Take thy plastic spade,
It is thy pencil; take thy seeds, thy plants,
They are thy colours.
~William Mason, The English Garden, 1782
I love the idea that a gardener is like a painter - they choose their plants and placement as carefully as any artist weilding a brush. They "paint" with dirt, and plants, and rocks and spades, and rakes. And both artist and gardener use their hands to make beauty.
