ioo Old Time Gardens 



hath any grain crisped damaske-wise, and never 

 but about the root, the which is dudgin." From 

 its esteemed use for dagger hilts came the word 

 dudgeon-dagger, and the terms " drawn-dudgeon " 

 and " high-dudgeon," meaning offence or discord. 



I plead for the Box, not for its fragrance, for you 

 may not be so fortunate as to have a Puritan sense 

 of smell, nor for its weird influence, for that is in- 

 tangible ; but because it is the most becoming of 

 all edgings to our garden borders of old-time flow- 

 ers. The clear compact green of its shining leaves, 

 the trim distinctness of its clipped lines, the attri- 

 butes that made Pope term it the " shapely Box," 

 make it the best of all foils for the varied tints of 

 foliage, the many colors of bloom, and the careless 

 grace in growth of the flowers within the border. 



Box edgings are pleasant, too, in winter, showing 

 in grateful relief against the tiresome monotony of 

 the snow expanse. And they bear sometimes a 

 crown of lightest snow wreaths, which seem like a 

 white blossoming in promise of the beauties of the 

 border in the coming summer. Pick a bit of this 

 winter Box, even with the mercury below zero. Lo ! 

 you have a breath of the hot dryness of the mid- 

 summer garden. 



Box grows to great size, even twenty feet in 

 height. In Southern gardens, where it is seldom 

 winter-killed, it is often of noble proportions. In 

 the lovely garden of Martha Washington at Mount 

 Vernon the Box is still preserved in the beauty and 

 interest of its original form. 



The Box edgings and hedges of many other 



