PERENNIALS 239 



are popularly supposed to have an affinity for blue flowers, and the 

 labiate type of flower is certainly adapted to them. Nearly every 

 garden contains some labiates, or members of the mint family, e. g., 

 thyme, lavender, bugle, bee-balm, or obedient plant. There are 

 plenty of other plants in every garden to attract bees, but if you 

 do not know Salvia pratensis, I wish you would try it. For then 

 you will be sure of a good humming all day long and it is a brave 

 sight to watch the stamens suddenly spring forth from their places 

 of concealment and rub the backs of the bees with their golden 

 pollen ! 



I like to close each of these chapters with a list of the best 

 books that may help a student further, but in this case I am at 

 a loss.* I doubt if there will ever be a good book on hardy borders 

 and hardy perennial flowers. For nature is more wonderful than 

 any account of it, and the full beauty of gardens can never be 

 gotten into books. If you wish to make your garden more pic- 

 torial go to the nurseries and see plants. Then go to gardens 

 where they are artistically combined. The best thing we can do is 

 to forget theories and study beauty. 



W. T. Macoun's "List of Herbaceous Perennials," tested at Ottawa, is valuable as to hardiness and relative merit 

 of species. It is a document of 112 pages. For full descriptions of particular species consult Bailey's "Cyclopedia of 

 American Horticulture." 



