I don't understand this either...

[Liriodendron]

Well....that's an interesting comment....I sometimes didn't exactly get what emotions Elija Wood was trying to convey.
So....what do think Jackson and Wood were trying to convey in those particular scenes.....just out of curiosity.

I always figured it was mostly the class thing....a very fine, gentlemanly "master" and his loyal gardener, this particular bond is even generationally ingrained with the gaffer and Bilbo. It's of the finest kind, a caring that turns to non sexual love under the intense conditions of the quest. It was also a friendship love too after so much time.
But the "class" thing is a relic from the past that many of the really young set (teenagers) might not get.
Also.....I'm sure that many men still develop "love" bonds that aren't homoesque to this day (its a human thing to love and care! ) but you need a few years to develop these kinds of feelings. Women and men aren't that different, imo.