GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



emulsion. In times of dry weather, moreover, they 

 should be kept well watered to prevent them from 

 drying up. The care that they require, which in 

 truth is slight, is more than repaid by their delicate 

 beauty. It would be as fulsome to criticize them as 

 to malign a band of fairies mounting towards the sky. 



Sweet peas should not be omitted as flowers for 

 picking purposes. When in the house, the charm of 

 their deep, sweet fragrance is fully realized (page 147). 



The perennial peas, Lathyrus latifolius (page 93), 

 can never vie with the annual sweet peas in power to 

 please, since they are not so exquisite in color and 

 quite without their impelling scent. 



Pluri-color in annuals, as instanced by nasturtiums, 

 pansies, portulacca (page 154), sweet peas, and other 

 flowers, requires a much more conservative treatment 

 than when it is shown in monotone. 



Ageratums, half-hardy annuals which occur in a 

 pastel shade of blue, could hardly be placed amiss in 

 a garden, since their soft mat color is without variation 

 and appears to harmonize graciously with all others. 

 When grown among foliage plants of light, stirring green, 

 ageratums have a look suggestive of the mist from 

 the sea. These plants were seldom omitted from the 

 gardens of fifty years ago, and often it seems a pity 

 that they are not more generally planted to-day. In 

 places where a low edge is desired, the dwarf ageratum 

 appears most charming, and its bloom covers a long 

 period. Blue is always a very valuable color in a 

 seaside garden. 



Centaurea cyanus, bachelor's buttons, cornflowers, 



[158] 



