from "The Wish"

[My garden in East Devon - click on the image for the full effect]

And now a garden pland with nicest care
Should be my next attention to prepare;
For this I'd search the soil of different grounds
Nor small nor great should mark its homley bounds:
Between these two extreems the plan should be
Compleat throughout and large enough for me;
A strong brick wall should bound the outward fence
Where by the suns allcheering influence
Walltrees should flourish in a spreading row
And Peach and Pear in ruddy lustre glow.
A five foot bed should follow from the wall
To look compleat or save the trees withall
On which small seeds for sallading I'd sow
While curl-leaf Parsley should for edges grow.
My Garden in four quarters I'd divide
To show good taste and not a gaudy pride;
In this the middle walk should be the best
Being more to sight exposed than the rest

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

WOW! Great garden - must be nice to have all that space
mike

Arborfield said...

Yes Mike... and I could do with a couple of lads to help me with it. I spend hours everyday. But then again, it does look pretty amazing and gets better as the summer advances. RR