TREES OUTSIDE THE GARDEN 



side of the sea. It had the sky as a background and 

 a foreground of barren earth. There was no lawn 

 worthy the name; no garden. Dame Nature shunned 

 the place as completely as if it were plague-stricken. 

 The driveway was outlined with electric lights which 

 cropped up as freely as mushrooms. But more than 

 all else about the place, I resented the deception of 

 its name. It was called "Everglade"! 



The family who built it dwelt there but a few 

 weeks during the summer and then merely for the 

 purpose of enjoying the sea. Its members were not 

 horticulturally inclined, caring neither for oak nor 

 ash. One day a relative came to visit this place and 

 spoke openly about the barrenness of palaces and boats 

 without the soothing influences of nature. For a time 

 he was looked upon as a mild sort of lunatic, but 

 happily, in the end, his influence told, and "Everglade" 

 was placed for embellishment in the hands of an 

 expert landscape gardener. Since then I have heard 

 that it is transformed as if by a fairy's wand, 

 and that one member of the family's interest in the 

 garden has become so intense that she forsakes every 

 other pastime to spend her days there among the 

 flowers. 



On lawns by the seashore that afford their trees 

 some protection, I have seen Asiatic magnolias fairly 

 covered with blooms in the early days of spring. 

 They have not the hardiness of most trees, especially 

 when young; nor can they endure fierce winds that 

 tear their leaves to pieces. Still, their beauty is so 

 pronounced — their early bloom so appealing — that 



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