Temple-Nursery

And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Gardening may be the most exasperating occupation under the sun, but it gives as much as it gets--no more no less. Life in a garden is one long war with the powers of Evil, but the victory is worth winning. Maddening catastrophes are followed by spectacular triumphs. One minute you are flat on your face, and the next you are soaring on the wings of the morning.

A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.

I am very fond of the Spring-flowering colchicums, but unfortunately slugs are also, and those greedy gastropods and I have a race for who can see the flower-buds first. If I win I go out after dark with an acetylene lamp and a hatpin and spear the little army of slugs making for a tea party at the sign of the Colchicum.

Writing and gardening, these two ways of rendering the world in rows, have a great deal in common.

Improbability is not a quality we value in landscapes.

Behind every bloom-filled border is a grubby, sweaty gardener with muddy knees, chipped fingernails, and sore muscles--and a big smile, too.