GARDENING BY M YSELF. 2 1 5 



name ; yet they are days of patient waiting, 

 " and if we hope for that we see not, then 

 do we with patience wait for it." 



Patient waiting, — yes, that is it. I had 

 left my garden in the bright, brave glory 

 of November ; I came back to find it con- 

 quered, frost-bcTimd, white with December's 

 snow. Not a bud, not a blossom ; not even 

 the cheery face of one of my pansies to wel- 

 come me home. Where are they all? 

 Waiting. Even so must I wait, yet not in 

 uncertainty. For '' while the earth re- 

 maineth, seed-time and harvest, and cold 

 and heat, and summer and winter, and day 

 and night, shall not cease." I know that 

 the shrivelled leaves will have fair, fresh, 

 successors. I know that hid away in the 

 deep brown earth my tulips and hyacinths 

 are safe ; perfecting their roots, preparing 

 for a glorious blooming by and by. 



All tender things that need protection 

 should have it before the ground freezes to 

 any depth ; yet put it on as late as possible. 

 The bulb beds need five or six inches of 



