178 Old Time Gardens 



double Sunflowers. Under the reign of Patience, 

 the Sunflower had a fleeting day of popularity, and 

 flaunted in garden and parlor. Its place was false. 

 It was never a garden flower in olden times, in the 

 sense of being a flower of ornament or beauty ; its 

 place was in the kitchen garden, where it belongs. 



Peas have ever been favorites in English gardens 

 since they were brought to England. We have all 

 seen the print, if not the portrait, of Queen Elizabeth 

 garbed in a white satin robe magnificently embroi- 

 dered with open pea-pods and butterflies. A " City 

 of London Madam " had a delightful head ornament 

 of open pea-pods filled with peas of pearls ; this was 

 worn over a hood of gold-embroidered muslin, and 

 with dyed red hair, must have been a most modish 

 affair. Sweet Peas have had a unique history. They 

 have been for a century a much-loved flower of the 

 people both in England and America, and they were 

 at home in cottage borders and fine gardens ; were 

 placed in vases, and carried in nosegays and posies; 

 were loved of poets — Keats wrote an exquisite 

 characterization of them. They had beauty of color, 

 and a universally loved perfume — but florists have 

 been blind to them till within a few years. A bicen- 

 tenary exhibition of Sweet Peas was given in Lon- 

 don in July, 1900; now there is formed a Sweet 

 Pea Society. But no societies and no exhibitions 

 ever will make them a "florist's flower"; they are 

 of value only for cutting; their habit of growth 

 renders them useless as a garden decoration. 



We all take notions in regard to flowers, just as 

 we do in regard to people. I hear one friend say, 



