A flower garden can be a peaceful and beautiful refuge from the rest of the world. Sitting in the midst of fragrant flowers while reading a book or strolling along paths lined with flowers in cheerful colors can help you to wind down after a busy, stressful day. With some planning and work, a lovely flower garden can be yours to enjoy.
Planning Flower Garden Designs
Creating beautiful flower garden designs takes much planning and consideration. You will need to consider the types of flowers and combinations of colors you desire for the garden. You will also need to think about the placement of borders and shrubs as well as seating and ornaments. It is a good idea to choose an overall style for the garden and stick with it. When you begin your flower garden designs project, you should make a scale drawing of the design to help visualize your concepts.
Shapes in Flower Garden Designs
Decide upon the shape and pattern for your flower garden designs. Rectangular flower garden designs are a traditional shape and always popular. Circular shaped gardens add interest to the standard rectangular lawn. Flower gardens planted on a diagonal to the house can make a lawn appear larger than it actually is.
Styles of Flower Garden Designs
There are a number of styles of gardens that you can plant, and many of them are not too difficult to achieve. Some favorite flower garden designs are listed here.
Rose Flower Garden Designs
Rose Gardens are easy to plant and beautiful to see. In addition to modern roses, include fragrant, old-fashioned varieties of roses whose scent will delight. Plant bulbs in the beds and border them with seasonal flowers to keep the garden full of color during the blooming seasons.
Cottage Flower Garden Designs
Informal cottage gardens have an old-fashioned, rustic look about them. These flower garden designs incorporate the use of flowers, plants and vegetables.
Shade Flower Garden Designs
Shade gardens are good flower garden designs for spaces with many trees blocking the sunlight. There are many flowers that do well in shady areas, including impatiens, begonia, azalea, hosta and viola. The lack of leaves on the trees in spring allows spring bulbs to grow, filling the space with color.
Wildflower Flower Garden Designs
Wildflower gardens are flower garden designs that feature plants indigenous to the area where the garden is located. These gardens tend to require less pampering than some of the other types listed here, usually not requiring much weeding or amendments to the soil.
Butterfly Flower Garden Designs
Butterfly gardens are delightful flower garden designs, planted with flowers known to attract butterflies. Plants such as marigold, lilac, coreopsis, lavender, black-eyed susan and goldenrod are all good choices for butterfly gardens.
Hummingbird Flower Garden Designs
Likewise, hummingbird gardens are a good choice for those who enjoy spotting these small birds. Hummingbirds like richly colored flowers with sweet nectar and a tubular shape. Red and fuschia flowers in particular tend to attract hummingbirds. Some hummingbird garden favorites are morning glory, petunias, azalea, rose of sharon, delphinium and honeysuckle.

The ‘Iron’ic Claims
Well, some of the Asians, Scots and Dutch as well as the Brits have laid strong claims and perhaps have presented evidence that golf originated there. Amongst Asians it is China and Laos and amongst other European countries are France and Belgium. All these countries have believed to have had games involving hitting a object supposedly at a target. Now this does not necessarily mean golf. Interesting part in this is that Holland gets the credit for the name the sport is called as, but apparently it was not the place where the modern version of golf is played. Let’s see what is this deal about golf in Holland.

Colf and Holland
Well, in 1200, there was a game called Colf which was played in Holland. It has been tracked back to December 1297, in a town called Loenen aan de Vecht. This game was played having four holes to mark the relieving of Kronenburg Castle exactly an year before. This is a proof that Colf was pretty much established by then. The name golf seems to be a Scottish alteration of the Dutch word colf.

The Brits Argue
One of the earliest proofs of golf being played are believed to go back to 1340′s. There, in a sketch from a stained glass window in the east window of the Gloucester Cathedral, England, were scenes from Battle of Crecy in France. This sketch further showed a man supposedly preparing to strike a ball somewhat as in Golf.

