"No doubt these rocky islands have suggested the idea worked out in gardens, and they have been well imitated"
About this Quote
The sentence also reveals how nineteenth-century science often traveled with the mindset of collection and improvement. Fortune, famed for moving plants and botanical knowledge across borders in the age of empire, writes as if landscapes naturally aspire to be "worked out in gardens". The verb choice matters. "Worked out" treats gardening as problem-solving, an act of refinement that completes what geology merely began. The islands "suggest" the idea, but the garden perfects it. That hierarchy is the subtext.
"Well imitated" sounds like praise, yet it carries a double edge. Imitation here is not counterfeit; it’s triumph. If a garden can convincingly mimic the ruggedness of islands, it proves human command over wilderness and over taste itself. It’s also an early snapshot of a broader cultural turn: the rise of designed "naturalness" - landscapes engineered to feel accidental, curated roughness as status.
Fortune’s line is small, almost throwaway, which is why it’s so revealing. It shows how a scientific gaze can smuggle in assumptions about ownership, improvement, and the right to translate place into style.
Quote Details
| Topic | Nature |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Fortune, Robert. (2026, January 17). No doubt these rocky islands have suggested the idea worked out in gardens, and they have been well imitated. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-doubt-these-rocky-islands-have-suggested-the-73506/
Chicago Style
Fortune, Robert. "No doubt these rocky islands have suggested the idea worked out in gardens, and they have been well imitated." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-doubt-these-rocky-islands-have-suggested-the-73506/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"No doubt these rocky islands have suggested the idea worked out in gardens, and they have been well imitated." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-doubt-these-rocky-islands-have-suggested-the-73506/. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
