224 FLOWER GARDENING 
possibility is too small; there are plenty of them 
under trees, between shrubs or in the shadow of 
hedges and buildings. 
Thin woodland on the outskirts of the home 
grounds is the finest of all opportunities, for the 
reason that here there may be a liberal planting 
of appropriate flowers in a fashion approximating 
nature. In England there are woodland gardens 
of the rarest charm, but wholly unstudied appear- 
ance, and in them it is easier to find some of the 
choice American plants than at home. Here, for- 
tunately, there is an awakening and in a few in- 
stances most praiseworthy efforts have been made 
to bring naturalistic shade gardens to a high degree 
of perfection. 
The list of flowers that may be drawn upon for 
shaded gardens is far longer than is supposed. 
Few, for example, take into account the fact that it 
is made materially more numerous by a small host 
of spring flowers that may be said to flourish in the 
shade, though they bloom in full sunshine in pre- 
cisely the same spot. This is a most important 
point to understand; many plants like to grow under 
deciduous trees and shrubs, where they may bloom 
in full sunshine before the foliage is out on the 
branches over their heads. The remainder of the 
season they are shade-loving, or at any rate shade- 
enduring. 
Plant always in irregular colonies, even in a 
square foot or two of waste dooryard space, except- 
ing in the rare instances when such a space as the 
