AND THE WILDERNESS BLOSSOMED 



All varieties of perennial Larkspur seem to. require 

 a well-drained locality, and are said to do best in 

 a rich soil. The tallest, sturdiest plant we have 

 has certainly not got more than nine inches of 

 soil on top of the bed of broken stone on which 

 it rests. The period of the bloom of Larkspur, 

 like many other perennials, may be protracted by 

 cutting back the stalks as soon as they have 

 finished flowering. So a bird, if its eggs are 

 stolen, will build another nest, and lay another 

 set of eggs. Does the flower know that its seeds 

 have been destroyed, as the bird knows it ? The 

 Larkspur may be increased by dividing the roots 

 in spring, and this should be done in any event 

 every few years. They are apparently hard to 

 raise from seed. I have bought the seeds of 

 D. nudicaule again and again, and planted them 

 with the greatest of care, but not a single seed has 

 ever germinated. They seem to lose their 

 vitality if kept for any length of time, but I have 

 had fair fortune in raising plants from seeds 

 planted as soon as they were ripe. The Lark- 

 spur blooms on the island from July ist to 

 August loth. 



The Hollyhock, Althea rosea, is a superb 

 plant in the garden, the flowers being single, 



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