THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THE YEAR 203 



spring flowers alyssum and double arabis, forget- 

 me-not and cluster primroses, with their infinite 

 variety and gradation of colour, crown imperials, 

 early tulips, anemones, Solomon's seal, and many 

 more. To take the place of these a little later 

 on room should certainly be found in a sheltered 

 garden of the kind for groups of the choicer 

 pseonies. There are some beautiful forms of the 

 old-fashioned herbaceous paeony, which are quite 

 independent of shelter, and whose place is else- 

 where. It is the montan or tree pasony, that will 

 repay a little kind protection with noblest mien of 

 leaf and flower when the three months of spring 

 are passing by. 



Alas, it is not everywhere that a spring garden 

 of this kind can be set apart, nor a wild garden 

 where the lovely heralds of the year which we 

 have been counting up can be made to happen 

 as they will ; but there is still another way. It 

 is not seldom, even in the gardens of smaller 

 country houses, that we find a stretch of grass lying 

 idle beyond the lawn, or on the verge of tennis 

 court or bowling green, which cannot be kept in 

 the fine order required for the lawn itself. Here 

 is the very spot to plant drifts of crocus and snow- 

 flakes, star of Bethlehem and blue Apennine ane- 

 mones, fritillaries, early daffodils, or Spanish and 

 English blue bells all common early bulbs, in 

 fact, which live their brief life and soon disappear. 

 The mowing can be left a while till no harm can 

 be done by the scythe, and from March to May 

 the meadow garden would give untold delight. 



But all too soon spring melts away gone whilst 



