33 Hardy Plants for Cottage Gardens 
a week, or a hot dry season forces them along, for all of which 
allowance must be made. These lists are of the greatest aid 
in arranging combinations. 
A spirit of thankfulness is a good thing to cultivate at all 
times. I remember, several years ago, being not a little an- 
noyed at finding a huge African marigold flourishing in a cor- 
ner of one of my blue beds. I was inclined to pluck it out at 
once as an impertinence. Later, when a heavy shortage of 
blue flowers occurred in that vicinity, and my yellow bed went 
to pieces under a two months’ drought beginning in July, I 
was grateful for my brave little marigold and only wished 
there were twenty like it in the same place. Yellow beds and 
pink ones can be counted on with much more certainty than 
blue ones, because both comprise many long and steadfast 
bloomers; and there is so much life in these colors that a little 
of them will brighten quite an area. A good way is constantly 
to try new combinations and trust not a little to chance. 
Some of my happiest effects are largely due to chance, di- 
rected by a consideration of the height of certain plants. 
When the question involves color, height, time of flowering, 
also length of bloom, it takes much shuffling to achieve what 
you want. 
Every moment that could be spared from other duties was 
given to my flowers that second summer. I wearied poor 
Adam almost to extinction. I would talk over the wheel to 
any acquaintance we met on the road. From every one who 
came to see me was wrung the concession that things looked 
flourishing, and promised even better by another year. 
It never occurs to an enthusiast that there may be an obverse 
side to his shield; that he may seem mildly mad when he is 
having a beautiful effervescent time with a hobby. We gradu- 
ally come into all the truth that is for us, and it was in this 
wise that a flood of light was let in on my conduct. I was in 
