It’s a fair-sized job to write a book that people can be bothered just to read; when they begin to steal copies, you are really getting some place.

I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet in a garden.

You know how some people seem to think that their love for classical music makes them spiritual or at least something quite special? And others who think you are a monster if you don't 'love children,' however obnoxious the children may be? Well, I found out that many people who love flowers look down on those who don't.

The unmulched garden looks to me like some naked thing which for one reason or another would be better off with a few clothes on.

Working in the garden gives me something beyond the enjoyment of the senses. It gives me a profound feeling of inner peace.

Only in the winter, in the country, can you have longer quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.

Farmers are philosophical; they have learned that it is less wearing to shrug than to beat their breasts. But there is another angle to their attitude. Things happen rapidly in the country; something new always comes along to divert them and it isn't necessarily another calamity.