140 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



bock, that bees are fonder of blue than of any other 

 color. Still, they are fond enough even of red ; and 

 one may be sure that the change from yellow to 

 scarlet in the petals of the American columbine is 

 due in one way or another to the selective tastes and 

 preferences of the higher insects." 



The colors of the American columbine are dark 

 opaque blues, smoky purples, dull pinks, pale blues, 

 lavenders, reds and yellows an infinite variety ! 



"The flowering of the 'Columbine Commendable,' 

 as Skelton called it four hundred years ago," says 

 Harriet L. Keeler, "marks the beginning of sum- 

 m'er. The reign of the bulbs is over; 



The windflower and the violet 

 They perished long ago; 



the petals of the early roses are falling; the elder- 

 blossoms show white along the fence rows; and the 

 season waxes to its prime. 



"A wild flower of English fields, the columbine 

 was early transferred into English gardens and has 

 held its place securely there for at least five hun- 

 dred years. Its seeds were among the treasures borne 

 over the sea to the New World and it early bloomed 

 in Pilgrim gardens. This primitive stock still per- 

 sists in cultivation. 



