124 THE GARDEN OF A 



Of these flowers some are annuals, and others 

 tender perennials or so-called florists' flowers that 

 it is always a mistake to mix with bulbs or hardy 

 perennials, for in the early season they are over- 

 powered, and in their turn choke the hardier plants, 

 exhausting the goodness from the soil by their rank 

 growth. 



As for the spring bulbs, I do not like them in 

 set beds, each of a kind, and arranged in stripes or 

 figures, any more than I do the formal beds of foli- 

 age plants. Grown in this way, as soon as the bulbs 

 are out of bloom they must be replaced, or the space 

 will look ragged and unsightly. This does away 

 with the natural seasons of the garden. I think that 

 one of the greatest charms of nature to women is 

 that she is, like ourselves, a creature of moods, phases, 

 seasons, and not always equally radiant. 



Her wild garden has its spring, summer, autumn, 

 and winter seasons, one waxing as another wanes. 

 I think the cultivated garden should follow the 

 wild plan, and while it must yield flowers in some 

 part during the whole growing season, it ought not 

 to be coerced and stuffed like pate geese and every 

 bed expected to be in full bloom at all times. 



Besides, this constant pulling up and replanting 

 entails labour not within the power of the com- 



