Just Sow Sow.

Seeds are another source of disappointment. Because a packet says “Double pneumonias” such is no guarantee that, after planting, the gardener will not get filigreed filberts or even double-breasted cauliflowers.

No reflection on the honesty of seed merchants is intended. They do their part, but something happens in the packet, or underground, which converts a gardener's hopes to a “mess of potash.”

One must remember that the pictures on the packets are painted by artists who seldom grow anything but hair. They are idealists who gild the lily and paint the rose. Consequently the pansies on the packet look like orchids with blood pressure, and the tiger lilies resemble a floral zoo. Artists are not good gardeners because they always expect realisation to equal imagination.