superb Japanese Tree Peonies (P. moutans hyhrida) grown on their own 
roots and therefore safe from the magenta mother of all moutans. 
There seemed no haste in the afternoon's programme but some- 
how we expeditiously motored off across beautiful country to the old 
Park estate now owned by Mrs. Siedenburg. This has for years been 
considered one of the prize estates of the section. We left our motors 
soon after we entered the gateway and strolled up towards the house 
through alleys of perfect greensward bordered on either side by the 
choicest Azalias, conifers, shrubs and great masses of hybrid Rhodo- 
dendrons. Arrows guided us onward and upward and as we neared the 
house a great planting of Viburnum especially attracted our attention. 
Mrs. Britton identified it as V. rhytidophyllum the woolly evergreen- 
leaved variety. 
The formal garden was placed directly back of the large white 
colonial house and leading to some fine greenhouses. A double row 
of shrubs mostly evergreen was a feature of this long garden and it 
thus gave greater privacy to those going and coming from the kitchen. 
The next place we visited was Mrs. C. Horace Conner's charming 
old fashioned house and garden on Purchase street. The garden 
seems a part of the house and both are the type that most women 
covet for their very own. You walk right through the house into 
the garden with its quaint white lattice and square formal wings 
and again through this on into the picturesque vegetable garden with 
its espalier fruit trees. 
The roads about this part of Connecticut are so perplexing that we 
undoubtedly should have gotten lost many times over had it not been 
for the most charming of human sign posts who stood patiently and 
cheerfully at every turn that we should take and directed us either by 
gesture or word towards our destination. 
There was plenty of time to enjoy the delicious afternoon tea at 
Mrs. Wilham A. Read 's before visiting her wonderful terraced garden. 
This had been wisely kept for the last as the planting of the terraces 
was carefully done to color and it was here that the note books and 
pencils had their innings. A most intelKgent gardener was on hand 
to answer all our inquiries and only the approach of nightfall could 
drive us away from that heavenly view of the distant Sound so en- 
hanced by the foreground of pale mauve and pink borders. Here 
giant Eremus were unfurHng their pale flesh pink spires, bluish mauve 
Camassia esculenta flourished in healthy groups near palest pink 
TuHps and Scilla hispanica (English Wood Hyacinths) and all the low 
spring border-flowers were accentuated by being spaced here and 
there with gray folHage of Santolina, Stachys, Artimesia or Border 
Pinks. 
As we speeded back to the city simply hfted by our blissful day- 
ful of gardens our hearts went out with grateful thanks to our beloved 
31 
