THE COUNTRY HOME [CHAPTER 
of space, and for that reason can be planted in beds 
largely occupied by other plants. My choice for 
a gladiolus bed would be borders, about three feet 
wide, with evergreen backing — beds in which we 
may grow our hyacinths in early spring, and some 
of the choicest early tulips. Here the stalks can 
be tied to wires or to stakes. The array of new 
sorts is more gorgeous and bewildering every year. 
There is nothing more startling, to a person who 
has grown gladioli since the first improvements 
about 1850, than the evolution that has gone on. 
I am growing some superb strains that sweep 
through nearly the whole gamut of colors, includ- 
ing blue. You can buy the bulbs by the hundred 
from our large growers, at a very low rate, so that 
the gladiolus constitutes a particularly valuable 
flower for one who is just beginning country life. 
For autumn flowering I have great satisfaction 
in growing pansies from seed sown in boxes in 
April and transplanted to borders not too sunny. 
While the earlier pansies are liable to exhaust them- 
selves during the summer, these later productions 
give their glory in September and October. An- 
other autumn flowering plant that should be in- 
cluded in a small collection is the scarlet sage or 
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