A Moonlight Garden 
429 
The wild Primrose opens slowly, hesitatingly, 
it trembles open, but the garden Primrose flares 
open. 
The Evening Primrose is usually classed with 
sweet-scented flowers, but that exact observer, 
E. V. B., tells of its cc repulsive smell At night 
if the stem be shaken, or if the flower-cup trembles 
at the touch of a moth as it alights, out pours the 
dreadful odor / 1 I do not know that any other 
garden flower opens with a distinct sound. Owen 
Meredith's poem, The Aloe y tells that the Aloe 
opened with such a loud explosive report that the 
rooks shrieked and folks ran out of the house to 
learn whence came the sound. 
The tall columns of the Yucca or Adam's Needle 
stood like shafts of marble against the hedge trees 
of the Indian Hill garden. Their beautiful blooms 
are a miniature of those of the great Century Plant. 
In the daytime the Yucca's blossoms hang in 
scentless, greenish white bells, but at night these 
bells lift up their heads and expand with great stars 
of light and odor — a glorious plant. Around their 
spire of luminous bells circle pale night moths, lured 
by the rich fragrance. Even by moonlight we can 
see the little white detached fibres at the edge of the 
leaves, which we are told the Mexican women used 
as thread to sew with. And we children used to 
pull off the strong fibres and put them in a needle 
and sew with them too. 
When I see those Yuccas in bloom I fully believe 
that they are the grandest flowers of our gardens ; 
but happily, I have a short garden memory, so I 
