32. FLOWER GARDENING 
be bad indeed as to Latin names, but it seizes upon 
essentials and holds them ever ready for use. The 
mind in time develops into what is virtually a per- 
petual garden calendar; you feel instinctively that 
such and such things are to be done at certain 
times of the year. 
An element of success always is the careful avoid- 
ance of attempting to do too much. Your neigh- 
bor around the corner has the banner sweet peas 
in town; but if he tried to beat every one in roses 
and chrysanthemums also he would fall down in 
all, for it happens that he has only a comparatively 
little time to give to flowers. Being especially fond 
of sweet peas, he devotes himself to them and 
lets who will excel in other directions. That is the 
right spirit. 
Not the least of requirements is eternal vigi- 
lance—a watchfulness that becomes a habit, but 
never a burden. It has a keen sense that sights 
the bugs from afar, that detects any invasion of 
weak plants by the strong before it is too late, 
that feels Jack Frost in the air—that ever is at 
one with the life of the garden. 
