300 THE GARDEN, YOU, AND I 



which the strangely nourished plant of basil grew as 

 she watered it with her tears. 



A hedge of tall sunflowers, from whose seeds, Mrs. 

 Puffin said, a soothing and nourishing cough syrup 

 may be made, antedating cod-liver oil, replaced the 

 lilacs on this side, and with them blended boneset and 

 horehound ; while in a springy spot back toward the 

 barn-yard the long leaves of sweet flag or calamus 

 introduced a different class of foliage. 



On the garden side the border was broken every 

 ten feet or so with great shrubs of our lemon verbena, 

 called lemon balm by Mrs. Puffin. It seemed impos- 

 sible that such large, heavily wooded plants could be 

 lifted for winter protection in the cellar, yet such Mrs. 

 Puffin assured us was the case. So I shall grow mine 

 to this size if possible, for what one can do may be 

 accomplished by another, that is the tonic of seeing 

 other gardens than one's own. Between the lemon 

 verbenas were fragrant- leaved geraniums of many 

 flavours rose, nutmeg, lemon, and one with a sharp 

 peppermint odour, also a skeleton-leaved variety; 

 while a low-growing plant with oval leaves and half- 

 trailing habit and odd odour, Mrs. Puffin called apple 

 geranium, though it does not seem to favour the 

 family. Do you know it? 



