Evening star., 1932-06-25
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

to be cultivated and especially by those
sad sufferers from the complex.
Admiration for weeds. so-called. grows
bv leaps and bounds in the mind and
heart of the gardener who permits him.
self to become interested in them.
If they we're called wild-fiowers (as,
indeed. many of them honestly are)
there is no doubt in the world that
the appreciation of thousands of home
owners would be theirs.
Consider the chickweed
Here is a veritable weed, even called
such. which causes much garden worry
to admirers of good lawns.
Yet one form of it is sold at fancy
price by growers of rock-garden plants
The variety which spreads over lawns
| in early Spring before the grass has had
a chance to get a good start for the
new season. is rather good looking. in
| its way, with its trailing stems and
| tiny white flowers.
Surely it would make good rock
specimen!
One looks at it admiringly. Yes. if
one knew he could pull it up and sell it
for plants for IS cents, he would not
weed it out so ruthlessly, eh?
This ugly slug, which coils like a
serpent along the garden path at
O'Clock in the morning, is out late-for
a slug. Now it wends its way back to
its lair.
Creatures which mankind does not
like are said TO have "dens" and 'lairs a;
animals which win his appreciation he
doWers with homes"
This long slug Is no welcome visitor,
perhaps, but he is here, and will shortly
| take himself out of sight. He is one
| of the inimical factors, which seem 20
have increased their numbers so largely
this peculiar year.
There are more cutworms and Slugs
than in a long time; there are more
-caterpillars appearing on trees and in
! shrubbery and marching along fences;
| there are evidences that rose black-spot
! will shortly make a most determined
assault on every cultivated bush.
The gardener must accept these
! things as cheerfully as possible. else ne
will have no chance whatever OF freeing
his mind of worry, of knowing anything
about garden relaxation, and especially
of its peace.
only in a symbolic way can the men
| tai and spiritual aspects OF gardening
be said to be planted in the soil. we
prefer to think of them as Things aooeo
| to in the glorious abundance OF TINS
! teening life, rather than groWths from
! the soil.
The earth bears enough, both praise
and blame, both fruit and insect. Tnese
additions of mind and spirit petter De
/ come themselves when they are felt tc
| he things which grow in the garden
/ indeed. but were never planted there
which grow rather out of minds ano
| hearts than from the dear earth itself.
! A great many people, one may Zee
sure. fail to enjoy gardening-eVen
nlav gardening-because they have not
been able to get this mental ATTITUDE
this slant. this way of looking at 1t.
They should free themselves (easier
said than done) from the attitude oi
competition, which tends to sap the
spirit of 10y of the gardener in his
garden, although 1t may enable him to
show a bowl of larger roses at the rose
| show (conteSt).
They should realize, once for all, by
a deliberate mental effort that the spir-
itual peace of the garden, which has
been praised since the earliest times, is
! one of the things which Is not planted
| in gardens and which does not, indeed
grow there, except in way OF speaking
Such peace grows solely in hearts and
minds. Not in human minds alone, fol-
the good dog and the good cat they
know something of it. too But this
peace Of gardens is mental and spir-
| itual and grows best in mankind. 1t Is
one Of our most precious possessions
1t is the same sort Of peace which
comes through religious experience OF
the contemplative sort; it is the peace
which has everywhere been longed fol
and praised, and which induced one OF
our poets to begin psalm in its praise
with the line THE groves were Gods
first temples" .5H