Faults in Gardening 



thought was, " How the poor Foxglove 

 is killed by the comparison ! " But even 

 as I said it there appeared such delicacy 

 of tinting in the spotted markings within 

 the bells, that the Geraniums for a time 

 shrank back abashed. 



And the false treatment of gardeners, 

 old and new, being here alike in fault, 

 has actually resulted in making some 

 plants unpopular. We often hear people 

 complaining of the Tulip as a stiff, un- 

 gainly flower ; but it only looks so when 

 cultivated quite out of its natural appear- 

 ance, and planted in formal rows with 

 stems as stiff as ramrods. Lay aside the 

 false criteria of excellence, and scatter 

 the flowers here and there by twos and 

 threes, or even in greater numbers, and 

 you will no longer complain of their want 

 of beauty, or be troubled at their speedy 

 fading. The leaves will be a delightful 

 object to watch from February to May. 

 But people will not see the beauty of 

 scattered plants. I remember looking at 

 a show of highly cultivated Tulips, and 

 contrasting it with two flowers altogether 

 untrained, which stood upon the open bed 

 of a garden little better than a wilder- 

 ness. One of the flowers was yellow, 

 and the other a deep rich red ; and the 

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