COLUMBINES and OEBAIJIDMS in meadow-grass. 



PREFACE 



When I began, some years ago, to urge the cause of 

 the innumerable hardy flowers against the few tender 

 ones, put out in a formal way, the answer frequently 

 was, ' We cannot go back to the mixed border ' — 

 that is to say, the old way of arranging flowers in 

 borders. Knowing, then, a little of the vast world of 

 plant beauty quite shut out of our gardens by the 

 ' system ' in vogue, I was led to consider some ways 

 in which it might be brought to our gardens ; and 

 among them was the name and scope of the ' Wild 

 Garden.' I was led to think of the vast numbers 

 of beautiful hardy plants from other countries which 