The Scot Trot
But, all the versions played before – colf and others did not have a very important aspect which contemporary golf has and which truly makes it the game as we know it. The country which is most commonly held as the first country for getting all the aspects together and start a rudimentary form of this fabulous game of golf is Scotland. Yes, Scotland it is! So the answer to who invented golf and when is the Scots around 15th century. It was a long time though, before the form of golf as we know it today came about, the 18 hole game and other variations. It was in the year 1750. The rules of the game were standardized and formalized much later, in 1774, by golfers in the capital of Scotland, Edinburgh. Read more on basic rules of golf.

Invention of Golf Equipment
Now that we know about the invention of this sport, a sneak peek into the origins of the golf equipment would be a good idea right? So we will first talk about the club. The first ever golf clubs were made by a bow maker working for King James IV of Scotland. The construction of golf clubs was time consuming and expensive, making it an expensive sport to play. The golf balls went through a lot of transitions on the other hand. Adam Paterson came up with a gutta-percha ball, made from Gutta tree sap. Ball with a rubber core by Coburn Haskell followed, which could travel 400 yards or more. Golfers slowly noticed that worn out balls work better, in 1905. The first version of dimpled ball used widely today was introduced by William Taylor in the same year. Read more on why does a golf ball have dimples.

This was how golf evolved through ages and that was all about who invented golf and what all was involved in the invention of golf. Whatever the claims by different countries, the fact widely accepted is that Scots and Scotland gets the due credit. Read more on history of Master’s Golf Tournament.

At the end, the contention about who invented golf is always going to be there! This is where I finish scoring on every hole!

Cilantro is another grate plant for Italian garden. It tastes better when it new. Another great thing is when you take the leaves you want from the plant it just stimulates the plant into further growth to provide you with even more new growth.
Spring is the best time to plant cilantro. If it’s in a potted plant form just remove it from the pot and plant it into the ground. Once the plant blooms it will have seeds and the seeds can also be used to spice up your food.

Fennel is aromatic and has a great taste. The roots below are cut away and the stalks above are cut away leaving you with the heart of the fennel plant. The heart is cut into real thin slices and is cooked with the food contributing a lot of flavor. The tops look like parsley and used as a garnish like garnish is. The fennel plant has more flavor when it is young so it’s best to keep replanting fennel to keep it new rather then using a mature plant.

One of the most popular herbs that come from Italy and is used in most recipes is Basil. Basil works more than just a food flavor enhancer; it is also a helpful herb when you grow it beside other plants. For instance, it makes peppers and tomatoes become more flavorful when basil grows next to them. The herb also wards off flies and mosquitoes.
Oregano is a really good looking herb as well as a tasty one. Purple flowers bloom from mature oregano. The blooming of flowers is the indication that the oregano is most flavorful for picking. The herb will deliver the most flavor when harvested only once lovely small purple flowers start to sprout.

Rosemary can be used in many different dishes like salads or soups or meat and the leaves can be used as a tea and no Italian herb garden would be complete without it. It gives a generous amount of foliage which you can just pluck off as needed.

