It Was Not Till I Experimented With Seeds

It was not till I experimented with seeds
plucked straight from a growing plant
that I had my first success...
the first thrill of creation...
the first taste of blood.
This, surely, must be akin
to the pride of paternity...
indeed, many soured bachelors
would wager that it must be
almost as wonderful
to see the first tiny crinkled leaves
of one's first plant as to see
the tiny crinkled face
of one's first child.

Note: This week I'm going to do a special tribute to the author Beverley Nichols, who was born on this day in 1898. 
Nichols is remembered for his writing and his love of gardening and cats. Nichols wrote over 60 books - but he is best remembered for his gardening books.
In 1932, Nichols wrote Down the Garden Path. It became an instant bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic. In the book, Nichols wrote about his 1928 purchase of a weekend retreat, a thatched cottage in the village of Glatton.
Nichols knew nothing about gardening when he bought the cottage, so he shared every discovery and disaster in his books. Based on the positive response to his first book, Nichols wrote two more books on his Glatton experiences. The second book was A Thatched Roof (released in 1933), and the third was A Village in a Valley (released in 1934). The books are referred to as The Glatton Trilogy or The Allways Chronicles.
Today's quote is an excerpt from Nichol's first book, Down the Garden Path.