'The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies' - Gertrude Jekyll The first garden, we are told, was the Garden of Eden. Perhaps garden lovers have been trying to get back to paradise ever since. For beyond the hard work and disappointments, we have an ideal vision of that we would like our gardens to be: places of beauty and refreshment, which brings us close to nature and where the sheer joy of growing things gives a unique sense of fulfilment. The pleasures of gardens and gardening have been the themes of art and literature since ancient times: here to inspire us, is a selection of choice pieces.