140 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 



high, or other duties interfere, the chance is lost. Sometimes 

 the conditions seem perfect, and the tripod is set in place, 

 when a slight wind springs up, and the delicately poised 

 flowers wag their heads in response, and you wait, bulb in 

 hand and wait and wait sometimes half an hour for a 

 moment of calm. It comes usually after a sharp blow, and 

 you must be alert to take advantage of it. If you lose patience, 

 and let it go, you are likely to lose the subject altogether; for 

 a plant is not the same on any two days, and its climax of 

 beauty is short-lived. 



In the early spring we can easily follow the swift changes 

 in the opening leaves and rapid growth; also in the autumn 

 the daily variations of coloring and the dropping of leaves 

 mark the progress Nature makes. We are apt to think that 

 she rests, or gently matures during the interval. With camera 

 in hand we grow sensitive to the infinite gradations of light 

 a passing cloud alters the whole aspect of the magical 

 changes wrought through the passing hours, where shadows 

 shift momentarily; of the fluid character of the air, seldom in 

 quiescence; of daily transition from leaf to bud, from bud to 

 flower and flower to fruit. Contrary to actual experience, 

 perfect beauty always impresses me with confidence in its 

 permanence. An apple-tree in full flower, a maple-tree in au- 

 tumn dress convince me that they are dependable stage prop- 

 erties; that, as lovely accessories, they must endure, they are 

 guaranteed for life: and I am ever perplexed to see the petals 

 fall and the beauty fade. 



Once only in my life have I known perfect repose in Nature. 

 It was a January day in a North Carolina pine barren, and I 

 had wandered away from my companions, and sat on a fallen 

 log to observe things. The stillness and hush were indescrib- 

 able; not a leaf rustled, not a bird, cricket or insect could be 

 seen or heard, no living creature stirred in the underbrush, 



