The Home-Grounds 
evidently be American gardens, just as those 
in the valley of the Thames must be English, 
and those on the southern shore of France 
must have the mixed, semi-tropical character 
peculiar to the Mediterranean coast. To 
secure this local character, local plants are 
essential as a foundation ; and then, to give 
variety, interest, and the true garden-like air 
and charm, exotics should be mingled with 
them. But these exotics should never be 
chosen for their rarity or novelty alone, or 
even for their intrinsic, beauty; and still 
less, as is too commonly the case, should 
they be chosen for their mere conspicuous- 
ness. First of all they should harmonize 
with the other plants about them, and there- 
fore the novice may well hesitate before 
dipping deeply into those stores of foreign 
plants which are now so vast and varied and 
accessible. His choice will not be narrow, 
if, in addition to native plants, he selects 
such as have come from lands with climates 
akin to our own. 
In using these last he will be following 
Nature’s own example. Here in America 
she does not confine herself to growing plants 
59 
