INTRODUCTION 



How often it is that Fate places us amongst 

 people whose characters, pursuits, and tastes we 

 do not know ! We hesitate how best to melt 

 that barrier of icy reserve and shyness behind 

 which we English remain frozen. How can we 

 speedily break through the reserve which risesup 

 between us and the stranger near us ? There is 

 at least one subject of conversation which usually 

 calls forth a response — it is gardening. 



Whether our neighbour be politician, soldier, 

 architect, or painter, he will surely listen with 

 interest to the mention of a garden. He will tell 

 us of some newly- discovered plant, a flower show 

 that he went to see, or he will expatiate upon the 

 beauties of South African bulbs. We may be 

 sure that if he himself is no gardener, he has 

 someone dear to him who is a lover of flowers. 

 After a hard day's work in the City, he will gladly 

 turn his thoughts to the peace and quiet of a 

 walled-in country garden, where the hum of bees 