It’s August, the weather has cooled a bit here and the summer monsoons where I live in New Mexico have begun. The kids are starting back to school and I feel the onset of fall. I’m getting that garden planning itch again! It happens 2-3 times a year… This time, it’s time to start ordering bulbs and perennials for fall planting. I’m always planning how my garden will look better next season and I suppose most of you do the same. Fall is the perfect time to plant for established growth next spring!
Take a good look at your garden now and think about areas you need to fill in. Do you need late season color, early spring blooms? Are there bare spots or places where plants like poppies or tulips go dormant and you need a filler to keep your garden alive with color? I find the best time for next years planning is in the fall when bloom time and plant combinations are fresh in my mind.
You may be disappointed with a plant combination you chose last season. Fall is the perfect time to rearrange. Get rid of overgrown plants and revive areas with new color or foliage combinations. Think about areas in your bulb or perennial garden you want to develop. What size, shape and bloom color do you need? Plant them this fall and watch your pans come to fruition come spring.
Shrubs and trees do take years to mature and fill their place. You can get a jump start by planting them this fall. When spring arrives they’ll be much more hardy and will require less babying.
Fall is the perfect time to mail order bulbs, perrenials, shrubs, hedges and trees. We’re winding down the season and if you’re anything like me you’re just not ready to quit quite yet. Sure there’s clean up to be done, but I find more planting helps to finish those mundane cxhores. As I clean out I plant new!
Ordering online or by mail
Ordering plants online can be a bit scary. How are the plants shipped? Will they be good quality? Will they arrive at the right time and will I be prepared to plant them then?
Fear not! I’ve ordered in fall for years and have had tremendous results!
Plant Quality and Guarantees
Nurseries do differ in what and how they ship so make sure you do some research, but almost all reputable mail order nurseries do guarantee their plants to grow or your money back. I’ve never had trouble collecting on that promise and I have used it a time or two for certain plants. I also admit, a bit grudgingly as a then new gardener, that I should never have ordered those specific plants for my climate. Nevertheless the nursery did stand behind it’s guarantee.
How Plants Are Shipped
Some plants will be shipped bare root, others as potted plants. This depends on the plant variety and I’ve actually found preference to bare root plants. They do look dead when they arrive (they are actually dormant), but I assure you that unless they have visible signs of disease like rot they’ll thrive come spring.
*Note – If you do get any plants that look like the crown has rotted either ship them back immediately or just phone the nursery and they’ll ship out new ones.
When to Plant
While you never know exactly when your plants will arrive, they are shipped to you at the proper planting time for your gardening zone. If plants arrive and it’s not convenient to plant immediately just make sure you follow the directions included in your shipment for keeping your plants viable until you can plant them. If you’ve planned ahead you will know where they go and it’ll take you little time to get them in the ground. A Saturday afternoon will usually give you ample time to get this done.
Keep in mind these companies have been in business for years and years and have shipped bare root and potted plants for eons. They do know what they’re doing and most of them do it very well. They’d be out of business if they couldn’t fulfill your planting requirements.
Gardening Budgets and Selection
You can’t beat the cost and selection of ordering by mail! Most mail order companies offer plant varieties you’ll never find anywhere else. The selections seem endless and I’ve been amazed what I can grow in New Mexico. Take advantage of fall specials and free shipping and you get a double bang for you buck. For about half of what I spend on a trip to the garden center on a single spring garden binge, I can have more variety and many more plants shipped to me at home.
Get on the Mailing Lists
Make sure you’re on the mailing list for the following nurseries at least! You’ll get a catologue several times a year. Take it into the garden with you,look around and plan accordingly. Then hop online and place an order or order by mail, but use the online resources for their help with plant combinations and companion planting. They offer great suggestions you may not have thought of before. Remember – pictures will help any gardener no matter how experienced.

If every single company was offering the finest technologically advanced golf gps systems, then there wouldnt be any competition, thus, no competitive motivation for research and development. There is always something better out there, so the real question cannot revolve around which product to purchase the real question must revolve around which company is the more reliable out of the bunch!

For me, I have done nothing but praise Garmin for quite some time now! Their golf gps systems are top notch in technological advancement, as well as durability and waterproof exteriors. That said, the thing that I enjoy about Garmin the most is the customer service! No golf gps systems line will release perfect units throughout their batch loads! There will always be at least one system that provides less durability than another system. The reason behind this is actually Man! If a man made it, it must be fallible! That said, a company must be able to deliver an excellent customer service department in order to maintain their clientele. Garmin has it!

Another company that I have come to really enjoy, and even purchase golf gps systems for friends and family during the holidays, is Leupold! Leupold is excellent for Distance Calculation, as well as exterior casing and durability. Along with Garmin, Leupold offers products that are generally near perfection when it comes to being waterproof and extremely durable in rough conditions. The main thing the Leupold does deliver as a specialty is both Distance Calculation and its adjustable sights, ranging up to 750 yards, nearly 6x the normal magnification. Customer service has been known to be a little shaky from time to time, but no company is perfect.

The last company I am willing to recommend is SkyCaddie! Most of their more modern golf gps systems releases have included IntelliGreen Technology, capable of truly displaying the entire golf course, every hole, every divot in spectacular digital detail. Their units are also designed with a water resistant / durable exterior, making them very long lasting and, due to the base map directory, very accurate.

