Our Children and 
Their Flowers 
■‘Our Lady’s Slipper.” There is Scdum tclephiwn (better 
known to most people as “ Live-long”), the blue wild 
veronica, daisy, thyme, cinquefoil (in by-gone years dedi- 
cated to the Trinity), mint, wild pansy, yellow melilot, and 
others. In a particularly cherished spot of the garden there 
is a row of wild strawberries, transplanted in the fond hope 
of their bearing fruit. But no matter how they are watered, 
and what else is done for them, the wild strawberries will 
not come as plentifully as the children had hoped. 
During the long winter the children continue their 
gardening experiments. All sorts of plants are taken to 
Stockholm in the autumn— periwinkle, stonecrops, violets, 
saxifraga, and so on. And they have, besides, a fernery 
which answers very well. The tiny shoots that grow on 
the leaves of some ferns are put in small pots. After about 
six months these are sometimes half-a-yard high, and look 
very well in the windows. 
Every Child should 
have a Garden. 
Such a garden as that which I have here described, or 
one on a smaller scale, would probably not be difficult to 
arrange for children who live in the country. All these 
simple flowers would be easy to obtain, and might grow 
better even than in the garden of which I have been 
speaking. In England tlowers bloom gaily in every little 
cottage garden. We are not quite so far advanced with 
our gardening in Sweden, but one must hope that it will 
come to that in time. 
Such a wholesome pleasure as a garden of their very 
own might easily be arranged for the childen. In the vicinity 
of the towns it is more difficult, I admit ; but it is just there 
that the people have the greater need both of being in 
direct touch with Nature, and of the joys that trees and 
foliage and flowers can bring. And here the recently deve- 
loped system of allotment gardens can be of much use. 
Though the space is limited, and there is need of utilising 
for vegetables even the small space that is granted, it seems 
to me essential that some flowers should also be cultivated. 
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