IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



and in other thumb-pots there are vine-eyes, each pegged 

 down horizontally into a little rich soil ; these will quickly 

 start into strong young vines, and be grown on rapidly, 

 with plenty of warmth and food, to supply the pot vines for 

 next season. Then there are other plants which enjoy moist 

 warmth to start them into life, such as Richardia Elliottiana, 

 the rare yellow calla ; this arum does not blossom at the 

 same time as the white calla (^Ethiopica) ; it needs to 

 be kept dry and warm in winter, blooming in the middle of 

 the summer, and is altogether a much more difficult plant to 

 manage successfully ; caladiums, too, which will not start 

 without moist warmth, and many other plants from tropical 

 countries will start well in this hot-bed. 



Spending many quiet hours in the garden, one gradually 

 becomes aware of certain curious little melodramas (usually 

 leaning towards a comedy, but sometimes, alas ! ending in a; 

 sad little tragedy) which are being enacted there. 



Each of the robins (Sylvia rubicula) which live in the 

 garden has a separate patrolling ground, and three or four 

 of the birds are well known to us. There is Ruby, the 

 little beauty who was tamed from the nest last summer, 

 before she donned any red feathers at all ; she is now 

 in possession of the shrubberies at the end of the lawn, 

 where her bright red breast and delicate silver-grey waist- 

 coat may be seen at any time, for she conies to the call, and 

 feeds from my hand. Sylvia, my old pet of four winters, 

 haunts the pergola, and owns that part of the south terrace 

 on which my window opens, where she appears each 

 morning for her early breakfast as soon as it is light. She 

 is the tamest of the tame, and is always on the look-out 

 for biscuit, which she prefers to bread. 



But between the two domains there is a walk overhung 

 with nut-trees, and here another robin lives, who is, ] 

 believe, the mate of Sylvia. He has never been a friendl) 

 bird ; in fact, I fancy he does not approve of his wife'i 

 weakness for humans and biscuit, and he lures her awa} 

 from the garden every spring to nest elsewhere, thougl 

 the pair always reappear in October. Now that St 



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