When it comes to golf gps systems, the author Gareth Newfawn has presented here his top three favorite companies that, through personal experience, have proven themselves to him more than once. For more information and reviews, then please visit Golf GPS Directory.

Perhaps you savor fresh home-grown vegetables or look forward to decorating your yard with beautiful flowers and shrubs. The premium garden equipment to get you started is the Mantis Tiller.(

History and Features of the Mantis Tiller/Cultivator(

So what makes the Mantis Tiller/Cultivator so special? Consider the manufacturer’s slogan: We Make Gardening Easier. Indeed, that has been the primary purpose of the Mantis since its inception in 1980. The name derives from the curved handles, representive of the front legs of a praying mantis, as well as the insect’s beneficial presence in a garden.(

Back in the day, garden tillers were large, cumbersome mechanical pieces of equipment, typically requiring a man’s strength to manuever. The American manufacturer of the Mantis decided to create a tiller/cultivator light enough that women and senior citizens could easily use it without suffering back strain or injury.(

The mere 20-lb. weight, slim design, and patented tines of the little red Mantis Tiller added to its popularity as an easy-to-use garden tool, effectively putting the leisure activity and enjoyment back into gardening. The tiller fulfilled its promise of efficiently churning up garden soil, making gardening easier, in spite of the tiller’s almost toy-like appearance in comparison to its heavyweight competitors among available outdoor tools.(

In addition to all the previously mentioned features, these are other reasons contributing to the popularity of the Mantis Tiller:

American-made: Instead of shipping production overseas as so many companies do, the Mantis continues production in the same small factory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where it began back in 1980.
High-quality craftsmanship: The Mantis maintains its same commitment to using high-quality parts and craftsmanship that sets it apart from similar tillers. In fact, the Mantis is exclusive in its use of curved (serpentine) tines, combined with a commercial-grade engine, all of which add to its power and efficiency.
Multi-tasking: In addition to its primary function as a tiller/cultivator, the Mantis has attachments allowing you to convert it into seven other useful outdoor tools. These include border edger, crevice cleaner, furrower, hedge trimmer, lawn aerator, lawn dethatcher, and plow.
Award-winning: The Mantis has received multiple impressive awards over the years. Some of these include: Consumer Digest’s Best Buy Award; National Home Garden Club’s Member Tested and Recommended Seal of Approval; and Organic Gardening Buyer’s Guide’s most frequently praised tool among all outdoor tools for gardening.
Global success: In addition to enjoying widespread success in America, the Mantis is gaining popularity and success in many other countries and regions of the world, including Canada, Europe, China, Israel, and South Africa.
Affordable payment options: You can take advantage of a buy now/pay later option to purchase your Mantis. Pay for it in four equal payments, with NO fees or interest charges. What a concept!
Satisfaction/money-back guarantee: This is an amazing satisfaction or money back guarantee. You must be completely satisfied with your Mantis, or you can return it within one year and receive a full refund, with no hassles.

If you are already own a Mantis Tiller/Cultivator, then you are familiar with how great it works. If you do NOT yet own a Mantis – what are you waiting for? The outdoors beckons you to prepare the ground for planting! The Gardener’s Best Friend(

In todays world, garden offices have gained much popularity and are in great demand. People purchase garden rooms from different suppliers and manufactures. However, there are certain essential things that a person needs to consider before purchasing a garden office. A person, prior to purchasing garden offices, should ensure that he is getting the best deal. There are ten essential things that should be considered before buying a garden office or garden studio.

Before purchasing a garden office one must be sure of the purpose that it would serve. This will help the person to ascertain whether the requirements of the building can be met by the design. If the building is being purchased to be used as a garden office, sufficient amount of lighting should be provided. If the room is to be used as a gym, then there should be provision for sufficient ventilation. If it is for the purpose of garden a lodge, then there should be provision for proper heating.

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The position of ones garden office is also of utmost importance. One rarely requires planning permission most of the time as long as the garden office is situated at a distance of 5 metres from the persons home and occupies less than 50% of the gardens area. Permission is also not required if the garden office or garden studio is built for private use and is about 20 metres away from any public place.

