THE FLOWERS OF SPRING 25 



are moorland, or sub-alpine. Lilac and purple are 

 the mountain colours. Happy is the man who, 

 in garden, rockery, or greenhouse, gathers the 

 primulas of Europe round those of Scotland. 



Commonest of a lovely family, the dog violet 

 shares the windy and exposed half of the anemone's 

 domain. I like to think of it on the bank, sloping 

 down to ditch or stream, with the nest of the 

 yellow-hammer hard by. There it so overtops the 

 short, fresh grass, that every tiny speck of blue is 

 seen. Hand in hand, like sisters born, it climbs 

 the slope with the anemone, and goes just about 

 as high. 



It passes under the shadow far enough to join 

 the primroses. There it grows larger, if more 

 faintly hued flowers ; and changes its name to the 

 wood violet. The smaller, deeper blue bank violet 

 is better. Whereas the shade-loving primrose 

 sometimes wanders out into the open, the violet of 

 the open enters the shades. Together with the 

 anemone, primrose and violet make fairy glades 

 worth searching out. 



The three-coloured violet gets the credit of being 

 parent to our garden pansies. A little later than 

 the first appearance of the dog violets, for it will 

 save space elsewhere if I chat about some of the 



