Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1923-08-23
THE MEANING
OF GARDENS
BY DIR. FRANK CRANE.

! The great Bacon wrote an essay
"Of Gardens" which. by the way.
was rather commonplace and showed
that Homer mods. There have been
several learned men in China ana
Japan who have written of gardens.
but most of this sort of literature that
II have seen has been curious and
pedantic.
| 1t has always seemed, however,
that there is behind every garden an
idea Everything in it is in some
sJul that made II.
| After wandering through many
Earoens, particularly in the Tar cast,
where gardening is a seriously prac-
ticed art, / have noted the following
features and have guessed at their
; significance.
! !. The Tree. This stands for all
vegetation. shrubbery and greenery.
| The tree is a symbol of the vitality
! of nature, the force of its growth.
The early Teutonic peoples wor-
| SHIPPED trees. and for each man a
| tree was selected which grew with his
/ growth and was cut down and form
! ed his coffin at his death. The tree
means the mothering of nature; from
it come the food, shelter. clothing and
housing of man.
! . The Water. The, pool or still
water is the eye Of the landscape. 1t
makes the earth seem alive. just as
! man seems awake when his eye opens.
! Still water is a sign Of perfection.
/ the one thing that nature makes
perfectly smooth and even. The run
ming brook is the voice of the earth
! it babbles on and tattles all the Sc
crets OF the universe to those who
/ can understand.
| g. The Stone. The great rock or
! natural stone is particularly fancied
! in all far east gardens. Huge rocks
are transported from great distances
rocks honeycombed by the beating
! of ocean waves; rocks smelted into
quaint forms by the furnaces of VOL
! canoes; rocks followed and gnarled
! by the teeth of torrents: petrifications
from the depths of inland seas. and
richly tinted masses from mineral
| districts-all these are sought for and
! treasured The stone represents that
fxity which this fluctuating life
Graves. that strength and immuta-
! bility of which we dream.
/ 4. The Way. There are three forms
of the way, the gate, the bridge and
! the path.
! Much is made of the gate in all
eastern gardens and grounds. The
! gate stands for the sanctity of prop
| erty, for the right which a man has
"
| of keeping other people out
The meaning of bridges is obvious.
! There is always way to surmount
/ any difficulty. The art and labor of
J man can overcome any obstacle of
nature. The bridge is the typical tri-
! umph of the human spirit over the
opposition of natural forces.
| The path must be in every garden.
! 1t is never straight, but always wind
! ing. picturing that strange and de-
| vious way in which the progress of
! each life takes its direction. The
! beginning we know and the end we
know. but the path between is strange
and winding.
! ). The Lantern. In every eastern
| garden there is "a lantern. Often this
/ is of massive stone in the top OF
which is little window wherein a
candle may be set. Sometimes 1t is
of metal. The object of the lantern
Is not to give light to illuminate the
! landscape. but to be a point of light
to be looked at for itself. Shake
speare caught the spiritual signiti-
canoe of the little light ray in a great
darkness:
How far that little candle sheds its
beams.
So shines a good deed in naughty
world"
In some such manner the soul may
be fed by the garden.