308 NOOKERIES ON THE HOME GROUNDS. 



hole for cattle in the corner of the orchard, was a delight- 

 ful nookery in its way, with its rich turf and charming 

 wild flowers, or weeds as some would call them. Abound- 

 ing, too, in nookeries of the pleasantest sort was the old 

 flower garden, with its box-lined borders and larkspurs, and 

 hollyhocks, where, for instance, in a far corner, we come sud- 

 denly on an old arbor festooned with grape-vine, honey- 

 suckle, and trumpet creeper. I think, though, according to 

 my remembrance, the best nookery was to be found down 

 on the edge of the grove, with its pool of water on one side 

 and its bays of shrubby growth and aisles of tree trunks on 

 the other. The rushes and lilies of those remote, still 

 waters, and the wild flowers and climbing vines, Virginia 

 creepers and bitter-sweets in the recesses of the woods, even 

 now linger with me as types of what genuine nookeries 

 should be. 



After recalling the constituent parts of such scenes, it 

 ought not to be hard to adorn, and, if necessary, create 

 these pleasant nookeries in our gardens. It is not a ques- 

 tion of extensive or even exquisite culture, but only a few 

 well-directed efforts from year to year and the place takes 

 care of itself. Every one surely can find a secluded nook 

 in the garden or lawn, and there are many things we can 

 do of the easiest nature that will tend greatly to perfect 

 these delightful surprises. Wild flowers can be fostered 

 and even planted in such a way as to preclude all idea 

 whatever of the presence of the hand of man. Hardy 

 shrubs, too, may be used in the most effective manner for 

 this purpose, by planting them singly or in colonies in a 

 thoroughly wild-wood manner. But, I believe, nothing 



