.........................................The Glory Of the Garden
Our England is a garden that is full of stately views,
Of borders,beds and shrubberies and lawns and avenues,
With statues on the terraces and peacoks strutting by;
But the Glory of the Garden lies in more than meets the eye.
For where theold thick laurels grow,along the t5hin red wall,
You'll find the tool and potting-sheds which are the heart of all
The cold frames and the hot-houses,the dung-pits and the tanks,
The rollers,carts,and drain-pipes,with the barrows and the planks.
And there you'll see the gardeners,the men and 'prentice boys
Told off to do as they are bid and do it without noise;
For,except when seeds are planted and we shout to scare the birds,
The glory of the Garden it abideth not in words.
And some can pot begonias and some can bud a rose,
And some are hardly fit to trust with anything that grows;
But they can roll and trim the lawns and sift the sand and loam,
For the Glory of the Garden occupieth all who come.
Our England is a garden,and such gardens are not made
By singing:- ''Oh,how beautiful'' and sitting in the shade
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives.
There's not a pair of legs so thin,there's not a head so thick,
There's not a hand so weak and white,nor yet a heart so sick
But it can find some needful job that's crying to be done,
For the Glory of the Garden glorifieth everyone.
Then seek you job with thankfulness and work till further ordes,
If it's only netting strawberries or killing slugs on borders;
And when your back stops aching and your hands begin to harden,
Oh Adam was a gardener,and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardeners work is done upon his knees,
So when you work is finished,you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!
And that the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away !
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What are your thoughts /memories of gardening?
Richard
BREATHE EASY =FRIENDSHIP
When your work is finished,you can wash your hands and pray ''I won't be late for Breathe Easy today''
Would you like to join your local Breathe Easy group and/or the BLF?
Phone the friendly BLF Helpline 03000 030 555 for details
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