GARDENS NEAR THE SEA 



recommendation, and also that they blossom for at 

 least two months of the summer. They also are visited 

 by the beautiful hummingbird moth. 



The purple loosestrife, Lythrum Salicaria, is more 

 elegant in its bearing than the bee balm, and equally 

 capable of producing a startling effect when luxuriant 

 masses of its rosy purple flowers are seen. In low, 

 almost wet ground, the plant is very desirable, since 

 it then spreads rapidly, claiming the place as its own 

 domain. 



Both the Oswego tea and the loosestrife are to be 

 found among American wild flowers, and although 

 cultivation has somewhat improved them, I have inva- 

 riably found them very beautiful under the unmolested 

 treatment of nature. I have seen the loosestrife 

 when it covered acres of low land and grew so high 

 that its nodding tassels of bloom touched the stirrups 

 as my horse made his way with difficulty among the 

 entangled growth, where the marshlike ground gave 

 an uncertain footing. The only variation to its color 

 was given by many tall cattails. 



The butterfly weed~Asclepias tuberosa, and the 

 cardinal flower, Lobelia cardinalis, are among other 

 North American wild flowers that have found a per- 

 manent place among the herbaceous plants of gardens. 

 The butterfly weed prefers a dry, rocky soil, and is 

 capable of producing wonderful effects with its dense 

 umbels of orange-colored flowers. It is undoubtedly 

 better adapted to the rockery than to either the garden 

 beds or borders. 



The cardinal flower belongs in moist places where 



[1861 



