The Idea of a Garden

In "The Idea of Gardens" and Vanished Gardens many of the ideas about gardens are apparent. In Michael Pollan's essay "The Idea of a Garden" he states "Perhaps he's observed (the gardener) how his own garden has made this patch of land a better place, even by nature's own standards. His gardening has greatly increased the diversity and abundance of life in this place" (pg 608). In one of her stories Sharon White can relate to this quote when she describes "the outline of John Bartram's botanic garden in a slope down to the river" (87). She continues, " a drawing of the garden that William Bartram made in 1758 and his father sent to Collinson shows the garden and the house from the river" (87). William and his father had planted this garden and around their house and after drawing the garden around the house there is a sense of "diversity and abundance" withing the drawing because of the garden that was planted.