“The Earth Laughs in Flowers”

garden poem by julie@organikal

TheGardenLady not only loves gardens, she loves poems and quotes about gardens in poetry and literature and philosophy.

Do you know Afternoon on a Hill by Edna Vincent Millay?

I will be the gladdest thing

Under the sun!

I will touch a hundred flowers

And not pick one.

Or how about I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wadsworth, one of TheGardenLady’s favorite poems.

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed—and gazed—but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

Gardening friends always say that gardeners are the nicest, happiest and most content people. Maybe it is because “The world is mud-luscious and puddle-wonderful ” as the poet E.E. Cummings, (1894-1962) is quoted as saying. The author Ralph Waldo Emerson said that “The earth laughs in flowers” so no wonder gardeners are nice and happy – surrounded all day with laughter. When in our gardens, we gardeners are with beloved friends, as the famous Persian poet Saadi of Shiraz, Iran says “Leaves twinkle, flowers like persons be, And life pulsates in rock or tree.”

The first written mention of a garden is in the bible – the Garden of Eden, a most delightful garden. Our gardens are our present day Gardens of Edens. The Hebrew meaning of the word Eden translates to mean delight.  See here.  And the Koran describes Heaven as [sura 56:12] in the gardens of bliss.

In our gardens we can meditate even if we don’t have a zen garden.  See here.   And even when asleep or in winter the joy of flowers remain in our thoughts to bring us joy, as the poet William Wordsworth wrote.

We gardeners are so lucky. I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t love a garden – as shown by all the wonderful quotes by famous writers, philosophers, poets, theologians, artists, etc.  See here.

Do you have a favorite quote, poem or short story about flowers or gardens? If you do, please share them with TheGardenLady readers.