Floral Imagery

Dorothy's scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz sings about how he'd love a life "whiling away the hours conversing with the flowers" and we think Marvell knows exactly what this guy is talking about. Flower imagery pops up everywhere in "The Garden" and represents a number of things symbolically, but Marvell definitely focused on making all the greenery, no matter what it symbolizes, appear as wonderful and inspirational as possible. He does such a good job in fact that we have to classify this as pastoral, or a work that presents nature in its idealized form and leaves out all the death, wilting, winter, and mosquitos. 

• Line 2: We talked earlier about the symbolism of wreaths in general, but it turns out that the specific kinds of plant wreaths Marvell mentions have special significance. Palm fronds symbolize triumph and victory, and crowns of palms are traditionally given out as tokens of success in war. Oak, on the other hand, is a reward for success in politics and a crown of "bays" or laurel, represents accomplishments in poetry.
• Line 4: What the speaker takes issue with here is that a few branches of one herb or tree are so high on everybody's wish list that they forget all about actual nature and its millions of varieties—far more beautiful and impressive than one measly wreath.
• Line 7: This is our first pastoral image, and the picture Marvell paints is of trees and flowers uniting together to weave garlands for the speaker. The fact that the trees and flowers are doing the weaving as opposed to a human is not only unlikely (hence the pastoral), it also further emphasizes the "repose" the speaker experiences by going to the garden.
• Lines 20-24: In these lines, Marvell is taking the stereotypical practice of carving the name of the person you love into a tree (or desk, as present times might have it) and pulling a 180 degree switch—instead of scarring up the old tree in your backyard with the name of the person you love, you should instead be writing "I <3 OAK" in the bark because trees are way cooler than girlfriends or boyfriends. The image represents the speaker's rejection of sexuality in favor of nature, something that is made very apparent as the poem continues (see the "Themes" section on "Man and the Natural World" for all the juicy deets).
• Line 34: Ripe apples dropping brings up all kinds of symbolism. The over-ripeness of the apples (don't forget, they're falling for a reason), screams of fertility almost in excess. Apples themselves are intimately associated with Eve and the Garden of Eden (see the section below) and color is also coming into play (although that might vary depending on what kind of apples you're thinking of). How 'bout 'dem apples, indeed.
• Line 35-36: The luscious clusters referenced in line 35 add a sensuality to the nature imagery in "The Garden," an allure that's only reinforced by the fact that wine comes from the grapes; the image of grapes "crushing" their wine in the speaker's mouth is also reminiscent of the great Greek and Roman Bacchanalian feasts where people were literally so drunk that they couldn't sit up and so rich that it didn't matter because they had servants to pour wine in their mouths anyway.
• Lines 37-38: These lines are written in the same sensual tone as the rest of the fifth stanza. Here, the peach and nectarine are offering themselves up to the speaker, a gesture of total surrender and seductiveness.
• Line 39: This is the picture of fertility. The garden is full of such abundant life that the fruit has taken over the path and the speaker cannot help but trip over all the produce.
• Line 40: Unlike Adam and Eve, who fell into sin when they spiritually stumbled in the Garden of Eden, Marvell's garden is portrayed as a safe place. The speaker is ensnared by flowers, not the devil, and falls on grass, not into evil ways.
• Line 50: The mossy root of the fruit tree might be something found in nature relatively frequently, but it certainly creates a picture of relaxation and picturesque beauty.