A person while buying a garden office or garden studio should also be careful about the height of the building. However, the height of the modular garden offices should not exceed 4 metres. If the height of the garden office exceeds 4 metres a person will have to seek permission. Permission also has to be taken if the building consists of two or more floors. Permission also has to be taken if the size of the rooms exceeds 30 Sq metres.

Further, a person prior to buying a garden room should be sure of the type of room he requires. A person buying a room for a garden studio should ensure that the room is in accordance to his requirements. The design of the room should also be taken into account.

A person buying a room for the purpose of running a garden office should also check the materials used for both constructing and designing the office. There are numerous suppliers who can provide the best garden offices. For information regarding garden offices and garden studios visit gardenlodges.co.uk.

Public Courses Welcome All

The general public has access to public golf courses. This means everyone who plays golf regardless age, color or creed has access to play. There are two types within this category that include a municipal or daily fee course. Municipal courses are owned by cities or counties and operate for the benefit of local citizens. Although they are typically open for play to golfers regardless a place of residence, sometimes a discount or repeat play card is available to local residents. A daily fee course is also open to everyone. However, these are typically privately owned and are generally more lavishly designed and thus command a larger fee for playing.

Playing Surrounded by Luxury

Players can find luxuriously created and maintained golf courses available at resorts worldwide. These are typically located at large and expensive hotels or properties where a great deal of amenity is included beyond just lodging. Offering golf courses at resorts help attract potential vacationers. Although many resort courses also offer daily fee access always showing preferential treatment to paying guests, there are times throughout the year when access is easy due to it being off-season for vacationing. Although a resort golf course is technically public, access can be restricted to paying guests.

Semi-private and Private Courses offer Membership Amenities

Semi-private golf courses typically sell memberships but also allow daily fee play for non-members. The advantage here is through membership fees, golfers get preferential tee time reservations along with discounted greens fees. Also, members gain access to other club amenities and perks. Private clubs are ones offering course play only to members. Costs for obtaining membership in a club can vary greatly. Some extremely posh and exclusive clubs charge hundreds of thousands of dollars for membership. Furthermore, the number of members in these ultra expensive and exclusive the golf swing retreats is set at a limit. However, members are usually allowed to invite guests for a round of golf.

Size Can Mater Choosing a Course of Play

The common amount of holes played on a typical golf course is 18. This is a universally accepted standard where a mix of par-3, -4, and-5 holes makes up a regulation course. When the generic term of “golf course” is mentioned, the 18-hole standard is the one considered. Nine-hole courses do exist and sometimes because of financial considerations or space availability. In fact, many resorts create several 9-hole courses offering a variety of play based on level of challenge as well as type of topography. A 9-hole course will mostly be comprised of par-4 holes with possibly one par-3 and one par-5 hole.

Another type of course that is popular is called an “executive.” This type of course can be either 18 or 9 holes but is purposely built shorter so it is quicker to play – allowing those “executives” to get back to work.

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In Edmund Spenser’s ‘The Faerie Queene’, Books 11 and 111 The Bower of Bliss and the Garden of Adonis might look similar from a distance; their geographical form is certainly similar, and the tour on which Spenser takes us seems to follow the same kind of route. But their ostensible similarity, and their juxtaposition in two adjacent books of ‘The Faerie Queene’ only serve to highlight their differences. The two gardens represent very different qualities of human life, and Spenser indicates the differences visually in his description of the gardens, verbally in the words he uses in these descriptions, and dramatically in the kinds of activity that take place in the gardens.

The first distinction to be made is between the proportion of Art to Nature that has gone into the construction of the gardens. The ‘Bowre of Blisse’ is introduced as:

‘A place pickt out by choice of best alive,
That natures worke by art can imitate:’ [11.X11.42]

Art itself is not condemned, but the use of art to stimulate wasteful unproductive lust. The artifice of the garden is admired for its skill, but condemned for being used to excess.

