My Garden in Spring 



and January and the latter part of November, you must 

 take such things as are green all winter ; holly, ivy, bays, 

 Juniper, cypress trees, yew, pine-apple trees, fir trees, 

 rosemary, lavender ; periwinkle, the white, the purple, and 

 the blue ; germander, flags, orange leaves, lemon trees, 

 and myrtles, if they be stoved; and sweet marjoram 

 warm set." So that, so long as a plant bore green leaves, 

 even though they were fully developed and no fresh growth 

 was being produced by it, it was all he demanded to keep 

 his perpetual Spring alive ; but in these later times, when 

 so much more of the world has been rummaged and 

 ransacked to provide treasures for our gardens, it must be 

 a very poor one that, except during times of severe frost 

 or deep snow, cannot show some plants if not actually in 

 flower yet in active growth. Surely this starting into 

 growth is the true Spring in plant life, whether it be an 

 awakening due to the melting of a covering of snow 

 as with the high alpines, or the commencement of the 

 rains in the African veldt ; and so long as we can see some 

 plant in the garden starting off vigorously for its annual 

 round of existence, so long in that spot is Spring with us. 

 It is interesting to note how differently certain plants 

 behave when removed from their native surroundings. 

 Some will quickly become acclimatised, and accommodate 

 themselves to the new conditions ; others seem to get 

 confused, and attempt to flower at most unseemly times. 

 This is especially noticeable with certain recently collected 

 Alpine plants, and Soldanellas, Gentians, and certain Pri- 

 mulas such as P. pedemontana, P. minima, and P. Auricula, 

 which are accustomed to form their flower buds or crowns 

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