OLD-FASHIONED FLOWERS ii 



Many a man with a garden looks upon winter as a 

 season to be got through as soon as possible, as a season 

 when nothing short of necessity shall drag him into the 

 garden. I am sure that even in the very heart of 

 December, one should find in the garden more of real 

 beauty than ninety-nine gardens out of a hundred contain 

 in June. I recall in particular one little heather path 

 bordered by large bushes of blue-grey Lavender and 

 green-grey Rosemary, in the bays being great Mullein 

 plants and clumps of Pink and Alyssum. Ferns, Peri- 

 winkles, Holly, Satinleaf, Hellebores, Winter Aconites 

 and Barberries are but a few of the plants which help to 

 make this walk bright and pleasant even in the depths 

 of winter ; but most important of all in the Christmas 

 display are the Furzes, single and double, than which, 

 according to Mr Alfred Russell Wallace, the tropics can 

 produce nothing more brilliant or more beautiful. 



Continuous beauty all the year through, rather than 

 a continuous display of flowers, is a goal at which gar- 

 deners might wisely aim, for not only is the result far 

 more restful and suggestive of reserved force and be- 

 coming modesty, but also the individual plants are far 

 more likely to have a fair chance of development at the 

 hands of one who appreciates beautiful leaves and 

 healthy growth, than when cultivated by one who looks 

 at plants merely as flower-making machines. 



