CHAPTER VIII 



A WINTER GARDEN OF TREES AND SHRUBS 



THE budding spring, the ripening summer, the out- 

 poured riches of harvest, appeal to all, physically 

 if not spiritually. But to hundreds of people a 

 winter landscape is dreary beyond expression. They 

 never dream of going into a garden during the dark 

 months ; to them its silent lessons are but a dead- 

 letter, nor would they ever wake to the beauty of 

 bare boughs nor pause to note the strange glow of 

 withered Fern fronds in the grey gloom of a foggy 

 day. We are not wholly free from blame in this 

 matter in so far as our gardens are concerned, for 

 spring and summer and autumn all have their share 

 in the garden plan, while winter, too often, stands 

 apart uncared for and unclothed. Yet how much 

 may be done by the right grouping of beautiful trees 

 and shrubs to make the winter garden harmonious 

 and inviting. 



"You see, it takes a deal of insight to know 

 what's a-going to be," was a remark, half-apologetic, 

 half-regretful, often made by an old gardener of a 

 school now gone by, when matters horticultural 

 went somewhat athwart of his calculations. The 

 words recur to mind as containing a germ of truth 

 beyond the meaning of the speaker. It has been 



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