44 The Wild Garden. 



reKeved by grass blades and green leaves, the 

 whole devoid of any trace of man and his mud- 

 dlings in the earth, or his exceeding weakness for 

 tracing wall-paper patterns, where everything should 

 be varied, indefinite, and changeful, as the flowers 

 that bloom and die ; and he would acknowledge 

 that you had indeed caught the true meaning of 

 nature in her disposition of vegetation, without 

 sacrificing one jot of anything in your garden, 

 but, on the other hand, adding the highest 

 beauty to spots hitherto devoid of the slightest 

 interest. 



It is not only to places in which shrubberies, and 

 plantations, and belts of grass in the rougher parts 

 of the pleasure-ground, and shady moss-bordered 

 wood-walks occur that these remarks apply. 

 The suburban gardener, with his single fringe of 

 planting, may do likewise, to some extent, with 

 the best taste. He may have the Solomon's Seal 

 arching forth from a shady recess behind a tuft of the 

 sweet-scented Narcissus, while in every case he can 

 make preparations for wild fringes of strong and 

 hardy spring flowers. In front of a shrubbery with 

 a sunny aspect is the best of all places for a cheerful 

 display in early spring, as the shelter and warmth 

 combined make them open forth in all their glory 



