Excerpt from "Manual of Gardening"

Wherever there is soil, plants grow and produce more of their kind. When a person makes a choice as to what to plant, he becomes a gardener or a farmer. Even if he adopts the plants that grow there by nature, he becomes a gardener or a farmer in some degree.

Every family, therefore, may have a garden. If there is not a foot of land, there are porches or windows. Wherever there is sunlight, plants may be made to grow. One plant in a tin-can may be a more helpful and inspiring to some mind than a whole acre of lawn and flowers may be to another.

The satisfaction of a garden does not depend on the area, nor on the cost or rarity of the plants. It depends on the temper of the person. One must first seek to love plants and nature, and then to cultivate the happy peace of mind that is satisfied with little.

In most cases, a person will be happier if he has no rigid expectations. For gardens can be moody, particularly with the beginner. If any plants grow and thrive, he should be happy. Sometimes the plants that thrive are not the ones that were planted. But they are plants nevertheless, and nature is satisfied with them.

We always want the things that we cannot have; but we are happier when we love the things that grow because they must. A patch of lusty pigweeds, growing and crowding in luxuriant abandon, may be a more worthy object of affection than a bed of roses. The man who worries morning and night about the dandelions in the lawn will find great relief in loving the dandelions. Each blossom is worth more than a gold coin, as it shines in the exuberant sunlight of the growing spring. Little children like the dandelions: why may not we? Love the things nearest at hand; and love intensely. If I were to write a motto over the gate of a garden, I should choose the remark that Socrates is said to have made as he saw the luxuries in the market, "How much there is in the world that I do not want!"

Reading Comprehension Questions

1) Which of the following describes the author’s tone for the above passage?

a. humorous

b. mocking

c. passionate

d. pessimistic

2) The author of the above passage clearly believes that which of the following is the key to enjoying a garden?

a. the size of the garden

b. the attitude of the gardener

c. the season of the year

d. the type of plants that grow

3) Which of the following phrases in the above passage is an example of personification?

a. “Each blossom is worth more than a gold coin…”

b. “One must first seek to love plants and nature…”

c. "Wherever there is sunlight, plants may be made to grow"

d. “For gardens can be moody…”

4) In the above passage, which if the following lines shows the author’s bias when he speaks about plants?

a. “Wherever there is soil, plants grow and produce more of their kind.”

b. “One plant in a tin-can may be a more helpful and inspiring to some mind than a whole acre of lawn...”

c. “Sometimes the plants that thrive are not the ones that were planted."

d. “Little children like the dandelions: why may not we?”

5) In the final paragraph of the above passage, the author refers to plants “growing and crowding in luxuriant abandon.” What is the meaning of this phrase?

a. the plants are growing according to plan

b. the plants are growing outside of the garden

c. the plants are growing wildly and freely

d. the plants are growing in an unattractive pattern

Answer Key

1) Which of the following describes the author’s tone for the above passage?

a. humorous

b. mocking

c. passionate

d. pessimistic

2) The author of the above passage clearly believes that which of the following is the key to enjoying a garden?

a. the size of the garden

b. the attitude of the gardener

c. the season of the year

d. the type of plants that grow

3) Which of the following phrases in the above passage is an example of personification?

a. “Each blossom is worth more than a gold coin…”

b. “One must first seek to love plants and nature…”

c. "Wherever there is sunlight, plants may be made to grow"

d. “For gardens can be moody…”

4) In the above passage, which if the following lines shows the author’s bias when he speaks about plants?

a. “Wherever there is soil, plants grow and produce more of their kind.”

b. “One plant in a tin-can may be a more helpful and inspiring to some mind than a whole acre of lawn...”

c. “Sometimes the plants that thrive are not the ones that were planted."

d. “Little children like the dandelions: why may not we?”

5) In the final paragraph of the above passage, the author refers to plants “growing and crowding in luxuriant abandon.” What is the meaning of this phrase?

a. the plants are growing according to plan

b. the plants are growing outside of the garden

c. the plants are growing wildly and freely

d. the plants are growing in an unattractive pattern