The chapter revolves around the humorous and light-hearted poem 'A Concrete Example' by Reginald Arkell. It introduces the speaker's next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones, who maintains a very peculiar garden. Instead of being filled with lush green lawns and colorful flower beds, her garden is packed with stones, a crazy paved pathway, a lily pond, a stone rockery, and a sundial with an unusual design. Despite its stony and unconventional appearance, Mrs. Jones takes great pride in her garden and considers it charming.
Between the hard stones, Mrs. Jones carefully tends to tiny and delicate plants. The speaker playfully remarks that these plants are so tiny that they seem almost invisible, as if she had planted them using a small pin. One day, Mrs. Jones invites the speaker to visit her stony garden. They stand together and talk enthusiastically about a special and lovely flower for about fifteen minutes. Curious to see this wonderful plant, the speaker asks where it is located. In a funny and surprising twist, Mrs. Jones replies that the speaker is already standing on it.
Through this amusing situation, the poem highlights how different people perceive beauty in unique ways. The title 'A Concrete Example' cleverly uses wordplay, referring literally to the hard, stone-filled garden and symbolically to a clear example of Mrs. Jones's eccentric gardening habits. In addition to the poem, the chapter includes exercises on garden vocabulary, formal and informal apologies, and features interesting real-world gardens, such as the Rock Garden of Chandigarh and the scenic Raj Bhavan garden in Bhubaneswar. It encourages students to appreciate nature, creativity, and the humour found in everyday life.