The "watering of St Thomas" was a spring dedicated to St Thomas, and it came to be the first halting-place of the pilgrims.

Gardening may take us back to an agricultural stage, but digging is most useful as a muscular exercise, and "watering" is scientific experiment and adds to the feeling of power, while the flowers themselves appeal to the aesthetic side of the sense-play, which is not limited to any age, though conspicuous so soon.