VT 21.5.13

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The point of gardening is the doing of it, not having got it done.  It's the process that matters, though it is of course directed towards an end result.  It's rare now for people to stay in the same place for generation after generation.  But continuity produces a tangible effect in a garden:  hedges bulge, trees cast ever-longer shadows over a lawn, wisterias send out tendrils to close up the windows.

We live in an impatient age, used to quick results.  Because people move around more than they used to, they don't plant things that won't immediately benefit them.  This is a danger in gardens.  It leads to layouts that, like instant takeaway food, are ultimately unsatisfying.  The ingredients are limited and, after the initial gratification, there is no lingering sense of longer pleasures.  But a holly tree, though slow, can give you that in spades.

Anna Pavord, 'The Curious Gardener'