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The Gardening Art

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We love our gardens. The fresh tomatoes, the melons, the zinnias, the peas, the flowering bushes placed just so, the trowel and shovel, the garden path.

But sore backs, dirty knees and, finally, sweet corn are just the beginning of our affair with the garden, says philosopher-guide Robert Pogue Harrison.

Harrison has gone deep on forests, deep on cemeteries. Now he goes deep on the garden, and humanity — back to Babylon, Versailles, the Garden of Eden, paradise itself.

This hour, On Point: the garden, in history, literature, and the human soul.Guests:

Robert Pogue Harrison, professor of Italian literature at Stanford University, is author of the new book, "Gardens: An Essay on the Human Condition."

Irene Virag, garden columnist at Newsday and a writer for Better Homes and Gardens and Garden magazine.

This program aired on June 20, 2008.

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