Engaging with earth and plants can provide the soul with a similar relief and tranquility as meditation. Hermann Hesse had his own garden for about half of his life. Much like painting, working outdoors was a refreshing change for him from desk work. Gardening was his refuge from the world of paper. It also helped him weave threads of imagination, facilitating meditation and contemplation. In stories, reflections, and poems, Hermann Hesse wrote about the harmonious interplay of ornamental and useful plants, flowers, shrubs, and trees, their growth and decay in the changing seasons. The most beautiful of these descriptions, from the reflection in the garden created in 1908 to the famous verse narrative "Hours in the Garden," are gathered in this newly illustrated gift volume.