280 THE GARDEN OF A 



and the mignonette edging the whole, by middle 

 June they were so blended that the earth was com- 

 pletely hidden. Now with the greenery in luxurious 

 leaf, heliotrope and mignonette in bloom, this bed 

 holds more subtle fascination than any other. 

 Heliotrope is best enjoyed at morning and evening, 

 when the dew holds its fragrance earthward, for 

 when gathered it withers quickly, and if mingled with 

 other flowers in vase or jar, blackens and seems to 

 poison the water, causing the whole posy to droop. 

 In its bed it is one of the generous contributions to 

 the charm of the garden of night that lures us 

 abroad under the summer moon. 



For the rest, the bed of sweet odours is most 

 pickable, and its foliage gives the crowning touch of 

 sympathy to each bouquet. For tea roses I choose 

 geranium leaves ; for sweet peas, a fringe of migno- 

 nette, with long sprays of lemon verbena for asters 

 and old-fashioned hardy blossoms; while the wall- 

 flowers should flock quite alone, bunched in small 

 glass globes, that they may lose nothing of their 

 potency. I have grown this last flower a dozen years, 

 and yet it seems either quite unknown, or else set 

 aside for its more showy perennial brother, that in 

 this climate needs winter housing. This humble 

 annual, if sown early and if the season is not too 



