296 
The Garden Magazine, July, 1920 
this — and them. And you can never have too many places for 
two or three to foregather, a little to one side. Indeed the 
opportunities which it offers for just this informal chat and social 
intercourse is one of the great advantages of a garden party. 
On the other hand, you 
must be on guard against a too 
general tendency to break up 
into small groups, especially 
in the early part of the after- 
noon. Music is of course an 
essential; and the location of 
the musicians very important. 
Personally 1 believe they 
should be really out of doors, 
and preferably concealed at 
a distance from the house, 
since there is a distracting 
(to a hostess) fascination in 
the proximity of “the band” 
even to the most sophisti- 
cated, and people will inevit- 
ably gravitate toward it the 
instant they are left to them- 
selves. Which means if it is 
placed on veranda or terrace 
they will stick to the house. 
Moreover, the strainsof music 
are delightfully mellowed 
when no walls are near the 
players, and are further ren- 
dered into something like en- 
chantment when borne on the 
moving air of a soft summer day, across grassy spaces and 
others bright with flowers. 
Let the flower that is the reigning attraction at the time, 
set the key-note of the party. If it is the Rose, for example, 
stage a contest of Roses, and ask each guest to cast a vote for 
the one he considers most beautiful, the ballot to be submitted 
in the form of a short verse. Give until a certafn hour for the 
balloting, then have them all read aloud without giving the 
names of the writers, and award a cluster of the winning flower 
to the cleverest composition, this last to be decided by ac- 
claim. Dress all of the young girls assisting, as Roses, with 
fancy paper caps in the form of the flower — some pink, some 
red, some deep yellow, some pale — and leaf-green smocks or 
dresses; and upon arrival, present each guest with boutonniere 
or corsage cluster of half- 
opened buds of a fragrant 
variety, with proper pin for 
fixing them in place. Three 
or four of the young helpers 
may attend to this, standing 
with the flowers on trav- 
baskets at the garden en- 
trance where all must pass. 
F SOME flower less suit- 
able for personal use is 
the chief attraction, choose 
anything you may have in 
bloom that will be acceptable 
for this purpose — an old- 
timey “nose-gay” is fascin- 
ating, made up of countless 
varieties tightly bound to- 
gether, with a lace “collar” 
setting them off, and ribbons 
tied around their decorously 
covered stems — and present 
the guests upon their depar- 
ture with a clump or a box 
of the garden’s queen, what- 
ever this may be. 
Finally — apart from tennis 
if you have a court, and croquet, and a space near the musi- 
cians for dancing, and a section for the children and their games 
if little folks are a part of your own household — do not trouble 
about providing entertainment. All outdoors has done this, 
and people have only to be left to themselves to enjoy it. 
Do have the gardener available however, at some point where 
a path ends, with paper and pencils; for nothing is more tanta- 
lizing to garden lovers — which most people are rapidly becom- 
ing — than not to be able to ask garden questions in a garden! 
He will be the final touch to perfect the occasion. 
. Ruth Colby Studio Photograph 
HFRE IS A GARDEN PARTY ALL BY HERSELF' 
Provide the “ way-away ” walks and the nooks and mysterious retreats which 
delight the child -heart whatever breast it beats in, and then entertain 
in the garden, if you want small folks and great to have a good time 
SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THE GARDEN 
ELIZABETH TYREE METCALFE 
“ Merrily, merrily, shall I live now 
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.” 
The Tempest, Act V, Scene I. 
!*3U RELY we do not use our gardens enough ! When mid- 
summer is upon us and there is a let-up in garden work 
Iph we ought to wink at struggling weeds (they are, always 
have been, and always will be cropping up, of course), 
and just sit and see the blue above, the green beneath, and the 
riot of color that greets the eye at every turn. After all the toil 
it seems to me it becomes us well to squeeze all the joy out of 
the glorious summer days that they hold. Others feel the same 
way too, I know. At the Garden Club meetings I observe a 
certain indifference as to lectures on pests and things we ought 
to know about, in spite of the seriousness of the members as 
gardeners; and one (my neighbor) openly wished last year that 
we could do something different. 
We did; and here is the record of it as 1 wrote it down, day 
by day. If it seems a very personal narrative perhaps it will 
be that much more suggestive to others who long to get the 
very most out of the beauties of the garden, as we did. So that 
is the excuse for its being so! 
August / .—My neighbor is delighted with the idea of the play 
and has given me many suggestions. It will be called “The 
Perennial Border.” Besides sixteen flowers there will be repre- 
sented Sunshine, Bad-weather, Jack-Frost and Cut-Worm. 
Sweet-William, Johnny-Jump-Up and Jack-Frost will be cos- 
tumed as boys to lend variety. The other characters will be 
garbed in soft clinging green chiffon, or cheesecloth, simply cut 
