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THE ENGLISH FLOWER GARDEN. 



promise very well, having, to some extent, the same character of 

 graceful, pointed leaf of the willow and the reed. 



Willows and Their Colour. — Some say that to enjoy the colour 

 of willows we should cut them down once a year and that the young 

 shoots so grown are more showy. In that case they are thicker 

 together and more level in colour ; but it is a very stupid practice to 

 carry out, because some of the finest willows are trees, and by cutting 

 them down we lose the form, which is very beautiful throughout the 

 year. Colour also is bound up with form and light and shade, and 

 we cannot see the most beautiful effects of colour without these ; so 

 that it is wrong in every way to cut down our willows for the sake of 

 enjoying their colour. A small patch may be treated in that way, 

 especially if we follow the good old plan of using the twigs. If we 

 cut these every year we have a useful aid in packing, tying the 

 branches of trees, and for other purposes. Even in the wild willows 

 of our own country we can notice the great error of this practice of 

 cutting down — in such places, for instance, as Brandon in Norfolk, 

 and other eastern county places, where we see the far greater beauty 

 of the naturally grown tree, even from the point of view of colour. 



Pool with Calla Lilies, Trelissick, Truro. 



