A YEAR IN A LANCASHIRE GARDEN. 



" Let the wind take the green and the grey leaf, 



Cast forth without fruit upon air ; 

 Take Rose-leaf, and Vine-leaf, and Bay- leaf 

 Blown loose from the hair." 



During this open weather we have been getting 

 on with our planting. Those beds of Rhododen- 

 drons just under the drawing-room windows have 

 become too thick. They are all good sorts John 

 Waterer, Lady Emily Cathcart, and the rest and 

 must have sufficient room. We move a number 

 of them to the other side of the house, opposite 

 the front door, where till now there has been a 

 bed of the common Rhododendrons, and this in 

 turn we plant as a fresh bed elsewhere. 



There will be now some space to spare in the 

 hybrid beds, and I shall plant in them a number 

 of roots of the Lilium candidum the dear old 

 white Lily of cottage gardens. They will come 

 up each year from between the Rhododendrons, 

 and will send their sweet subtle odour through 

 the open windows into the house. And as I write 

 I am told of a recipe showing how, in the Wort- 

 lore of old, the firm white petals were esteemed 

 of use. You must gather them while still fresh, 

 place them unbroken in a wide-necked bottle, 

 packed closely and firmly together, and then pour 



