66 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 



larkspur is blue, white or red; whether sweet-william is rose 

 pink or red, a morning-glory is white, pink or purple, or a 

 Lychnis is a pink or red variety, and so on. 



It is interesting to note that seed leaves follow very simple 

 typal forms as a rule, and only later in their life do plants de- 

 velop their specialized character. Compound, pinnate, pal- 

 mately cleft and deeply incised leaves often appear only as the 

 third or fourth pair in a plant. On the other hand a plant 

 that has been hybridized to take a more complex form often 

 reverts, if neglected, to the simpler type of the original stock. 

 This intimate knowledge of plant life is a source of the keenest 

 pleasure as well as an admirable training in accuracy of ob- 

 servation. We enjoy things in proportion to the exact and 

 comprehensive way we see them, and in growing seeds we are 

 trained in a nice discernment. This knowledge of leaf forms 

 is also valuable when plants appear in the spring, and it is 

 necessary to divide perennials for resetting. One does not 

 know his garden until a leaf tells as much as a flower, or a stem 

 supplies the missing link. A basket of perennials was sent me 

 from Connecticut, which represented several things I did not 

 have. A few were labeled, others I identified by family re- 

 semblances. One plant puzzled me. Its leaf somewhat re- 

 sembled Physostegia, but was broader and its manner of 

 growth did not quite agree with either of my varieties; and 

 when the buds formed, the compound panicles were four- 

 grooved while mine were round tapering spikes. One day 

 when it was three feet high I unconsciously touched the stem 

 and it felt square, which I had not observed with my eyes, and 

 my instinct said at once it is Physostegia, which it proved to 

 be when it flowered. The feel of plants is as varied as their 

 leaf or blossom. Succulent leaves, like the Sedum spectabile, 

 feel cold and clammy, several degrees lower in temperature 

 than a hollyhock leaf. Some thin smooth leaves are full of 



