244 
Old Time Gardens 
great jewel in the centre are filled with crimson or 
purple velvet. Around this splendid crowned seed- 
vessel are rows of stamens and purple anthers of 
richest hue. 
We must not let any scarlet flower be dropped 
from the garden, certainly not the Geranium, which 
just at present does not shine so bravely as a few 
years ago. The general revulsion of feeling against 
“ bedding out ” has extended to the poor plants 
thus misused, which is unjust. I find I have 
spoken somewhat despitefully of the Coleus, Lo- 
belia, and Calceolaria, so I hasten to say that I do 
not include the Geranium with them. I love its 
clean color, in leaf and blossom ; its clean fragrance ; 
its clean beauty, its healthy growth ; it is a plant I 
like to have near me. 
It has been the custom of late to sneer at crimson 
in the garden, especially if its vivid color gets a 
dash of purple and becomes what Miss Jekyll calls 
“ malignant magenta.” It is really more vulgar 
than malignant, and has come to be in textile prod- 
ucts a stamp and symbol of vulgarity, through the 
forceful brilliancy of our modern aniline dyes. But 
this purple crimson, this amarant, this magenta, 
especially in the lighter shades, is a favorite color in 
nature. The garden is never weary of wearing it. 
See how it stands out in midsummer ! It is rank 
in Ragged Robin, tall Phlox, and Petunias ; you 
find it in the bed of Drummond Phlox, among the 
Zinnias ; the Portulacas, Balsams, and China Asters 
prolong it. Earlier in the summer the Rhododen- 
drons fill the garden with color that on some of the 
