Gardening, I told myself, is the most sociable of hobbies. The very nature of one's field of activities demands an audience. No one wants flowers to blush unseen or waste their sweetness.

Having access to the very special home and gardens of Mr. Baker will provide opportunities for our students and faculty to have experiences that are rare for most universities. The gardens...provide unique opportunities that will enhance our students' learning, whether [they] are from horticulture, art, philosophy, the sciences, or many other areas for which Mr. Baker's gardens and home offer unique experiential opportunities.

Gardening is a kind of disease. It infects you, you cannot escape it. When you go visiting, your eyes rove about the garden; you interrupt the serious cocktail drinking because of an irresistible impulse to get up and pull a weed.

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling.

A Garden is a Friend You Can Visit Anytime

Gardens are a form of autobiography.