The Gardener Wi' His Paidle
written in 1789
The Gardener Wi' His Paidle - meaning Summary
Seasonal Devotion and Labor
This brief pastoral celebrates a gardener whose days and seasons are ordered around tending the natural world and a beloved. Repeated refrains mark his steady labors from dewy mornings to the warm flush of May and the closing of day. The poem links horticultural work, sensory detail (birds, breezes, water) and an emotional core: the gardener’s return to "her arms" at evening, suggesting an intimate bond between labour, landscape, and love. Its tone is affectionate and rhythmic, emphasizing continuity between human care and nature’s cycles.
Read Complete AnalysesWhen rosy May comes in wi' flowers, To deck her gay, green, spreading bowers; Then busy, busy are his hours, The Gard'ner wi' his paidle. The chrystal waters gently fa'; The merry birds are lovers a'; The scented breezes round him blaw The Gardener wi' his paidle. When purple morning starts the hare To steal upon her early fare; Then thro' the dews he maun repair, The Gardener wi' his paidle. When day, expiring in the west, The curtain draws of Nature's rest; He flies to her arms he lo'es the best, The Gardener wi' his paidle.
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