‘And them amongst, some were of burnisht gold,
So made by art, to beautifie the rest,
. . . That the weake bowes, with so rich load opprest,
Did bow adowne, as over-burdened.’ [11.X11.55]

The image of the vine bending under the weight of golden grapes illustrates how nature is distorted by artifice, just as human nature is distorted by entering the Bower of Bliss. Spenser’s description of the golden ivy seems to anticipate Baroque sculpture and architecture in that it is more than an imitation of nature; it tries to supersede nature by exaggerating the most pleasing aspects. The result is an excess of sweetness to the point of sickliness. The stimulation of pleasurable sensations is almost pornographic, and Spenser ensures that we get the message by the use of the words ‘lascivious’ and ‘wantones’.

‘And over all, of purest gold was spred,
A trayle of yvie in his native hew:
For the rich mettall was so colored,
That wight, who did not well avis’d it view,
Would surely deeme it to be yvie trew:
Low his lascivious armes adown did creepe,
That themselves dipping in the silver dew,
Their fleecy flowres they tenderly did steepe,
Which drops of Christall seemed for wantones to weepe.’ [11.X11.61]

A modern reader might not pick up the quality of excess implied in this description, but in fact Spenser takes pains to point out the excess. Art in the Bower of Bliss

‘Was poured forth with plentifull dispence,
And made there to abound with lavish affluence.’ [11.X11.42]

‘Wherewith her mother Art, as halfe in scorne
Of niggard Nature, like a pompous bride
Did decke her, and too lavishly adorn’ [11.X11.50]

The emphasis on excess is of course most relevant to the theme of Book 11: Temperance.

In contrast to the lavish glittering spectacle of the ‘Bowre of Blisse’, The ‘Gardin of Adonis’ comprises of natural goodness. ‘It sited was in fruitfull soyle of old’ [111.V1.31] and:

‘In that same Gardin all the goodly flowres,
Wherewith dame Nature doth her beautifie,
And decks the girlonds of her paramoures,
Are fetcht:’ [111.V1.30]

The arbour is ‘of the trees owne inclination made’ [111.V1.44]. This garden is free of artifice, and in emphasising its natural perfection Spenser likens it to Ovid’s golden world:

‘Ne needs there Gardiner to set, or sow,
To plant or prune: for of their owne accord
All things, as they created were, doe grow’ [111.V1.34]

The quality of life represented by the Garden of Adonis is represented by ‘Genius’ who guards its gates. The Bower of Bliss was also guarded by a ‘Genius’, but not the real one. In keeping with another of Spenser’s themes, appearance versus reality, the Genius of the Bower of Bliss is a fake

‘That secretly doth us procure to fall,
Through guilefull semblaunts’ [11.X11.48]

The Genius of the Garden of Adonis guards the gate through which old people enter and young babies leave, and the cycle of regeneration being represented has the same seemingly-paradoxical combination of transience and permanence as Spenser’s Mutability Cantos [4]. The paradox is resolved by Platonism. While Time is the enemy of life in the garden:

‘For all that lives, is subject to that law:
All things decay in time, and to their end to draw.’ [111.V1.40]

It seems that the people, or perhaps just their souls, are recycled from old age to babyhood. And Adonis himself:

‘All be he subject to mortalitie,
Yet is eterne in mutabilitie,
And by succession made perpetuall’ [111.V1.47]

This is the same conclusion Spenser comes to at the end of the Mutability Cantos:

‘I well consider all that ye have sayd,
And find that all things stedfastnes doe hate,
And changed be: yet being rightly wayd
They are not changed from their first estate;
But by their change their being doe dilate:
And turning to themselves at length againe,
Doe worke their owne perfection so by fate:’ [V11.V11.58]

The garden is an allegory for the Platonic life-principle expounded in verses 36 to 38 of the Garden of Adonis where changeless ‘things’ or ‘substance’ borrow temporary physical form during life, decay, and are restored again.

