io6 THE JOY OF GARDENS 



Ten years ago such a person raised hollyhocks near 

 Woods Hole she may be there still and travelers came 

 from afar to lean on the fence and look at them. A few 

 descendants of these thrifty plants ventured to the West, 

 by way of seeds, in the corner of a pocket handkerchief. 

 Of course they ought not to have grown, according to the 

 views of strict morality, but every old-time gardener will 

 tell you that stolen seeds do best not that I would en- 

 courage thievery, not for all the world; but there is such 

 a saying, and hence the underground traffic in seeds in 

 letters and vest pockets. 



You know as well as I that if the flowers of the world 

 waited to be listed on bills and given for coin, few would 

 be grown, and the human carrier who takes a seed to plant 

 is helping survival along, which the grub and the slug are 

 ever lying in wait to destroy. Back of every flower bed 

 lies a page of history its owners do not inadvertently tell. 



Remembering the virtues of hollyhocks, it is strange 

 that more hedges are not planted and the beautiful array 

 of colors made familiar. The pinks and reds, frilly 

 double whites and yellows, hold a place all alone, and the 

 tall, well-proportioned plants make a distinguished deco- 

 ration in grounds. So many other plants give bloom for 

 the table and bouquets, and may be plucked, and have 

 fragrance, that the home gardener can afford to give a 

 space to a hedge or a corner of choice hollyhocks just 

 for their ornament and value as a background. Of their 



