These, then—Signs, Models, Figures, and Idioms—are the basic tools of Rhetoric. And now that we have familiarized ourselves with our basic tools we can start using them for the cultivation of our Garden of Rhetoric. To begin with, we must have a general idea of the kind of garden we need. For although rhetoric can certainly be used to persuade the assembly, here the word "assembly" could mean anything from the scientific community to a teenager's parents. And, each of these situations being quite different, each will probably require a different form of argument. In our metaphor, we would say that we must look to the expectations of our impending visitors and—considering the lay of the land, the terrain of our plot—design our garden either to harmonize or to contrast with the natural setting in a way meets those expectations. Accordingly (and using our garden metaphor), we should know what soils we're working with, what our source of water is, and what sunlight is present at what times, so that we might design a garden that plays upon those very expectations that our visitors (our audience) will bring to our garden.

Dropping our gardern metaphor for a moment; in making a case, the equivalent of soil, water, and sunlight are the three components of the Aristotelian Rhetoric. There, Pathos constitutes the emotional appeal, Logos the rational argumentation, and Ethos the moral authority. This triad, described by Aristotle in his Rhetoric as the three forms of pistis ('proof') at the disposal of the rhetor, has affinities with (early) modern psychology. And we will see how the rhetor can use these affinities to strengthen his or her argument. First, however, (and turning to our garden again) we must lay down our foundations, working-in rich or sandy soil as the plot requires, adding fertilizer where we want an especially healthy stand, and generally working with the land to learn what the actual ground tells us about how we will need to modify our original plans. Traditionally in Rhetoric, this corresponds to cultivating our own minds in the use and utility of different tones of language, and modifying our original drafts to reflect the nature of our audience. To these ends, then, we will next look at what we may figuratively call the Lay of the Land.