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 paraquattable
The Lord God made them all

The fungus on the goose-gogs
The club root on the greens
The slugs that eat the lettuce
And chew the aubergines

All things spray and swattable
Disasters great and small
All things paraquattable
The Lord God made them all

The drought that kills the fuchsias
The frost that nips the buds
The rain that drowns the seedlings
The blight that hits the spuds

All things spray and swattable
Disasters great and small
All things paraquattable
The Lord God made them all

The midges and mosquitoes
The nettles and the weeds
The pigeons in the green stuff
The sparrows on the seeds

All things spray and swattable
Disasters great and small
All things paraquattable
The Lord God made them all

The fly that gets the carrots
The wasp that eat the plums
How black the gardener’s outlook
Though green may be his thumbs

All things spray and swattable
Disasters great and small
All things paraquattable
The Lord God made them all

But still we gardeners labour
Midst vegetables and flowers
And pray what hits our neighbours
Will somehow bypass ours

All things spray and swattable
Disasters great and small
All things paraquattable
The Lord God made them all


photo taken in The Community Garden Eastcliff Park