8 MY GARDEN 



alone. We must experiment. Experiments are the 

 breath in the nostrils of art and science ; and evolu- 

 tion is Nature's own eternal experiment. I myself 

 know the man who proved to demonstration that 

 choisya ternata 1 would grow in the open air of the 

 United Kingdom. Thus he has justified his existence 

 nobly, and brought gladness to the hearts of many 

 good gardeners. Who would be without choisya 

 now ? No self-respecting spirit surely. I bless 

 Mexico when I think of it. 



Yes, emphatically, let us experiment ; let us hybri- 

 dise, let us keep notes about what we do ; let us grow 

 lilies from seed, and germinate gentians, and study 

 insect pests ; and find the right use for children in a 

 garden. Lines of investigation lie open to all of us ; 

 we can each help the science, and it is our duty to 

 do so. But we must be reasonable. There are funda- 

 mental, approved, and trusted truisms, which to deny 

 or to defy is vain. I knew a man who set to work to 

 show that it was all nonsense about lilium not liking 

 clay. He might as well have endeavoured to prove 

 that it was all nonsense about pineapple not liking 

 frost. 



Begin with your soil, and get a general idea what 

 it is good for. If, as usually happens, it is good for 

 nothing, face the fact like a man ; don't evade it, 

 and pretend it will suit roses, and turn what should 

 be a garden into a graveyard. Remember that one 

 good rhododendron, smiling in five shillings' worth 



1 Choisya ternata. My dear Palmer, this historic achievement shall be 

 recorded to your everlasting credit and renown. 



