Tomatoes and squash never fail to reach maturity. You can spray them with acid, beat them with sticks and burn them; they love it. – S.J. Perelman, Acres and Pains, 1951

Last night, there came a frost, which has done great damage to my garden…. It is sad that Nature will play such tricks on us poor mortals, inviting us with sunny smiles to confide in her, and then, when we are entirely within her power, striking us to the heart. – Nathaniel Hawthorne, The American Notebooks

The home gardener is part scientist, part artist, part philosopher, part ploughman. – John R. Whiting