32 The Wild Garden. 



them virulent poisons ; and, bearing in mind what 

 damage has been done by them from time to time, 

 they are better not used at all. Not so the Delphi- 

 niums, which are amongst the most beautiful of all 

 flowers. They are now to be had in such profuse 

 variety that particular kinds need not be named, all 

 being good. A " mixed" packet of seed from any 

 seedsman would afford a number of fine plants. 

 They embrace almost every shade of blue, from the 

 rich dark tone of D. grandiflora to the charming 

 caerulean tints of such as D. Belladonna ; and 

 being usually of a tall and strong type, will make 

 way among long grasses and vigorous weeds, 

 unlike many things for which we have to recom- 

 mend an open space, or a wood with nothing but a 

 carpet of moss under the trees. 



We have thus seen, from examples of three 

 groups, what may be done in the way I propose. I 

 might go through all the other orders in the same 

 way, but as this is done more systematically further 

 on, it is not needful here. I might go from glade to 

 glade and bank to bank, and show how a different 

 aspect of vegetation might be produced in each ; 

 but that will be suggested by the natural orders, 

 by the lists of selections, and, better than all, 

 by a knowledge of the plants themselves. One 



