---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Is it too ingenuous to imagine that…"
description: "\"Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left to say about a garden? Garden literature, descriptive, reminiscent, and technical, has blossom..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg"
---

#  Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left…

![“Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left to say about a garden? Garden literature, descriptive, reminiscent, and technical, has blossomed so profusely among us during the last decade, that he should be an expert indeed who ventures to add thereto.” quote by Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg)

> “Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left to say about a garden? Garden literature, descriptive, reminiscent, and technical, has blossomed so profusely among us during the last decade, that he should be an expert indeed who ventures to add thereto.”

[Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Garden writing has become prolific, demanding expertise to contribute.

**In simple terms:** Garden literature is abundant; expertise needed.

Key Takeaway

Study deeply before contributing.

Themes

literature expertise gardening

Mood

scholarly reflective

Type

academic creative

When to use this quote

- academic research
- garden clubs
- publishing

Key Concepts

history botany writing style

Questions to Reflect On

- What defines expertise in garden writing?
- How to balance description and technical detail?

A Different Perspective

Quantity may outpace quality.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Add](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Decades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decades/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Educational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/educational/) [Experts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experts/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden/) [Garden Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garden-literature-808699/) [Gardening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gardening/) [Imagination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagination/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Imagine that](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-that/) [Lasts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lasts/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Literature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature/) [Literature Descriptive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/literature-descriptive-2724842/) [Say Garden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-garden-1105796/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Technical Blossomed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technical-blossomed-2724843/) [Venture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/venture/)

## Related quotes

> [...with each new book of mine I have always the feeling that this time I have picked a lemon in the garden of literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/with-each-new-book-of-mine-i-have-always-the-feeling-that-this-time-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [In the garden of literature, the highest and the most charismatic flowers are always the quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-the-garden-of-literature-the-highest-and-the-most-charismatic/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [“It is idle to say there is no such garden. Everyone recognises the same nostalgia... Paradise is neither a moment nor a place; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cavendish/it-is-idle-to-say-there-is-no-such-garden-everyone-recognises-the/)

[Richard Cavendish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cavendish/)

> [“He Said... Your garden at dusk Is the soul of love Blurred in its beauty And softly caressing; I, gently daring This sweetest confessing,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-spencer/he-said-your-garden-at-dusk-is-the-soul-of-love-blurred-in-its-beauty/)

[Anne Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-spencer/)

> [I grew up in Washington, D.C. Suffice to say, it was not a garden spot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-banks/i-grew-up-in-washington-d-c-suffice-to-say-it-was-not-a-garden-spot/)

[Jonathan Banks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-banks/)

> [If there's one thing I can say about my garden, it can always surprise me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-hobson/if-there-s-one-thing-i-can-say-about-my-garden-it-can-always-surprise/)

[David Hobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-hobson/)

> [Back of every mistaken venture and defeat is the laughter of wisdom, if you listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/back-of-every-mistaken-venture-and-defeat-is-the-laughter-of-wisdom/)

[Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/)

> [Every flyer who ventures across oceans to distant lands is a potential explorer; in his or her breast burns the same fire that urged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-batten/every-flyer-who-ventures-across-oceans-to-distant-lands-is-a/)

[Jean Batten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-batten/)

> [It is intellectually dishonest to lump venture investors with hedge fund and buy-out investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ferreira/it-is-intellectually-dishonest-to-lump-venture-investors-with-hedge/)

[Jose Ferreira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ferreira/)

> [To each eye, perhaps, the outlines of a great civilization present a different picture. In the wide ocean upon which we venture, the possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-burckhardt/to-each-eye-perhaps-the-outlines-of-a-great-civilization-present-a/)

[Jacob Burckhardt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-burckhardt/)

> [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/)

[Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/)

> [The sure ways to create new ventures of discovery are to keep an open mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kettering/the-sure-ways-to-create-new-ventures-of-discovery-are-to-keep-an-open/)

[Charles Kettering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kettering/)

> [The privilege of prayer to me is one of the most cherished possessions, because faith and experience alike convince me that God himself sees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfred-grenfell/the-privilege-of-prayer-to-me-is-one-of-the-most-cherished/)

[Wilfred Grenfell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfred-grenfell/)

> [You can never tell when a commercial space venture will suddenly become viable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buzz-aldrin/you-can-never-tell-when-a-commercial-space-venture-will-suddenly/)

[Buzz Aldrin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buzz-aldrin/)

> [What we need as Christians is to be able to feed ourselves. How many there are who sit helpless and listless, with open mouths,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-we-need-as-christians-is-to-be-able-to-feed-ourselves-how-many/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

