THE WILD GARDEN 



He went away with a look on his face that made 

 me think he felt as if he had been imposed on. 



While it is true, in many instances, that " fa- 

 miliarity breeds contempt," it is equally true that 

 familiarity without prejudice would open our 

 eyes to the fact that beauty exists all about us — 

 in lane, and field, and roadside, and forest. We 

 are not aware of the prevalence of it until we go 

 in search of it. When we go out with " the see- 

 ing eye," we find it everywhere. Nothing is so 

 plentiful or so cheap as beauty to the lover of 

 the beautiful. It may be had for the taking. 

 We have fallen into the habit of looking to 

 foreign lands for plants with which to beautify 

 our gardens, thus neglecting and ignoring the 

 beauty at our own doors. A shrub with a long 

 name and a good big price attached will win our 

 admiration, while a native plant, vastly more 

 desirable, will be wholly overlooked. It ought 

 not to be so. " Home first, the world afterward " 

 is the motto of many patriotic men and women, 

 and it ought to be the motto of the lover of the 

 beautiful in plant-life when he is seeking for 

 something with which to ornament the home- 

 grounds. 



Many persons have, however, become greatly 

 interested in our native plants, and it is apparent 



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