CHAPTER XI 



FLOWERS 



IN every school garden should be grown vegetables, fruit, and 

 flowers. The first two are of such economic and industrial im- 

 portance that they must have the lion's share of space, thought, 

 and work ; but, on the other hand, flowers have an aesthetic, moral, 

 and educational value so great that equally they should be re- 



garded as an essential in the 

 school garden. Small children 

 eight to twelve years of age 

 should have each a small 

 plot of about a square yard 

 in area. Some of such plots 

 would be side by side, either 

 in the vegetable garden or so 

 as to form little borders under 

 the school walls. Others 

 would occupy various corners 



f sch o1 p remises - In 



clumps of Annuals; B, shows how to arrange girls' Schools every effort 

 smaller clumps ; C, shows how to arrange should be made to establish 



a herbaceous border - not less 



than four and not more than 

 ten feet in width. A length of about six feet of such a 

 border might be allocated to each girl. One would also like 

 to see a herbaceous border in every boys' school garden, whether 

 belonging to a day school or to an evening school. Hitherto 

 it appears that the exigencies of time, space, and money 

 have been regarded as obstacles. They are, nevertheless, not 

 insuperable or even serious obstacles. It is sometimes urged 

 that local education authorities and school authorities have 

 insufficient funds to permit of indulgence in what is regarded 



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