\paperw3360 \margr0\margl0\ATXph16380 \plain \fs20 \f1 \fs22 The foremost British pastime is gardening. Horticulture for the British is a way of life, an abiding passion, an esca
pe from the mundane, a practical philosophy that bridges every social and economic divide. This is nothing new. As far back as the early 1600s, a keen horticulturalist was to avow: ô\i I never had any other desire so strong ... as that I might be master
at last of a small house and large garden... and there dedicate the remainder of my life only to the culture of them, and the study of nature\i0 .ö Today a huge percentage of the British population follows gardening programs on television and radio, att
ends lectures organized by the Royal Horticultural Society, visits the myriad gardens listed as being open to the public and flocks to flower shows all over the country. Because of the British predilection for individual family houses rather than apartme
nt blocks, many homes have at least a vegetable patch or a scrap of lawn of their own. So the great national leisure activity is both a practical exercise and a witting appreciation of one of manÆs nobler creations.\par
