THE HERB GARDEN 297 



clouds of tiny white flowers, and no scent or savour is 

 better than that of Sweet Marjoram, a plant which we 

 dare not be without, for it is reputed a cure for stupidity, 

 a malady that our optimistic forefathers believed to 

 be acute rather than chronic, and so, susceptible of 

 cure. A small, blue-flowered Woodruff, Asperula azurea 

 setosa; Rock Camomile, Anthemis arabica, and the tall 

 white Opium Poppy complete our list of annuals, and none 

 need special culture save that Caraway is best treated 

 as a biennial and that Summer Savoury, Anise, and 

 the Basils are tender and should not be sown out of doors 

 until the ground is warm and all danger from frost is past. 



Spaces are left between the perennials where these 

 fugitive ones are sown every year, and, of course, many 

 take the matter into their own hands and spring up in 

 the joints of the paths, against the white fence among 

 the Damask Roses, and all about, after the manner of 

 their kind. 



When one comes to perennials there is so much that 

 is sweet and pleasant that it is difficult to know where to 

 begin, but perhaps of all herbs there are none quite so 

 delightful as the Thymes. Each year I find myself 

 giving them more room and rejoicing exceedingly when, 

 in searching some foreign catalogue, I come upon a 

 variety which I have not. For the most part Thymes 

 are low-growing, bushy little plants with deliciously 

 scented small foliage. The Woolly-leaved Thyme (T. 

 lanuginosus) spreads a soft-coloured, close-growing car- 



