CAMPBELL] SPRINGTIME GARDEN IN CALIFORNIA 187 



October to February, then the beautiful white Florentine Iris 

 begins to bloom, and soon there is a great array of the innumerable 

 varieties of the German Iris and their kin. A little later the grace- 

 ful Spanish Iris flowers, and still later, the English and Japanese 

 varieties, as well as a number of others. 



The daffodils begin in January and reach their climax in Febru- 

 ary and March, and before they are over, the tulips appear. 

 The little scarlet ones have opened their bright cups in February, 

 but the tall late scarlet and Darwin tulips seldom begin to flower 

 before the end of March, and usually are at their best in April. 



Perhaps April yields the greatest show of flowers in our gardens. 

 Before the tulips are gone, the Wistaria, white Clematis, and yellow 

 jasmine, are in flower and rival in beauty the climbing roses which 

 now are masses of bloom, and reach a size which makes the eastern 

 visitor wonder. They form impenetrable hedges, clamber up to 

 the tops of the trees, and fairly smother the houses in masses of 

 flowers. Some varieties, like the little white and yellow Banksias, 

 and the sunset hued Fortune's yellow, are so covered with flowers, 

 one can scarcely see any foliage. Roses, literally by the million, 

 run riot in every garden, however humble. 



April is the time also of the later flowering fruit trees, and 

 the many deciduous shrubs — lilacs, Weigela, snowballs, etc., which 

 in the East do not bloom until late May or June. Of these flowering 

 shrubs — or rather trees — none are more showy than the haw- 

 thorns which are huge bouquets of pink, white and crimson bloom. 



April is the month too for many of the herbaceous perennials 

 although these are usually somewhat later to flower. The her- 

 baceous peonies, which are so splendid in the Eastern June gardens, 

 are not quite at home in California, and require some coaxing in 

 order to give good flowers, but the even more beautiful tree 

 peonies of Japan come to wonderful perfection, if one is willing 

 to give them a little extra attention. They are among the marvels 

 of the floral world, and the huge blossoms, sometimes almost a 

 foot across, but of exquisite color and texture, are without a rival 

 in the garden, and more than repay for the trouble spent in growing 

 them. These imperial flowers open a month or more before the 

 herbaceous peonies, and at about the same time that the flowering 

 Japanese cherries are in bloom. 



There are many beautiful native flowers which are easily grown 

 in the garden. Some, like the violets, Trilliums and buttercups, 



