MAY GARLANDS 63 



of this lovely sight in The Garden, to accom- 

 pany a charming drawing by my friend Mr. 

 Alfred Parsons, A.R.A., who had been so 

 fascinated by the arbour of blossom that 

 he spent a whole day's work upon it. But 

 it is perilous to let the public into one's 

 little private joys! And I almost repented 

 in subsequent Springs, when swarms of known 

 and unknown visitors asked to see my Apple 

 trees. 



If the wild Crab Apples, decking hedgerow, 

 wood, and common with their wealth of pink 

 and white, are in beauty just now, their 

 garden cousins, Pyrus mains floribunda, atro- 

 sanguinea, spectabilis, Parkmani fl. />/., and 

 many more exquisite varieties, are indeed 

 miracles of colour. Floribunda is well named ; 

 for the graceful flowers borne on long slim 

 footstalks, grow so thickly that each branch, 

 each twig, is a veritable garland, covering 

 the whole tree in a fairy cloud of pink, white, 

 and crimson. 



Though this bit of Hampshire is, as I 

 have said, by no means a good Cherry country 



