The daffodils and tulips are there for their good looks, and the fruit tree (white flowers, centre) pays for its keep with pears. None of them came free.
As Adam and Eve discovered, you can pay through the nose for a single apple.
Gardens have an almost insatiable appetite. They want your time and money. And you have little choice in the matter.
If you want grass and flowers and trees, you will pay for the privilege. And even if you don't, paving over a garden will be costly.
Let's start with secateurs. A basic garden implement, these scissors-like devices are vital for snipping branches, pruning shrubs and deadheading rose bushes.
Basic secateurs cost only a few pounds but tend not to last beyond a season or two. Sturdier ones last longer, do the job better, and cost more.
That is only the start. Of course, you will need gloves – special garden gloves, of course – to protect yourself against the thorns. Other basics: trowel, shovels, rake, fork, weed puller, maybe weed killer or insecticide.
These small simple garden tools are inexpensive individually but they add up, and gardens require many distinct tools.
Initially you buy your tools from your local hardware store or D-I-Y, but soon you graduate to the garden centre. Garden centres are the source - in our epoch - of all temptation.
Your trolley now contains plant food, fertiliser, compost—and some plants, bulbs and seed packets.
Now you own more and larger plants, so you need larger and more expensive tools: saws for the trees, heavy-duty cutters for thick branches, garden shears, a wheelbarrow.
More expensive still are hedge cutters and mowers - and why stop there when you can buy a power leaf-blower and other electrified devices. And don't forget the shed in which to store it all.
These days, what garden is complete without a barbecue. You can pick up a cheap and cheerful piece of kit for less than £50, but most are more expensive, especially if you want them to last a few seasons. And then there are the briquettes, firelighters, utensils, garden table and chairs, parasol.
The supply of can't-do-without items seems endless. The shed requires a foundation, a lock (weatherproof and thief-resistant locks are more expensive than ordinary locks but pay for themselves over the long term) and maybe a handyman or two to install it.
The small objects need storage bins. You can track dirt and mud in the house every time you venture into and out of your garden or you can buy slip-on slip-off garden shoes.
Many garden owners meet the demands of the garden half-way - they install decking or pave over part of it. But that costs too.
Another costly aspect of gardening is easy to overlook - transporting green waste to the tip. You may also have to hire someone to help with one or another aspect of garden maintenance.
We are a nation of gardeners, not grocers. Many people grow up loving gardens and gardening. Others get the bug along the way.
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