In ‘sublunary’ terms this represents the fruitfulness of earthly life and the principle behind the ‘mightie word . . . increase and multiply’ [111.V1.34]. The Garden of Adonis is first and foremost, fruitful. The garden itself is a kind of storehouse for the various forms of life:

‘. . . there is the first seminarie
Of all things, that are borne to live and die’ [111.V1.30]

And its resident lovers, Cupid and Psyche, bear a child. Spenser approves of the pleasure indulged in in this garden, because it takes place between people who are enjoying natural healthy love:

‘But now in steadfast love and happy state
She with him lives, and hath him borne a chyld’ [111.V1.50]

In contrast, the pleasures to be had in the Bower of Bliss are thoroughly disapproved of. Even the word ‘bliss’ itself implies an extreme and transitory sensation compared to ‘steadfast love and happy state’ of the Garden of Adonis. The lovers of the Bower of Bliss are indulging in ‘lewd loves, and wastfull luxuree’ [11.X11.80]. They indulge in sex for its own sake, with no love, and no intention of procreation. This kind of activity, according to Spenser, saps the spirit and will-power of a knight, and causes him to lose interest in his true quest.

‘Ne for them [his armour] ne for honour cared hee
Ne ought, that did to his advancement tend,
But in lewd loves, and wastfull luxuree,
His dayes, his goods, his bodie he did spend:
O horrible enchantment that him so did blend.’ [11.X11.80]

The word ‘enchantment’ is important here; the queen of the garden is an enchantress with the power to turn men into pigs, and by implication a mind attracted by lust is a mind under a kind of spell. As with the golden ivy, it takes a man of insight and experience to see through the superficial attractions to the underlying depravity.

‘That wight, who did not well avis’d it view,
Would surely deeme it to be yvie trew:’ [11.X11.61]

Guyon himself becomes enchanted by the sight of the ‘naked Damzelles’ bathing. This long description [11.X11.63-68] is extremely attractive; it is designed to arouse feelings of lust in the reader or listeners. Spenser’s ‘warning words’ such as ‘greedy eyes’, ‘kindled lust’ and the all-important ‘seemed’ [11.X11.64,68,65] are few and far between, but they are there, warning the reader of the danger Guyon is in. This is part of Guyon’s education into temperance. The Palmer drags him away.

‘He much rebukt those wandring eyes of his,
And counseld well, him forward thence did draw.’ [11.X11.69]

But not all the pleasures to be had in the Bower of Bliss are tainted with artifice. The ‘lovely lay’ sung in verse 75 simply advocates enjoying life while it lasts:

‘So passeth, in the passing of a day,
Of mortall life the leafe, the bud, the flowre,
Ne more doth flourish after first decay,
That earst was sought to decke both bed and bowre,
Of many a Ladie, and many a Paramowre:
Gather therefore the Rose, whilest yet is prime,
For soone comes age, that will her pride deflowre:
Gather the Rose of love, whilest yet is time’ [11.X11.74]

So, raking through that dirt, get rid of all of it and then replace it with something else, like cow or horse manure. This soft dirt is wonderfully fertile and will help your garden grow. Then, choosing your seeds, there are so many to pick from! You can choose poppies, sunflowers, roses, wisteria, daisies, daffodils, lilacs, peonies, bluebonnets, morning glories, lilies, lavender, or you can choose from a number of herbs, like sage, basil, mint, or you can choose from a variety of plants, such as peas, mushrooms, snow peas, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, carrots, spinach, potatoes, leeks, cauliflower, okra, peppers, chilies, and a number of other things that please you. No matter what you are growing, whether it be strawberries, onions, and any other number of things, you can find seeds and read the instructions on the back to figure out how to plant them. Then you plant them and enjoy the fruits of your labor, quite literally, as within a few weeks they will begin to grow and you will see the success of your labors.

Keeping your garden alive is often done naturally with sunlight and rain, but you must be sure to water it, as well, and keep an eye on your budding crop, too. Also keeping it safe from pestilence and harm is another important factor, so be sure you keep bug spray and pest repellent on hand, at all times, so that your garden doesn’t get devoured by hungry bugs and rodents. This means you might have to set some traps otherwise the instant your lovely green begins to bloom, it will have bite marks all over the place.

If you don’t want to wait all that time for green to sprout, you can get small potted plants and then un pot them to stick them into the dirt, that way you already have something to look at and don’t have to stare at a plot of lifeless dirt for weeks before you see results. No matter which way you go, within a matter of weeks you will have a beautiful, flourishing garden, one that will rise and fall with the seasons and bring you a special kind of joy that is unparalleled by any other sport or hobby.