Winter Jasmine. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



THE FLOWER GARDEN IN WINTER. 



THE idea that winter is a doleful time for gardens must not be 

 taken seriously even by those who only grow hardy things out of 

 doors ; because between the colour of the stems and leaves of trees, 

 or shrubs, there is much beauty left, even in winter, and in mild 

 winters good things venture to flower. Mr Moore, of Dublin, wrote 

 to me in midwinter : 



After a very open winter we have had a sharp snap of cold, and to-day (Jan. 20) 

 it is blowing a bitterly cold storm from the east. To-day has opened Winter 

 Sweet and Winter Honeysuckle ; Iris Stylosa, blue and white, Christmas Roses 

 and Winter Heliotrope are beautiful ; in fact, I never saw them so good. 



But even where, owing to hard winters, we cannot enjoy our 

 flowers in this way, there is much beauty to be had from trees and 

 shrubs, evergreen and summer-leafing. Hitherto we have been all so 

 busy in planting evergreens in heavy masses, that the beauty one 

 may realise by using a far greater number of summer-leafing shrubs 

 and fine herbaceous plants among the evergreens is not often seen. 



Gardens are too often bare of interest in winter, and some of 

 the evil arises from the common error that plants are not worth 

 seeing in winter. The old poet's wail about the dismal winter is 

 a false one to those who have eyes for beauty. Woods are no less 

 beautiful in winter than in summer to some they are more beautiful 



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