THOUGHTS ON GARDENING 87 



to draw away the mind from other considerations, 

 and to fix also, in the case of others, on that special 

 quality as the one most worthy of encouragement. 

 So it goes on from plant to plant, until it has come 

 to be much too readily accepted among seed 

 growers, seed merchants, and gardeners, that 

 "dwarf and compact" is necessarily a term of 

 praise, and in the greater number of cases the most 

 desirable habit for an annual plant. 



It is true that with many plants we are still at 

 liberty to choose, and that in seedsmen's lists we are 

 offered both tall and dwarf kinds of such plants 

 as larkspurs, marigolds, zinnias, salpiglossis, and 

 so on. But, on the other hand, there are good 

 things of which only the dwarfed forms remain, 

 and though a great many people who love their 

 gardens would be glad to have the plants in the 

 bolder shape the desired form is denied them. 

 Part of the difficulty also comes from the pursuit 

 of novelty as a quality that is thought to be 

 desirable in itself. When in the course of its attrac- 

 tion, a plant does come to have some high degree 

 of beauty of form and flower how rarely do the 

 producers seem to recognise the fact that here is a 

 beautiful thing to be treasured and guarded, and 

 not driven further into directions that detract from 



