RPIRS

All Things Bright and Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small,

All things wise and wonderful, the lord god made them all

But what we never mention, though gardeners know it’s true

Is when he made the goodies, he made the baddies too.

All things spray and swattable, disasters great and small

All things paraquatable, the lord god made them all

The greenfly on the roses, the maggots in the peas

Manure that fills our noses, he also gave us these

The fungus on the goose-gogs, the club root on the greens,

The slugs that eat the lettuce and chew the aubergines

The drought that kills the fuchsias, the frost that nips the buds

The rain that drowns the seedlings, the blight that hits the spuds

The midges and mosquitos, the nettles and the weeds

The pigeons in the green stuff, the sparrows on the seeds

The fly that gets the carrots, the wasp that eats the plums

How black the gardeners outlook, though green may be his thumbs

But still we gardeners labour, midst vegetables and flowers

And pray what hits our neighbours, will somehow bypass ours

All things bright and beautiful ..........................................