple hearts-ease, rarely found In rich men's gardens, wheresoe'er they be. j A tufted rod of holyhocks, with rosettes, For bovrer-pot or for posy ; or a bed Of blood-red scented cloves, so jagg' d and quaint, To deck a Sunday coat with tuft of red. A plant of marigold, with golden glow, To spread perennial sunshine o'er the plot ; ', A winter rose, to bloom when summer's gone, And cast a gleam of hope when spring's forgot. Yes, in the poor man's garden often grow Far more than herbs, or fruit, or pleasant flowers, Kind thoughts, Contentment, Gratitude, and Love, And balms and anodynes for weary hours.