H.E. Bates Companion

Bates writes of his pleasure in a garden that continues to be rich well into the fall. In the process, he compares gardening to women: "This indeed is the year's fruition: ripeness is all. Therefore don't be mingy. Be bold; plant in massive, generous groups; and above all avoid lines. Gardens indeed should be like lovely, well-shaped girls: all curves, secret corners, unexpected deviations, seductive surprises and then still more curves; and at last, of course, satisfaction of senses, heart and eye." In Living (February 1970, 4:2, p. 11).