116 A Little Maryland Garden 
me what can be done with flowers in Mary- 
land under good conditions. Its sheltered 
position under the cut, sloping to the south 
and protected from north winds, gives it a 
great advantage over my low, cold ground; 
and this is my excuse when I look down 
and find it glowing with flowers, and my 
own borders are a little bare. 
The candidum lilies have not been at their 
best this year, either in my own or other 
people’s gardens. There is an old house in 
the heart of the town, standing in a large 
garden, where long rows of Madonna lilies 
have always been a feature, and have deco- 
rated the feast of many a June bride. This 
season they have been very disappointing. 
This old garden has box plants that are almost 
trees, and the subject of my special envy. 
Very old box plants seem almost like a patent 
of nobility. One must have lived long in the 
land, and had ‘‘mighty generations,”’ to have 
such box trees standing by the door. I stayed 
for a year in a house where the old portraits, 
the massive mahogany furniture, and curious 
