THE LURE OF THE 

 GARDEN 



INTRODUCTION 



IN spite of its material of green leaf and fragrant 

 flower, a garden is the work of man. It requires 

 human care, human companionship, human love; 

 and yields a return that is peculiarly mingled of nature 

 and art, bestowing upon any who enter its exquisite 

 precincts something of the sanity, wholesomeness, and 

 simplicity of the world of out-of-doors, together with 

 the better portion of the grace, interest, and social 

 charm of the world within the house. Its fountains 

 murmur a lilt not too distant from the laughter or the 

 tears of those who carved the stone basins into which 

 the water drips. In bower and green way a compre- 

 hending solitude lies waiting for whoever comes to 

 seek its quiet pleasures, and there is hardly a mood 

 known to man for which the garden has neither solace 

 nor inspiration. While any gathering of friends or 



