4 WOOD AND GARDEN 



way, and the discussion waxes hot and almost angry, 

 and the puzzled reader, perhaps as yet young in gar- 

 dening, cannot tell what to make of it. And yet the 

 two writers are both able gardeners, and both absolutely 

 trustworthy, only they should have said, " In my experi- 

 ence in this place such a plant can only be done in 

 such a way." Even plants of the same family will not 

 do equally well in the same garden. Every practical 

 gardener knows this in the case of strawberries and 

 potatoes; he has to find out which kinds will do in 

 his garden; the experience of his friend in the next 

 county is probably of no use whatever. 



I have learnt much from the little cottage. gardens 

 that help to make our English waysides the prettiest 

 in the temperate world. One can hardly go into the 

 smallest cottage garden without learning or observing 

 something new. It may be some two plants growing 

 beautifully together by some happy chance, or a pretty 

 mixed tangle of creepers, or something that one always 

 thought must have a south wall doing better on an east 

 one. But eye and brain must be alert to receive the 

 impression and studious to store it, to add to the 

 hoard of experience. And it is important to train 

 oneself to have a good flower-eye; to be able to see 

 at a glance what flowers are good and which are un- 

 worthy, and why, and to keep an open mind about it ; 

 not to be swayed by the petty tyrannies of the " florist" 

 or show judge ; for, though some part of his judgment 

 may be sound, he is himself a slave to rules, and must 



