VIII 



COTTAGE GARDENS 



FLOWERS woven together with love make 

 the garland of the poets, especially of the 

 English poets for the people of England adore 

 flowers more than any other nation in the world. 



The poet who wrote of the beauty of the stately 

 homes of England was praising, no doubt, what 

 most appealed to her ; while her choice of the 

 obviously beautiful for the subject of her poem 

 suggests the Gardens already described in these 

 notes, yet it leaves unsung all the beauties belong- 

 ing to the Cottage homes of England. 



The passion for flowers and the love of colour 

 which is born of their beauty is to be seen more 

 than anywhere else in Cottage Gardens. Many a 

 green English lane is adorned with gorgeous spots 

 of colour, the little Gardens of these flower-lovers. 



Dame Nature has given the most beautiful lesson 

 in love in these "Gardens trim," belonging to the 

 poor; for clever, gentle, loving tending of the 



157 



