THE SUMMER GARDEN in 



ground the moment it is ripe this month, and 

 pricking the seedlings out in store beds or in 

 their final position as soon as they can be 

 handled. A few will flower the next year ; 

 but they will come to perfection the year 

 after. In a neighbouring garden, long rows of 

 these hybrid Delphiniums of every shade from 

 palest azure to deepest gentian blue, produce 

 an indescribably charming effect along a shady 

 terrace. And their owner assures me they 

 have all been raised in this way a few heads 

 of the choicest flowers being marked every 

 Summer for seed, which is sown as soon as 

 it ripens. 



The seed also of the hybrid Aquilegias 

 should also be gathered the moment it is ripe ; 

 for one cannot have too many of the fine long- 

 spurred varieties, so remarkable in size and 

 colour. But none of these modern hybrids 

 surpass the beauty of their parents, A. c<erulea 

 and A. chrysantha. Never shall I forget my 

 first sight of a bed of A. c<erulea at the edge 

 of the pine forest upon a pass of 8100 feet in 

 the Rocky Mountains. Though panting with 



