56 THE GARDEN, YOU, AND I 



"The flower garden also cries for proper raiment, 

 for though the original lines have been preserved and 

 the soil put in a satisfactory shape, in lieu of the hardy 

 plants and old-time favourites that belong to such a 

 place, in emergency we were reduced, last summer, to 

 the quick- growing but monotonous bedding plants for 

 fillers. Can you imagine anything more jarring and 

 inconsistent than cannas, castor- oil beans, coleus, and 

 nasturtiums in a prim setting of box? 



" Then, too, last Christmas, Bart's parents sent us a 

 dear old sundial, with a very good fluted column for a 

 base. The motto reads 'Never consult me at night,' 

 which Bart insists is an admonition for us to keep, 

 chickenlike, early hours ! Be this as it may, in order 

 to live up to the dial, the beds that form its court must 

 be consistently clothed for cannas, coleus, and beans, 

 read peonies, Madonna lilies, sweet-william, clove- 

 pinks, and hollyhocks, which latter the seed bed I 

 hope will duly furnish. 



"All these details, and more too, I poured into the 

 ears of The Man from Everywhere, while Bart kept 

 rather silent, but I could tell by the way his pipe 

 breathed, short and quick, that he was thinking hard. 

 One has to be a little careful in talking over plans and 

 wishes with Bart; his spirit is generous beyond his 



