STtje Summer jflotoers. 145 



Another fine, old-fashioned, tall-growing per- 

 ennial occasionally seen in country gardens is 

 the fraxinella (Dictamnus fraxinella], so named 

 from its pinnate leaves, resembling those of the 

 ash. Its two forms, the pink-purple and the 

 white, bear showy terminal racemes of larkspur- 

 like flowers in June. Apart from its flowers and 

 graceful foliage, its most attractive characteristic 

 is the spicy fragrance of both leaves and blossoms. 

 It suggests anise, sweet-clover, and lavender. 



So powerful is the volatile oil generated by 

 its flowers, that a lighted match held several 

 inches above the plant, on a still, hot summer's 

 evening, will cause a flame to appear. A native 

 of the Levant and southern Europe, it may be 

 increased both from seed and root-division, the 

 former being preferable. You should plant it 

 ^long your favorite walk, with the lemon-balm 

 and the anise-scented giant hyssop, so that you 

 may pluck a leaf of them as you pass. 



I see, in many an old homestead along the 

 shaded highway, the prim box-hedge inclosing 

 the garden of old-fashioned flowers. Often as 

 the swallow returns do they rise anew and blos- 

 som with perennial freshness. The flowering 

 locust-trees, and the tansy-bed running wild out- 

 side the fence, give a hint of the fragrance 

 within, where I see the water-bucket ready for 



