putterings 425 < 426 > 427 index
it was not so with the garden
But if John had known it, the workbench with its tools affected him in a similar way. He found himself several times during the day in the shed puttering at something. To most men of an executive turn, the possession of a workbench and tools more than renews the zest of youth. If there is any constructive skill at all in a man, the bench invites it into action, and if he is at all handy, it is the most remunerative piece of furniture he can have. The workshop speedily becomes a source of comfort and relief. There was some kind of wholesome delight in handling obedient material. It was astonishing...
It was not so with the garden.
ex chapter 5, “The Incipient Garden,” in J. P. Mowbray, The Making of a Country Home, “Designs by Chas. Edw. Hooper,” (1901) : 110-111
Harvard copy/scan (via google books) : link
same [?] Harvard copy/scan (via hathitrust) : link
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J. P. Mowbray was a later pseudonym of writer and drama critic A. C. Wheeler (1835-1903); another was Nym Crinkle
wikipedia : link
Charles Edward Hooper (1867-), his online books page : link