The Lord God planted a garden
The well-known fourth verse of this poem was painted over an arched gateway to the Walled Garden at Craigends. Its author, Dorothy Frances Blomfeld Gurney, was an English poet and hymnwriter, also known for her popular wedding hymn "O Perfect Love". She was born in London in 1858, and died there in 1932.
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.
So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even
God walked with the first of men.
And I dream that these garden-closes
With their shade and their sun-flecked sod,
And their lilies and bowers of roses
Were laid by the hand of God.
The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's heart in a garden,
Than anywhere else on earth.
For He broke it for us in a garden
Under the olive-trees
Where the angel of strength was the warden
And the soul of the world found ease.
Dorothy Gurney's poem is believed to be in the public domain. All other content © 2002 Alastair Disley. No part of this site may be reproduced without prior permission.