194 A LITTLE GARDEN THE YEAR ROUND 



I hade that men my couch should duly m^ke; 



For daintiness and for Summer's sake, 



I bade them strew fresh blossoms o'er my bed." 



There will be fortunate ones among us who 

 will find the lovely Columbine blossoming this 

 month, yellow or scarlet, red, purple or white, 

 flower of strangely contrasted names borrow- 

 ing "Columbine" from the Latin Columba, a 

 dove, and its scientific name, "Aquilegia" from 

 aquila, an eagle ! In the old, old days of yore, 

 credulous folk called it Lion's Herb, believ- 

 ing that it was the favorite food of these fierce 

 denizens of desert and jungle. Nowadays we 

 fondly couple the name Columbine with Co- 

 lumbia, and even find an association of enthusi- 

 asts who seek its adoption as the national 

 flower of America just as the Rose is for Eng- 

 land and the Lily for France — God bless them 

 all! Monkshood will be blossoming in June, 

 too. It is a lovely plant, but a sinister one. 

 It was brewed by Medes to fill the poisoned cup 

 offered the wary Theseus. It was with the 

 juice of Monkshood (Aconite) that the an- 

 cients used to anoint their weapons when pre- 

 paring to do battle, and the old-time Greeks 



