Against Gardens (short story)

Against Gardens was the fourth story in the Bernice Summerfield anthology A Life Worth Living. It was written by Eddie Robson.

Summary
Hass has been at the Collection for a year now. There are many things he doesn't like: the horizon, Wolsey the cat, and the fact that everyone expects him to recreate the garden the way Mister Crofton had it.

Among the projects Hass has going are a sunken garden and a greenhouse for cold-climate plants. However, after a recent altercation with Adrian Wall, Hass assumes that Adrian is responsible for filling in the sunken garden, and the two come to blows.

Hass begins to notice strange things happening in his gardens. In addition to the sunken garden incident, he notices that his layout of plants is changing, and the greenhouse is unable to maintain the cool temperatures he requires. The garden seems to have changed back to the way Crofton had it. Fed up, Hass hands in his resignation to Brax.

He meets with Benny and tells her what is happening to the garden. She is excited to help him investigate.

They discover a huge vine in the affected areas, a plant which Hass does not recognise. Benny is surprised to discover that Hass has no intention of killing the vine, as he prefers not to kill plants. They dig up the vines and discover they are grafted to a plant that Hass does recognise. It can accelerate the growing process of plants, and Hass and Benny note that it seems to be sentient, or at least to have the power of mimicry. Hass removes the vines from the plant, in the process staking his claim to the garden.

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Hass
 * Irving Braxiatel

Worldbuilding

 * Hass lived on Phobos before coming to the Collection.
 * The plant responsible for the changes is a Damon's Tender.

Continuity

 * Hass appreciates the "portrait" of him that Peter Summerfield drew. (PROSE: Final Draft)