CUT FLOWERS 197 



hung with delicate pink blossoms, a lovely sight 

 in bitter March weather. Branches of other 

 flowering shrubs, such as Ribes, Spiraeas, Pyrus 

 Japonica, &c., may be treated in the same way, 

 but none respond so quickly as the Plum. 



While Summer is still with us, Roses, 

 Carnations, and Sweet Peas to mention only 

 a few of our garden delights make the task 

 of keeping the house gay and fragrant an easy 

 one. But when rains and wind, such as the 

 great September gales of 1903, descend on our 

 unhappy gardens, and warn us that Autumn 

 is here almost before Summer has chosen to 

 bless our labours, decoration becomes far more 

 complicated I mean for those who cannot 

 command the resources of glass houses. We 

 therefore have often to abandon the easier plan 

 of massing one flower, and to exercise our 

 ingenuity on cunning combinations of the 

 many varieties and tones of white, yellow, and 

 red. The Roses are indeed here, more precious 

 to us than ever in their fragrance and rich 

 colour, if not in their abundance. Sweet Peas 

 survive : but they have lost something of their 



