Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-05-05
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

Making the best of ones garden OPP
portunities is not q common thing, so a
small sunken garden of which we know
is something exceptional after all.
Ninety-nine out of a hundred per.
sons, 1t is safe to say, II they lived next
door to this lot, would permit 1t to grow
UP into weeds.
They might 60 to the extent Of COM
planning about the weeds, and have
few words to say against the municipal
officials who would permit such O state
of affairs to exist.
The last thing they would do, how
ever, In all probability, would be to do
something about it themselves in a con-
structive way.
The man who lives next door to the
lot in question has managed to make a
garden spot-how true descriptive
phrase l-out Of what otherwise would be
nothing but miniature jungle.
This Spring the sunken garden is at
its prettiest.
Just now stately hyacinths, in tints
of purple and pink, bloom with all the
neatness of the famous "three little
maids from school," only there are q
great many more than that number Of
these Dutch beauties.
The gardener, always ambitious, has
outdone himself this season. Neat Dor
ders Of stones turned on end line the
principal beds, and the whole place
seems to have taken on new life.
Although unprotected by hedge or
fence, this sunken plot bears charmed
life, so to speak. In many neighbor-
hoods such beautiful blossoms would ap-
pear only to be stolen. Here, however,
they live out their earthly existence In
Every garden should Be a thing of
peace and beauty, we do not know
which quality should come first. Ger
tainly raucous garden, with only
beauty. could not be as fair as one not
quite so beautiful yet with quiet and
content surrounding 1t with their fat
tering embraces.
We have never seen the man who
gardens this spot, and 1t makes no diff
ference, for like minds and ambitions are
friends everywhere, no matter If they
never see each other or have spoken
Sometimes one may even think that 1t
Is better so, thus preventing any merely
human understandings from marring the
perfect picture which exists.
We have always wondered at the tenn
permanent which Is never content with
reading Q mans book, but must rush
down TO the railroad station to see the
hero arrive. Smart bookstores have of
recent years induced well known au-
thors to come to their shops and to au-
tograph their books for such people
This system, of course, utterly deprives
such autographed book of value, in fact
tends to- deprive all such volumes of
their value, since an autograph can be
OF no sentimental value when a man
solemnly gives 1t away to a stranger.
Our unknown gardener, then, may
remain unknown with perfect surety
that we will think only the better OF
him for it. If we were to meet him we
might not approve his taste in smoking
tobaccos, might be offended at his tone
OF voice, or wish he had more subdued
taste In cravats. Anything might hap
pen, If we knew him, whereas now he Is
all perfect, all fair and all wise.
\ \ + y
Most people do not make the most of
their gardening opportunities, we are
convinced, for three or four main
reasons. They are not able to picture a
garden as it will appear in the future,
or they are too lazy to do the work
required, or they lack the mental stimu-
lus to spend the money to have some
one else do 1t, or they do not care for
gardening and its results at all.