godwottery

**C* T* E* <c*@gardenvista.com>**

Loved learning the word "godwottery."  Got interested and googled it.  
Found the following which explains in detail, including advice on how to 
create your own godwottery.  Catriona

      A.Word.A.Day--godwottery

godwottery (god-WOT-uhr-ee) noun

1. Gardening marked by an affected and elaborate style.

2. Affected use of archaic language.

[From the line "A garden is a lovesome thing, God wot!" in a poem by 
Thomas Edward Brown (1830-1897).]

Now here is a word with a dual personality. Poet T.E. Brown unwittingly 
helped coin it when he wrote a poem describing his garden filled with 
all that came to his mind: grotto, pool, ferns, roses, fish, and more.

And when he needed a word to rhyme with the line "Rose plot," he came up 
with "God wot!" He used "wot", an archaic term that's a variant of wit 
(to know), to mean "God knows!" and it stood out among other 
contemporary words in the poem.

If you wish to create your own godwottery, we recommend: sundials, 
gnomes, fairies, plastic sculptures, fake rockery, pump-driven streams, 
and wrought-iron furniture. A pair of pink flamingos will round it out 
nicely.

-Anu Garg (garg AT wordsmith.org)

Duane Campbell wrote:

>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "Dan Clost" <dan.clost@sympatico.ca>
>
>  
>
>>>From time to time, we've seen some humorous, if not of exceptional 
>>    
>>
>>>quality,
>>>      
>>>
>>poetry ( doggerel?) on these screens.
>>    
>>
>
>OK, I'll bite. We all know Thomas Edward Brown's poem "My Garden" --
>
>A Garden is a lovesome thing. God wot!
>
>Rose plot,
>
>Fringed pool,
>
>Fern'd grot --
>
>The veriest school
>
>Of peace; and yet the fool
>
>Contends that God is not --
>
>Not God! In gardens! when the eve is cool?
>
>Nay, but I have a sign;
>
>'Tis very sure God walks in mine.
>
>
>
>Incidentally, it is from this poem that we get the word godwottery, meaning 
>a grotesquely overblown gardening style. It is a word garden writers should 
>know. And use often. We've all seen some.
>
>
>
>Anyway, J. A. Lindon wrote a parody:
>
>
>
>A Garden is a lovesome thing? What rot!
>
>Weed plot,
>
>Scum pool,
>
>Old pot,
>
>snail-shiny stool
>
>In pieces: yet the fool
>
>Contends that snails are not --
>
>Not snails! In gardens! When the eve is cool?
>
>Nay, but I see their trails.
>
>'Tis very sure my garden is full of snails.
>
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