Busy planting out beans and tomatoes before Lauds and thinking of Dr Feckenham, last abbot of Westminster, a-setting of trees in his orchard when Queen Elizabeth's messengers came to take him away. I wonder where Feckenham found his peace in all the trials and troubles that beset him. Richard Cox, bishop of Ely, described him as "a gentle person but in the popish religion too, too obstinate". I can't help wondering whether his gentleness had something to do with his love of gardening. One can't be brutal with young plants, and they don't last long if one is forever taking them out of their pots to see how they are doing. Patience, that fourth vow of Benedictines, is essential to the gardener, and too, the readiness to begin again from the beginning when something doesn't work out. The acceptance of failure is a mark of personal maturity although none of us finds it easy to let go of our ambitions or dreams. When hopes are dashed or plans go bottom up, it is easy to sink into despair and give up. Benedict was well aware of the tendency, which is why his fourth degree of humility has a great deal to say on the subject of perseverance. Interestingly, he links perseverance with forgiveness. Usually we think of forgiveness as something we give to another or, more rarely, as something we receive from another. Perhaps we have to learn to forgive ourselves. Only then can we pick ourselves up and start again.