CHAPTER VI 



PERENNIALS AND BIENNIALS 

 " The heaven' s breath smells zoooingly here." 



I SUPPOSE, if I were compelled to choose 

 one flower out of all the perennials and 

 biennials on the island it would end in my 

 selecting the Pansy, Viola tricolor. The pansy 

 is at home in a cool climate. Saved from the 

 withering summer's heat of more southern local- 

 ities, it is bright and cheerful through July and 

 August. It is true that the flowers are somewhat 

 smaller during the warmer months, yet still there 

 is not so marked a difference after all, and with a 

 little search, in the shadier parts of the bed one 

 may still find a big one on the hottest day of the 

 season. 



The books make an enormous business of the 

 raising of pansies, with cold frames, winter cover- 

 ing, and numerous transplantings. I have had 

 the best results with very little trouble. About 

 the first of August I plant my seeds in drills 



131 



