GARDENING—A GREAT FORCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 11

GARDENING—A GREAT FORCE

ITS DEVOTEES INCREASING. We are being constantly reminded of the testimony which has been left on record for our edification, that gardening is the purest of human pleasures. With this we are in full accord, but we submit it is even more than this ; it is one of the most health-giving and alluring of hob-, bies. Its devotees are übiquitous, and are to be found among men and women in all walks of life. It knows no politics, recognises few limitations, as wherever land is found that can be cultivated there gardens arise that combine beauty and utility. It has a freemasonry of its own, yet unfettered by stringent laws, and those once initiated in its cult and becoming enamoured of it seldom desert the order, but remain faithful adherents. It is the open-sesame to many a conversation, and has relieved the tedium of morethan on e long railway journey that would otherwise have been monotonous. More than once it has been responsible for a casual acquaintance ripening into personal friendship because of a talk on some particular plant or flower, or the special culture of a vegetable in wliich both were deeply interested. Indeed, there is scarcely any popular flower which at one time or another has not drawn gardeners together in the common bond of comradeship On 5 has only to think of the old society of tulip growers in the north of England, the National rose and chrysanthemum societies, as well as that devoted to dahlias, and of recent origin, comparatively, the sweet pea and gladioli asso ciations. In all these the members of the fraternity foregather to exhibit their best productions and to chat about them Gardening has become a great force in the lives of not a few, and every year one can see how the influence continues to spread. And _ there is really no finality about gardening, as in some other pursuits that could be mentioned. It is ever urging those who have once joined its ranks and have come under its spell co attempt something greater than they have done before ; perhaps to strike out on new lines in the raising of fresh varieties of flowers which have long attracted them. There always remains some task to be done. We cannot say, for instance, when we think w e have concluded some bit of work to our liking, “ There, that is finished and done with! ” As a matter of fact, the work of one day is but the prelude to some other duty in the near future which will demand our attention. We can seldom, if ever, write finis to our gardening operations. The ground we clear and dig and manure in the winter waits our sowing and planting in spring, and afterwards the hoeing and weeding and tending each particular crop involves, or the plants we grow, need for their full development. The ideal gardener must ever be looking towards the future fin scheming and planning and attempting work that in its season shall bring its own reward. He it is who has been described “ ere one flowery season fades and dies designs the bloom ing wonders of the next.” He it is who attends to the wants of his plants and his garden in season and out of season, under leaden skies when work is not always congenial, as well as in summer sunshine. If he cannot, through lack of space or opportunity, grow all h e would like to grow, he learns to limit himself and be content with the culture of some definite subjects rather than attempt many with little success. Spasmodic gardening has no place in his thoughts; he believes in thoroughness, and that there is a time for everything; that if plants are worth growing at all, they are worth growing well I 1

We all know that in the early years of the war how thousands, who had scarcely handled a spade before, responded to the appeal to grow vegetables, and though when the extreme need passed away many gave up what at first they looked upon as pressing duty, it has to be said that thousands have remained loyal to their plots. Not a few of the tyros of those days who knew littl e or nothing about vegetable culture have by practice and determination to excel become experts, and have exhibited their produce with success. It was only natural when opportunity cams that the cultivation of flowers and fruit should claim their attention, and to-day in the growing army of amateur gardeners there are to be found numbers who specialise in one thing or another. If it could be ascertained wljy it is that gardening continues to be taken up by fresh enthusiasts every year, we should no doubt find out that there is an impelling force which draws and wooes all sorts and conditions of folk, and such a force is contagious. You see it abundantly demonstrated in new districts where houses are being erected. To-day the garden, as well as the house, counts, and there is a desire to make it beautiful with flowering plants at the earliest opportunity. And the bulk of the work about these new gardens is not “ put out, but is undertaken by the occupiers of the dwellings, one of the healthy signs of a personal interest which will continue to grow as the years pass.—Th e Garden.