ODD PAPERS

Southland Times, Issue 19099, 17 November 1923, Page 9 (Supplement)

ODD PAPERS

THE GLORY OF THE GARDEN.

R.R.)

(B;

The words, of course, are Kipling’s. And the same writer has some other words, that I cannot just recall, to the effect that no one can have a good garden by merely lazily wishing for it. A fine garden always means plenty of good, honest, hard work. Those who have already tasted the delights of gardening will know quite well j that garden work of many kinds comes ( crowding upon us in spring and early summer. Paths and edgings need constant attention. There are borders and plots to be tended, and seeds and seedlings to be planted and cared for. Some plants must be tied up, fences mended, and arches and screens and lattices kept in order. But, if we bring enthusiasm to the work, it becomes catching throughout the whole household. It is Kipling, again, who says: There’s not a pair of legs so thin, There’s not a head so thick, There’s not a hand so weak and white, Nor yet a heart so sick, But it can find some needful job That’s waiting to be’ done, For the glory of the garden Glorifleth everyone.” The glory of the garden may become a great joy. In most of our cities and towns we have public gardens and parks specially laid out, with choice flowers and shrubs and trees. Public buildings and churches are often adorned with growing flower and leaf, or with clusters of choice blooms. Our school children have their garden plots, and are trained in the rudiments of flower and vegetable culture. Almost every home has its garden plot, where flowers bloom and fruits ripen. To-day a garden is within reach of everyone, and is an unfailing source of delight. It would be difficult to estimate what the world owes to its gardens, or what part the beauty of flowers has played in the moulding of nations, and of individual character. Sir Walter Scott made it the ambition of his life to build Abbotsford, and to lay out the extensive gardens around it. It broke his heart not to be able to complete that work. At his last payment, of £lOO,OOO I think it was, after laying out the gardens, and redeeming the palace, his health failed. That is part of the tragedy of the Waverley novels. The wearying and unremitting toil of a giant brain and an old man’s broken health, were the price paid for the magnificent gardens of Abbotsford. In history we are told that Charlemagne, of France, made his reign famous by ordering that gardens of beautiful flowers should be laid out all over his realm, and he even decided what flowers should be planted. Henry IV., at Montpellier, decreed that there should be flowers planted throughout his dominions, and caused special legislation that Alpine pyrena and certain French plants should be included. The poet Shcnstcne was more famed for his gardens than for his pastoral poetry. We have read in history of the Wars of the Roses, of the Lily of France, of the Rose, Shamrock and Thistle. There are many flowers that have an historical significance. Every nation has its floral emblem, and great issues have sometimes depended on a flower. In recent years the poppy has held hallowed memories for most of’ us. The older Primrose Day in England, and Violet Day in France, are but two instances, among many, of the historical importance of flowers.

It is a fine thing when the spirit of the garden enters into our hearts. But we must not miss the beauty of the garden at dusk, for it is then, as Schiller reminds us, that we may perceive the hand of deity in its well ordered stillness. Bacon, in his classic essay on “Gardens,” tells us that “the breath of flowers is far sweeter in the air, where it comes and goes, like the warbling of music, than in the hand.” And again he says, “God Almighty first planted a garden.” But the glory of the garden leads us out into many thoughts. A garden is a message of bigness, of spaciousness, of the infinite. There are other gardens than those I have mentioned. There are homely plots and national domains everywhere that require cultivation. Kipling’s parable of the garden, with which I commenced, has wide meanings. It is a pity that so many potential gardens should suffer from neglect. We all have our plots to cultivate, but at the very best our cultivation is ofen spasmodic. Sometimes we pay more attention to the care of one special plot, and neglect the others; and, sometimes, alas, we fail to cultivate anywhere, and then life becomes something of a wilderness. But the Gardener of life has given us each our work to do, and it is up to us to keep life’s garden plots in constant repair. I think that life is something of a garden in its physical aspect. Life is a precious gift, and the physical mechanism of the body is a wonderful field of potential possibilities. It was apparently designed for purposes of beauty and usefulness, and modern science is spending more and more care on the proper nourishment and improvement of physical conditions. But, like a garden, it requires individual care. Good health is the first essential, and it is wise to look after that. When health goes, the physical beauty is lost. This truth is at the bottom of our physical culture, our outdoor sports, and the open air life of today. The tendency to modern athleticism is never a weakness in right proportions. The nervous system, also, is part of our bodily nature, and needs careful culture. The whole physical nature must be nurtured with skill, and tended as we do with a garden. A clean and healthy life will always have an influence for good and for beauty. Thus it is ever like a garden. Careful culture is supremely important, and the hardy and muscular framed veterans in life are all the better men for their fine physique and saving strength.

I am not sure but that the mental faculties are even more in need of cultivation in this horticultural aspect. A beautiful thought is more valuable than a beautiful flower, and the mind is a garden where thoughts are planted. This is a plot that repays care and attention, for it produces many glorious beauties of thought and speech. But the mind must be trained to think. Careless and slipshod methods can yield no lasting power. The intellect must be trained to create thought, as well as to retain facts. Great characters are always thoughtful. Moreover, the garden idea is obvious. We cannot help putting our thoughts on exhibition. The flowers or weeds are plain to the view of every passer by, and people are conscious of thought or the lack of it. There are garden plots where the weeds of indolence and carelessness grow unchecked, and there is barrenness and waste. Our nation to-day recognises the power of the intellectual, and our coleges and schools, and our free education supply the first ready means of culture. But these are only the beginning, only the spade work in the garden, and much more remains to be done.

But life’s gardens must be cultivated by individual care. Character is not gained in a day, and it is not gained without individual effort. Institutions may do much, but they can only teach along broad and general lines. The detail work, and the chief

work of life, is the man’s own part. Moreover, I think that in life there is something more than beauty involved. A life of any influence will also have some personal power and aggressiveness. It is not enough to aim at the beautiful; life must also be useful. It is when these two are united in a personal culture, that a light radiates from the character, and sheds a glow on every circumstance and condition. In gardening one must never be selfish. We cultivate our plots not only for ourselves but for others. The flowers we grow impart an influence to the whole street. Therein lies the true story of the . garden.