156 A Little Maryland Garden 
carnations; but they are so straggling as 
garden plants that I am inclined to say I will 
never have them again. This particular 
variety was selected because it was adver- 
tised to have stiff stems, making vigorous 
plants that would grow to a uniform height. 
And yet they lie trailing limply over the 
stones, and falling about upon their neigh- 
bours in an invertebrate way that is very 
depressing. I should have staked them if 
they had not come to me under false pre- 
tences. For a little garden I prefer the gay, 
clove-scented, stiff plume pinks, that hold 
up their heads sturdily. 
The orange lilies have bloomed all through 
August, first in such masses that their colour 
was too strong, and they had to be picked 
to keep them from dominating the garden. 
In the house, in deep brown bowls, they are 
like sunshine, lighting up any room they are 
placed in. As the month wanes they be- 
come less by degrees; and on some cloudy day, 
when a few tall stems crowned with them 
show against a background of dark shrubs, 
