CHAPTER XI 



THE PINK 



sweetest flower in early summer days is the 

 white Pink ; its bluish leaves are wrapped in 

 a mantle of white, and a delicious fragrance 

 scents the wind. Those drifts of blossom recall the 

 garden of the cottager and of the squire, and how- 

 ever many new forms may arise, the old fringed white 

 will never be forgotten. First of its race to come in 

 the summer, of delicious fragrance, and with that 

 simple charm that makes some of our garden flowers 

 individually lovable, it will ever be one of the most 

 welcome. It is also one of the best of plants for an 

 edging, not only in summer bloom, but in the depth 

 of winter, when its leaves are in finest colour. Half 

 a century ago the garden Pink was one of the most 

 popular of florists' flowers, and in my early gardening 

 days I was acquainted with many Pink fanciers. The 

 two most prominent were the late Mr. Charles Turner, 

 of Slough, and the late Mr. John Keynes, of Salisbury. 

 Mr. Keynes was better known as a Dahlia grower in 

 the days when single-flowered Dahlias, if they ap- 

 peared amongst the seedlings, were thrown on the 

 rubbish heap ; Cactus and Pompon varieties were not 

 in existence in those days. I remember Mr. Keynes 



94 



