A FOREWORD. 
It is a source of great gratification to us to know that our 
efforts to produce a good practical book on flower gardening, 
published at a reasonable price, have been so fully appreciated 
by owners of gardens. Anyway, we have the obvious fact 
of a speedy sale of two editions and a steadily growing 
demand for a third one, which we have now the pleasure 
of publishing. 
We have embraced the opportunity of revising and making 
additions to the text where necessary, and of providing many 
new illustrations of suggestive ideas for garden beautification, 
hardy plants or garden scenes, as well as eight coloured 
plates prepared from direct colour photographs. The 
Publishers have also done their share in the way of printing 
and turning out the work in an attractive manner. Thus 
the present edition may fairly claim to be not only a thoroughly 
practical book on every phase of the subject, but also a 
pleasing one from the artistic standpoint of production. 
The contents will show the reader the wide and varied extent 
of the information contained herein, and the copious index 
indicates the generic and the common or popular names of 
the various hardy plants, bulbs, climbers, tender plants, 
flowering and ornamental trees and shrubs, etc., described 
in the work. 
Lastly, we trust the present edition will meet with as 
appreciative a reception as the previous ones, and be the means 
of assisting all who consult its pages to attain success in 
the beautification of their gardens. 
T. W. S. 
