JULY 
Here’s flowers for you ; 
Hot lavender, mints, savory, marjoram ; 
The marigold, that goes to bed wi’ the sun, 
And with him rises weeping ; these are flowers 
Of middle summer. . . . 
bold oxlips, and 
The crown imperial; lilies of all kinds, 
The flower-de-luce being one ! . . . 
To make you garlands of. 
Winter's Tale, IV. iii. 103. 
OMPARED to the beautiful plants which deck 
^— the month of June, as interesting in their lore 
as they are beautiful in form and scent, those of the 
early dog-days are far from attractive, and yet one 
is the most rich and gorgeous of our native wild 
flowers, and another decks our garden trellises with 
a profusion of golden blossoms. 
Who does not know the scarlet of poppy land 
when the Papaver rhosas of Linnaeus has been allowed 
to grow too freely amongst the fields of corn and 
pease ? It is more brilliant far than the daisy trimmed 
meads, or those which the buttercup has “ painted 
with delight and yet it is an evil weed, notwith¬ 
standing, found only too commonly, the agricul¬ 
turist would say, throughout Europe to India. The 
poppy of Shakespeare is that known as the opium 
poppy (Papaver somnifemm , L.), a plant with hand¬ 
some glaucous foliage and large white flower of 
four petals marked with a bold cross of dark purple. 
[58] 
