"A Concrete Example" is a humorous and light-hearted poem written by Reginald Arkell. It describes an amusing encounter between the speaker and his next-door neighbour, Mrs. Jones. Unlike traditional gardens filled with wide flower beds and lush greenery, Mrs. Jones possesses a very peculiar garden that is mostly full of stones. Her garden includes an uneven stone path, a lily pond, a rockery, and a sundial with a strange device that she finds quite charming.
In addition to the heavy stonework, Mrs. Jones likes to plant tiny, delicate plants in the narrow gaps between the stones. These plants are so extremely small that the speaker jokingly wonders if she plants them using a pin. To the speaker, the plants seem almost invisible, but Mrs. Jones is very fond of them and takes great pride in her unique garden.
One day, Mrs. Jones invites the speaker to visit her garden and admire her stones and flowers. The two neighbours stand together and talk about a particular flower for nearly fifteen minutes. Mrs. Jones speaks about it with great appreciation. Unable to spot the plant among the rocks, the speaker curiously asks where this lovely flower actually is. Mrs. Jones calmly and surprisingly replies that the speaker has been standing on it the whole time.
Through simple rhymes and gentle irony, the poem highlights how different people appreciate beauty in contrasting ways. The title "A Concrete Example" cleverly plays on words, referring literally to the hard, stony environment of the garden and figuratively to giving a clear, funny example of Mrs. Jones's unusual gardening habits.