BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
garden, filled with Lilies and other blossoms, shows that 
the Southern woman is as truly a flower lover as were they 
who planted the early gardens in the days before the war. 
What more tantalizing to the garden devotee than the 
glimpse beyond the gates of Longview garden as illus- 
trated in this chapter, and again in a later section? Such 
views as these, so exceedingly artistic in themselves, sug- 
gest a still more lovely interior, at present withheld be- 
cause adequate photographs are lacking. 
In Missouri, as in Kansas and elsewhere in the Middle 
West, there is great variableness of climate from year 
to year, and never is it an ideal district for summer flower 
gardens. While much attention is being given to shrub- 
bery and perennial beds bordering the lawn, there are few 
actual gardens, formal or otherwise. The discourage- 
ments of a trying summer climate limit the bloom in 
most of the places to the flowers of spring and June. 
Early flowering plants and bulbs, German Iris, Foxglove, 
Canterbury Bells, Columbine, Peonies, Lilium candidum, 
Roses, and Hollyhocks, give considerable satisfaction. 
But many other perennials are not at all permanent. To 
quote an experienced amateur gardener: “The climate of 
Kansas City, Missouri, is subject to every eccentricity, 
and at times is very trying. One of my experiences was 
a four or five inch snow-storm on the 3d of May after a 
month of warm spring weather, when German Iris and 
many other things were in full bloom, and Peonies in 
bud. Everything was mashed down and then it froze. 
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