V 
AY is a glorious month in a garden. 
M Everything is up and doing; ferns are 
springing, bulbs blooming, shrubs in flower, 
seedlings in the ground, and all herbaceous 
plants growing and budding according to 
their season. Peonies are swelling their round 
buttons by the first of the month and show- 
ing colour; sweet-williams making fringe for 
their flower heads; plume pinks are in bud, 
and violets blooming, and lilies of the valley 
shaking out their bells. The life of the gar- 
den has begun in earnest, and cares and 
responsibilities are crowding upon the gar- 
dener. The green fly is sucking, the slug 
crawls in the early morning, and that thief, 
robber, and parvenue, the dandelion, is dis- 
playing his greediness with all the aggressive- 
ness of the ‘‘ yellow rich.” 
The rage against this land-grabber burns 
high in early May. Not only are these gay 
85 
