2 FLOWER GARDENING 
or a showy adjunct thereto; or again that it is a 
colorful possession the joy of which would be ma- 
terially lessened were the effect not boldly planned 
for the eyes of the passerby, or a mere place for 
the growing of the flowers that one must have. 
Now the true garden of flowers is a great deal 
more. It may be—sometimes it must needs be— 
merely a clump of lilies by the doorstep, a rose on 
ithe porch or a row of chrysanthemums hugging 
the house. If this means the establishment of a 
real relationship between the inside of the portal 
and the outside, there is a garden, and one worthy 
to be numbered among “the Purest of Humane 
pleasures.” Size matters not, nor design, nor the 
abundance of flowers. 
So began the earliest American flower gardens 
—gardens that the Colonists made for themselves 
fn New England, in New York and in Virginia. 
From the home outward they began, at first not 
straying from the walls of the house. Gradually, 
as forest and redskin receded, flowers ventured 
forth into the created yard—but never so far that 
the garden seemed other than the integral part 
of the home that it should be. 
The old Colonial rule—call it instinct if you 
will—is the only one worth while. And so sim- 
ple it is that even a child may read it as he runs. 
Let the flower garden expand from the heart of 
the home outward; then you may be sure that 
you have made a right start. 
