Our Children and 

 Their Flowers 



"Our Lady's Slipper." There is Sednm teLephmm (better 

 known to most people as "Live-long"), the blue wild 

 veronica, daisy, thyme, cinquefoil (In by-gone years dedi- 

 cated to the Trinity), mint, wild pansy, yellow melilot, and 

 others. In a particularly cherished spot of the garden there 

 is a row of wild strawberries, transplanted in the fond hope 

 of their bearing fruit. But no matter how they are watered, 

 and what else is done for them, the wild strawberries will 

 not come as plentifully as the children had hoped. 



During the long winter the children continue their 

 gardening experiments. All sorts of plants are taken to 

 Stockholm in the autumn — periwinkle, stonecrops, violets, 

 saxifraga, and so on. And they have, besides, a fernery 

 which answers very well. The tiny shoots that grow on 

 the leaves of some ferns are put in small pots. After about 

 six months these are sometimes half-a-yard high, and look 

 very well in the windows. 



Every Child should 

 have a Garden. 



Such a garden as that which I have here described, or 

 one on a smaller scale, would probably not be difficult to 

 arrange for children who live in the country. All these 

 simple flowers would be easy to obtain, and might grow 

 better even than in the garden of which I have been 

 speaking. In England flowers bloom gaily in every little 

 cottage garden. We are not quite so far advanced with 

 our gardening in Sweden, but one must hope that it will 

 come to that in time. 



Such a wholesome pleasure as a garden of their very 

 own might easily be arranged for the childen. In the vicinity 

 of the towns it is more difficult, I admit ; but it is just there 

 that the people have the greater need both of being in 

 direct touch with Nature, and of the joys that trees and 

 foliage and flowers can bring. And here the recently deve- 

 loped system of allotment gardens can be of much use. 

 Though the space is limited, and there is need of utilising 

 for vegetables even the small space that is granted, it seems 

 to me essential that some flowers should also be cultivated. 



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