148 THE JOY OF GARDENS 



sociable families. The wild bergamot or horsemint deco- 

 rates waste lands and the roadsides in masses of a lovely 

 purple, each stem rising from the branched plant bearing 

 its own beautifully arranged flower a cluster of deli- 

 cately fashioned bloom that has a spicy fragrance which 

 lasts long after the flowers are gone and the foliage is sere 

 and brown. 



The catnip has taken to parasitic habits along with 

 domestic animals, and is to be found in dooryards as well 

 as afield. Another mint grows in sturdy branching plants 

 with pointed leaves in whorls. Near the end of every up- 

 ward standing branch the leaves masquerade as bloom in 

 streaks of white and cream and deep rose, and beneath 

 them are hidden marvelously constructed little flowers. 



Now and then a little colony of toadflax, the butter 

 and eggs of old times, and the wee golden-haired snap- 

 dragons left from the July fields tramp near the dusty 

 highway. The brilliant butterfly weed robed in the 

 orange of sunset spreads its gorgeous clusters where the 

 sands are deep, and perchance, if the earth has beaten 

 hard under many hoofs and forgotten, it has been speed- 

 ily clothed in the lacy foliage and starry daisies of the 

 rock camomile. 



Boneset and yarrow are likewise common among wild 

 flowers, rarely receiving the appreciation they deserve be- 

 cause of their omnipresence in the pastures as familiar as 

 the camomile in the stable yards of the farms. Boneset 



