Penelope Hobhouse to Niall Hobhouse
Thursday, September 28th, 2006Just back from giving a talk to graduating students at Kew - I spoke about Happiness in the garden and somehow, inspite of all that ‘intellectualising’ of the meaning of a garden, reminding them to retain an instinctive reaction to beauty .The garden is where you live life to the fullest - who said that ? Happiness is a state of mind realised in the garden by observing, preserving and nurturing as when ‘the gardener tends the growth which ripens into fruit’ .
‘The garden offers one of the most innocent delights in human life; it is also a reflection of a virtuous habit of mind.’ Another quote
All this may be better than the ‘meaning’ and ‘function’ of your walled garden.
My trouble is that I want a walled garden to be separate from LIFE - my refuge
I think YOU, Niall, miss out on a lot by not digging, mulching, pruning …..all the tasks which Victoria G. enjoys! You may embark on a discovery of this new world one day - it is where I began.
I always mean to ask you if you still have a frisson of excitement from a beautiful painting - or do you only see it for its value?