This paper examines the following four topics: land use and technology, the production and use of surplus, dependence on and affinity with the land, and the world view of the gardeners. I shall show that many considerations enter into a gardener's decision of how much land and technology to use, how much surplus to produce, and what to do with it. It appears also that gardening is an immensely sociable enterprise and has important personal meanings and rewards for the gardener.