i7» 
Old Time Gardens 
double Sunflowers. Under the reign of Patience, 
the Sunflower had a fleeting day of popularity, and 
flaunted in garden and parlor. Its place was false. 
It was never a garden flower in olden times, in the 
sense of being a flower of ornament or beauty ; its 
place was in the kitchen garden, where it belongs. 
Peas have ever been favorites in English gardens 
since they were brought to England. We have all 
seen the print, if not the portrait, of Queen Elizabeth 
garbed in a white satin robe magnificently embroi- 
dered with open pea-pods and butterflies. A “ City 
of London Madam ” had a delightful head ornament 
of open pea-pods filled with peas of pearls ; this was 
worn over a hood of gold-embroidered muslin, and 
with dyed red hair, must have been a most modish 
affair. Sweet Peas have had a unique history. They 
have been for a century a much-loved flower of the 
people both in England and America, and they were 
at home in cottage borders and fine gardens ; were 
placed in vases, and carried in nosegays and posies; 
were loved of poets — Keats wrote an exquisite 
characterization of them. They had beauty of color, 
and a universally loved perfume — but florists have 
been blind to them till within a few years. A bicen- 
tenary exhibition of Sweet Peas was given in Lon- 
don in July, 1900; now there is formed a Sweet 
Pea Society. But no societies and no exhibitions 
ever will make them a “ florist’s flower ” ; they are 
of value only for cutting ; their habit of growth 
renders them useless as a garden decoration. 
We all take notions in regard to flowers, just as 
we do in regard to people. I hear one friend say, 
