THE GARDEN AT HOME 



ness, marred by no lingering thoughts of the desolation 

 that accompanied their dying. 



I have nothing but admiration for the unique 

 scarlet of the Geranium, the gaudy yellow of the Cal- 

 ceolaria, the brilliant blue of the Lobelia, but I think 

 their proper place is in little groups towards the front of 

 the mixed flower border, to gladden the ground with 

 blossom and to hide the nakedness of those that have 

 gone before. Does not the free-growing Lobelia make 

 an admirable carpet for roses, and the neat growing 

 kind an excellent margin to the rose beds, especially if 

 one mixes with it the dwarf white Alyssum, for both 

 last in bloom from June until October ? 



My chief objection to the use of low-growing bedding 

 plants in close masses of one kind is their changelessness, 

 their immutability. Before they are put out one knows 

 exactly what the result will be, barring, of course, some 

 unusual playfulness on the part of the clerk of the weather. 

 One knows exactly how high they will grow, how many 

 bloom bunches they will bear, what size they will be, 

 when they will open, and when they will close. And all 

 those long days from June to October, all day and every 

 day, week in and week out, they are the same unvarying, 

 constantly, almost exasperatingly gay. 



But they are cheerful thank Heaven ! and there's 

 a smile for you every time you pass them by, whether it 

 rains or whether it shines though, quite naturally, the 

 sunshine suits them best. Should we then not thank 



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