This is the gardener’s cup of true fulfilment, that not a bud nor leaf nor crown of being in the flower shall grace his care but that they perform in the little drama of the universe to whose overpowering spectacle he has lent his tiny aid.
- H.J. Massingham, Country.
The joys of gardening are ubiquitous to the English. The cottage front garden, teeming with riotous colour and a waft of pleasant floral fragrance, is renowned and cherished — an integral part of “good old England”. I have seen some amazing spectacles in my walks through some of the villages of England: a sweet pea profusion in Writtle, Essex, and a regiment of hollyhock in an Aldeburgh, Suffolk, being the most memorable. Occasionally, a whole street will get in on the act in order to try and claim the coveted title of “Best Kept Street”.
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