In the Garden

"God Almighty first planted a garden. And, indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures." Francis Bacon

"To prevent undue disappointment, those who wish for beautiful flower borders and whose enthusiasm is greater than their knowledge, should be reminded that if a border is to be planted for pictorial effect, it is impossible to maintain that effect and to have the space well filled for any period longer than three months …It should also be borne in mind that a good hardy flower border cannot be made all at once." Gertrude Jekyll

"There is nothing in the world more peaceful than the dappling of light through the leaves of my cottage garden’s apple tree with an early moon." Alice Meynell"Every experienced Christian gardener knows that there is a spiritual spring which comes just as surely as nature’s spring. The Lenten spring is God’s invitation to prayer, fasting, and penance. Like the deep-rooted thistle weed, some of our worst habits withstand all but the most persistent, persevering, and strenuous exercise. A quick pull on the root, however, will not do the trick, nor will an aggressive chop of the hoe. Patience is needed, and the humble willingness to drop down on one’s knees and work carefully with the hand fork and trowel. The Christian gardener patiently picks sin from the soul’s soil and cultivates it with care and attention to the tender new growth of faith. The Christian gardener also respects the fact that God appoints each soul to be ‘the sort of garden it is to be.’ ‘Your job,’ Underhill admonishes, ‘is strictly confined to making [your soul] as good as it can be of its sort.’ Some of us will be contemplative in the manner of a rose garden, and others are more earthy and restless, like a potato patch.” Vigen Guroian

If you wish to be happy for an hour, drink;
If you wish to be happy for a day, cook;
If you wish to be happy for a week, sail
If you wish to be happy for a month, love
If you wish to be happy for a year, marry;
If you wish to be happy for a decade, read;
If you wish to be happy forever, pray;
But, if you wish to be happy all the while, garden.
Ian Guillen

"A house though otherwise beautiful, yet if it hath no garden belonging to it, is more like a prison than a house." William Coles