I worshipped dead men for their strength, Forgetting I was strong.

The most noteworthy thing about gardeners is that they are always optimistic, always enterprising, and never satisfied. They always look forward to doing something better than they have ever done before.

A flowerless room is a soulless room, to my way of thinking; but even a solitary little vase of a living flower may redeem it.

What is beautiful is good, and who is good will soon be beautiful.

Serenity of spirit and turbulence of action should make up the sum of a man's life.

I like owls. I admire their intransigent spirit. I have respected them deeply ever since I met a baby owl in a wood, when it fell over dead, apparently from sheer temper, because I dared to approach it. It defied me first, and then died. I have never forgotten the horror and shame I experienced when that soft fluffy thing (towards which I had nothing but the most humanitarian motives) fell dead from rage at my feet.

For a young man to start his career with a love affair with an older woman was quite de rigueur ... Of course, it must not go on for too long. An apprenticeship was a very different thing from a career.