The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-04-15
By FRANCES sHAFFER-

The sun Is travelling with delightful
speed. to the time OF gardening. and I
wish that you and I had the time and
the spirit 20 coax the great Mother
Earth 10 yield some Of her sweetest
blossoming treasures. TO be. had for the
working.
Do you guess the secret Of ''the old
homestead" when it is spoken Of with
q lingering tenderness that makes you
sure the home Is very dear2. II is not
lo8e Of the stretch OF land. or even Of
The house itself. rich in happy memories
as it may be. but joy in every. nook and
corner OF green, growing, blossoming
things, upon which there has been some
hopeful watching.
The spreading chestnut tree" one time
was a tiny growth, when boys and girls
were tiny with 1t. watched II develope
through years TO the strength Of budding
time. waited with all the impotence Of
childhood for the dropping OF nuts-and
then loved it as a vital part OF the old
place.
A ready-made garden may be mighty
nice. formal. and lovely. but we look
at it, admire, and turn away But wait
until We come TO the spot, just a bare
corner a few yeas ago, transformed into
what will soon be a mass Of swaying
color, lovely in itself. but more beautiful
because 1t has been worked upon with
loving care. For, you know, 1t is in the
back-breaking but altogether delightful
process OF kneeling upon the soft, moist
soil. working and working among the
bowers, that we learn the real JOY OF
gardening.
Time was when I saw with amaze
ment a born gardener steal out to a
little patch Of ground still cold and
dreary under the winds and lingering
SHOWS Of March. where he would
stand as II he expected the earth to open
By magic and the flowers to shoot up
into being. Every one smiled and won
1ered. but he knew that back in No
vember. when the birds and buds Of
summer had gone. he had planted sturdy
brown bulbs that were doing their best
In the cold ground to grow into GRO
cuses, snowdrops, and the bewitching
yellow daffodilss And so he was willing
to wait watch. and even run the gaunt-
let Of smiles for the feast,of color later
on. which never would have seemed
half so riotous If he had not had a
working part in the growth.
One cannot understand until she tries,
cannot guess the pleasure that comes
when the little seedlings prove just half
true 70 the hope placed in them and the
work put upon them. Then all the weary
trudgilg back and forth is forgotten,
hot sun, weeds, horrible. wriggly worms
that make one want TO shut her eyes
and run, all nothing by the side Of the
teFder little plants that may not be the
most beautiful ever. but came because
one worked upon them, and, yes, in
iced, sperspired to the point OF depres-
sion and heaviness.
Then, IL the things viii only come up,
one smiles and knows all about II. is
willing TO work some more and change
another bare corner into a wonder spot
N fact. it may not be wonderful at ALL
lot half so pretty or 50 splendid as
1ne's neighbours but-weIl. you know
you have tried, and If not, there is
little square bit of ground waiting to
each lesson that is well worth the
earning.
In sunshine and among flowers one
must grow glad. and gIadder, and il
there is the personal element that comes
from toiling and digging. wedding and
planting. the little garden seems so much
more real, alive, and worthy of atten-
ton.
But the time-"ay, there's the rub"
1t takes it hours and hours, and days
and days, just for a nice beginning.
Not many of US are rich in leisure
hours. so what can we do but promise
and hope for the time Of fulhIlmsnt,
slipping in a few seeds as we can,
lint Of what the real Garden Kingdom
night mean.
Meanwhile there is one little promise