## More by Harrison Gray Otis Dwight

> [A small garden, accordingly, gives its owner a far greater opportunity to express himself ... in a garden any man may be an artist,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/a-small-garden-accordingly-gives-its-owner-a-far-greater-opportunity/)

[Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

> [As for vegetables, I do not consider a plot of ground devoted to them worthy of the honorable name of garden. Vegetables are, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/as-for-vegetables-i-do-not-consider-a-plot-of-ground-devoted-to-them/)

[Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

> [And there were times when one yielded quite shamelessly to the sentimental. They were more likely to be times of crickets, I think, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/and-there-were-times-when-one-yielded-quite-shamelessly-to-the/)

[Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

> [Certain miracles that I beheld there have haunted my memory ever since: a gray April morning of sirocco, when the almond blossoms, the flaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/certain-miracles-that-i-beheld-there-have-haunted-my-memory-ever/)

[Harrison Gray Otis Dwight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

[Explore all 5 Harrison Gray Otis Dwight quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/)

## More Add quotes

> [Most marriages don't add two people together. They subtract one from the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-fleming/most-marriages-don-t-add-two-people-together-they-subtract-one-from/)

[Ian Fleming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-fleming/)

> [Friendship, "the wine of life," should, like a well-stocked cellar, be continually renewed; and it is consolatory to think, that although we can seldom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-boswell/friendship-the-wine-of-life-should-like-a-well-stocked-cellar-be/)

[James Boswell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-boswell/)

> [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/)

[Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/)

> [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/)

[Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/)

> [Writing adds up to the conscience of our times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-firrell/writing-adds-up-to-the-conscience-of-our-times/)

[Martin Firrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-firrell/)

> [A 'modern' man has nothing to add to modernism, if only because he has nothing to oppose it with. The well-adapted drop off the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/a-modern-man-has-nothing-to-add-to-modernism-if-only-because-he-has/)

[Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/)

> [Observation and theory get on best when they are mixed together, both helping one another in the pursuit of truth. It is a good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-eddington/observation-and-theory-get-on-best-when-they-are-mixed-together-both/)

[Arthur Eddington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-eddington/)

> [I may add that we have more than once stated our willingness to conclude nonaggression pacts with the states neighboring our own!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-may-add-that-we-have-more-than-once-stated-our-willingness-to/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [The American Constitution declares 'All men are born equal.' The British Socialist Party add: 'All men must be kept equal'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-american-constitution-declares-all-men-are-born-equal-the-british/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [New generations of humans inherit the acquired discoveries of generations past, allowing cosmic insight to accumulate without limit. Each discovery of science therefore adds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/new-generations-of-humans-inherit-the-acquired-discoveries-of/)

[Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/)

> [Thirty days is just about the right amount of time to add a new habit or subtract a habit - like watching the news…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cutts/thirty-days-is-just-about-the-right-amount-of-time-to-add-a-new-habit/)

[Matt Cutts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cutts/)

> [In presenting a mathematical argument the great thing is to give the educated reader the chance to catch on at once to the momentary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-edensor-littlewood/in-presenting-a-mathematical-argument-the-great-thing-is-to-give-the/)

[John Edensor Littlewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-edensor-littlewood/)

> [The Greeks said grandly in their tragic phrase, 'Let no one be called happy till his death;' to which I would add, 'Let no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-barrett-browning/the-greeks-said-grandly-in-their-tragic-phrase-let-no-one-be-called/)

[Elizabeth Barrett Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-barrett-browning/)

> [Mostly we just add to the piles of rainbow glass that's been blown off the exteriors of the cany-colored buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/mostly-we-just-add-to-the-piles-of-rainbow-glass-that-s-been-blown/)

[Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/)

> [Global is a unifying bond for people. Once they get outside their own heads and their own communities and see themselves in a broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-calvin/global-is-a-unifying-bond-for-people-once-they-get-outside-their-own/)

[Kathy Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-calvin/)

[Browse all 2,710 Add quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/add/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left to say about a garden? Garden literature, descriptive, reminiscent, and technical, has blossomed so profusely among us during the last decade, that he should be an expert indeed who ventures to add thereto.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Harrison Gray Otis Dwight"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anything-can-be-left-to-say-about/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Add"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anything-can-be-left-to-say-about/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b7c/harrison-gray-otis-dwight-6153_add_is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anyt_2699916.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Is it too ingenuous to imagine that anything can be left to say about a garden? Garden literature…” — Harrison Gray Otis Dwight",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Harrison Gray Otis Dwight",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Is it too ingenuous to imagine...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anything-can-be-left-to-say-about/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harrison-gray-otis-dwight/is-it-too-ingenuous-to-imagine-that-anything-can-be-left-to-say-about/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
