My Garden in Spring 



with the effect both when standing among the beds and 

 also from a distance. I have long preached that Erguste 

 is the best of the lilac Darwins, but many people think 

 otherwise and cry up The Rev. Ewbank. I must confess 

 that I am rather particular, and I dislike any Darwin that 

 has a paler edge to the segments, and a dingy grey look 

 about the central darker portion, and I find both of these 

 unpleasing features in Ewbank. To my mind they make 

 it look faded and weary even when young, whereas Erguste 

 is as nearly self-coloured throughout as one could expect, 

 and looks as clean and fresh as a newly washed and 

 starched lilac sunbonnet, until the segments are ready to 

 drop. All these lilac Darwins seem to inherit one fault 

 with their colour, they are more open to flattery than 

 their red brethren, and the west winds of Spring can per- 

 suade them that they are indispensable and the world is 

 waiting for them, and that they must hurry up at once, and 

 they generally push out leaves sooner than they should. 



The flowers of purple and lilac Darwins, as a rule, 

 open before those of other colours, but that could be 

 forgiven them, and their particular foolishness and un- 

 forgiveable sin lies in starting into growth too soon. 

 Last winter was very bad for them in that respect. The 

 west wind roused them in their beds before Christmas, 

 and in a lying spirit declared it was half past winter and 

 time to get up ; their hot water was provided by warm 

 showers, and they popped their noses out of the curtains 

 and found it was so pleasant and muggy that they grew 

 away as fast as they could, and so had large, tender 

 leaves and exposed buds by the end of March that would 

 have done them credit a month later ; all those bitter winds 

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