LITTLE GARDENS 



best If kept In a cold frame from early frost to 

 early spring, then set out In a sandy place that 

 has been well enriched rather than In a heavy 

 soil. 



Turning now to a different species — for we 

 are considering customs and availabilities, rather 

 than botanical relations — the peony presents It- 

 self, a healthy, rustic companion that suggests a 

 country bride, a bashful, good-natured wench, 

 prone to blushes and embonpoint. In form like 

 the rose, suggesting It, too. In Its short life. Its 

 prompt appearance. Its thrift. Its opulence, make 

 It a glad arrival In every zone It decorates. 

 Country gardens without "pineys " would be 

 like old homesteads without wells, shade-trees 

 and lilacs. There are white, pink and red 

 peonies, and each shade Is finer than the other, 

 for all of them arrive when the world Is other- 

 wise lean of show, and the flowers are shy and 

 small. The peony Is a foretoken of the treas- 

 ures soon to be squandered over the earth. It 

 grows In almost any soil, but deserves to have 

 Its choice considered, and It prefers a light, but 

 rich earth, fertilized once a year, and watered 

 through the summer. In planting It Is well to 

 184 



