Vita Sackville-West's Lament
- To: i*@rt66.com
- Subject: Vita Sackville-West's Lament
- From: C*@aol.com
- Date: Mon, 2 Sep 1996 20:14:50 -0400
Having nearly given up on the weeds, I just discovered that even the greatest
gardeners have had the same experience. From her long poem "The Garden" Vita
Sackville-West's words on the subject:
"Yet still my little garden craft I ply,
Mulch, hoe, and water when the ground is dry;
Cut seeding heads; thin out the stoning fruit;
Cut out th' unwanted, tie the wanted, shoot;
Weed paths that with one summer shower of rain
For all my labour are as green again.
And so strive on, for there is not repose
Even though Summer redden with the rose.
Slug, snail, and aphis force a busy day,
With traps of orange-peel and lettuce-leaves to lay,
And buckets of insecticide to spray...."
How those words resound: "Weed paths that with one summer shower of
rain...For all my labour are as green again." Also, there seem to be a
couple of suggestions on slug bait (orange peel, lettuce leaf?) in this poem
that I had not seen mentioned before. :) Clarence Mahan in VA