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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Old-Time Gardens, by Alice Morse Earle
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Old-Time Gardens
+ Newly Set Forth
+
+Author: Alice Morse Earle
+
+Release Date: March 4, 2012 [EBook #39049]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OLD-TIME GARDENS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Suzanne Shell, Cathy Maxam and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+Old Time Gardens
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+ OLD-TIME GARDENS
+
+ _Newly set forth_
+ _by_
+
+ ALICE MORSE EARLE
+
+ _A BOOK OF_
+ THE SWEET O' THE YEAR
+
+ "_Life is sweet, brother! There's day and night, brother!
+ both sweet things: sun, moon and stars, brother! all
+ sweet things: There is likewise a wind on the heath._"
+
+ [Illustration]
+
+ NEW YORK
+ THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
+ LONDON MACMILLAN & CO LTD
+ MCMII
+
+ _All rights reserved_
+
+
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT, 1901,
+ BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
+
+ Set up and electrotyped November, 1901. Reprinted December, 1901;
+ January, 1902.
+
+ _Norwood Press_
+ _J. S. Cushing & Co.--Berwick & Smith_
+ _Norwood, Mass., U.S.A._
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: TO MY DAUGHTER
+
+ALICE CLARY EARLE
+
+TO WHOSE KNOWLEDGE OF FLOWERS
+
+AND LOVE OF FLOWER LORE
+
+I OWE MANY PAGES OF THIS BOOK....]
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+ CHAPTER PAGE
+
+ I. COLONIAL GARDEN-MAKING 1
+
+ II. FRONT DOORYARDS 38
+
+ III. VARIED GARDENS FAIR 54
+
+ IV. BOX EDGINGS 91
+
+ V. THE HERB GARDEN 107
+
+ VI. IN LILAC TIDE 132
+
+ VII. OLD FLOWER FAVORITES 161
+
+ VIII. COMFORT ME WITH APPLES 192
+
+ IX. GARDENS OF THE POETS 215
+
+ X. THE CHARM OF COLOR 233
+
+ XI. THE BLUE FLOWER BORDER 252
+
+ XII. PLANT NAMES 280
+
+ XIII. TUSSY-MUSSIES 296
+
+ XIV. JOAN SILVER-PIN 309
+
+ XV. CHILDHOOD IN A GARDEN 326
+
+ XVI. MEETIN' SEED AND SABBATH DAY POSIES 341
+
+ XVII. SUN-DIALS 353
+
+ XVIII. GARDEN FURNISHINGS 383
+
+ XIX. GARDEN BOUNDARIES 399
+
+ XX. A MOONLIGHT GARDEN 415
+
+ XXI. FLOWERS OF MYSTERY 433
+
+ XXII. ROSES OF YESTERDAY 459
+
+ INDEX 479
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+
+The end papers of this book bear a design of the flower Ambrosia.
+
+The vignette on the title-page is re-drawn from one in _The Compleat
+Body of Husbandry_, Thomas Hale, 1756. It represents "Love laying out
+the surface of the earth in a garden."
+
+The device of the dedication is an ancient garden-knot for flowers, from
+_A New Orchard and Garden_, William Lawson, 1608.
+
+The chapter initials are from old wood-cut initials in the English
+Herbals of Gerarde, Parkinson, and Cole.
+
+ PAGE
+
+ _Garden of Johnson Mansion, Germantown. Photographed
+ by Henry Troth_ facing 4
+
+ _Garden at Grumblethorp, Home of Charles J. Wister, Esq.,
+ Germantown, Pennsylvania_ 7
+
+ _Garden of Bartram House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania_ 9
+
+ _Garden of Abigail Adams, Quincy, Massachusetts_ 10
+
+ _Garden at Mount Vernon-on-the-Potomac, Virginia. Home of
+ George Washington_ facing 12
+
+ _Gate and Hedge of Preston Garden, Columbia, South Carolina_ 15
+
+ _Fountain Path in Preston Garden, Columbia, South Carolina_ 18
+
+ _Door in Wall of Kitchen Garden at Van Cortlandt Manor.
+ Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Photographed by J.
+ Horace McFarland_ facing 20
+
+ _Garden of Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed by J. Horace
+ McFarland_ facing 24
+
+ _Garden at Prince Homestead, Flushing, Long Island_ 28
+
+ _Old Dutch Garden of Bergen Homestead, Bay Ridge, Long
+ Island_ facing 32
+
+ _Garden at Duck Cove, Narragansett, Rhode Island_ 35
+
+ _The Flowering Almond under the Window. Photographed by
+ Eva E. Newell_ 39
+
+ _Peter's Wreath. Photographed by Eva E. Newell_ 41
+
+ _Peonies in Garden of John Robinson, Esq., Salem, Massachusetts.
+ Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ facing 42
+
+ _White Peonies. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 42
+
+ _Yellow Day Lilies. Photographed by Clifton Johnson_ facing 48
+
+ _Orange Lilies. Photographed by Eva E. Newell_ 50
+
+ _Preston Garden, Columbia, South Carolina_ facing 54
+
+ _Box-edged Parterre at Hampton, County Baltimore, Maryland.
+ Home of Mrs. John Ridgely. Photographed by Elizabeth
+ W. Trescot_ 57
+
+ _Parterre and Clipped Box at Hampton, County Baltimore,
+ Maryland. Home of Mrs. John Ridgely. Photographed
+ by Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 60
+
+ _Garden of Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, Waldstein, Fairfield,
+ Connecticut. Photographed by Mabel Osgood Wright_ 63
+
+ _A Shaded Walk. In the Garden of Miss Harriet P. F. Burnside,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts. Photographed by Herschel
+ F. Davis_ facing 64
+
+ _Roses and Larkspur in the Garden of Miss Harriet P. F.
+ Burnside, Worcester, Massachusetts. Photographed by
+ Herschel F. Davis_ 65
+
+ _The Homely Back Yard. Photographed by Henry Troth_ facing 66
+
+ _Covered Well at Home of Bishop Berkeley, Whitehall, Newport,
+ Rhode Island_ 68
+
+ _Kitchen Doorway and Porch at The Hedges, New Hope, County
+ Bucks, Pennsylvania_ 70
+
+ _Greenwood, Thomasville, Georgia_ 73
+
+ _Roses and Violets in Garden of Greenwood, Thomasville,
+ Georgia_ facing 74
+
+ _Water Garden at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, New York.
+ Home of Miss Cornelia Horsford_ 75
+
+ _Garden at Avonwood Court, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Country-seat
+ of Charles E. Mather, Esq. Photographed by
+ J. Horace McFarland_ facing 76
+
+ _Terrace Wall at Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey.
+ Country-seat of M. Taylor Pyne, Esq._ 76
+
+ _Garden at Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey. Country-seat
+ of M. Taylor Pyne, Esq._ 77
+
+ _Sun-dial at Avonwood Court, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
+ Country-seat of Charles E. Mather, Esq. Photographed
+ by J. Horace McFarland_ facing 80
+
+ _Entrance Porch and Gate to the Rose Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga,
+ New York. Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq.
+ Photographed by Gustave Lorey_ 82
+
+ _Pergola and Terrace Walk in Rose Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga,
+ New York. Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq.
+ Photographed by Gustave Lorey_ 83
+
+ _Statue of Christalan in Rose Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga, New
+ York. Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq. Photographed
+ by Gustave Lorey_ 84
+
+ _Sun-dial in Rose Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga, New York.
+ Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq. Photographed by
+ Gustave Lorey_ 86
+
+ _Bronze Dial-face in Rose Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga, New
+ York. Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq. Photographed
+ by Gustave Lorey_ 87
+
+ _Ancient Pine in Garden at Yaddo, Saratoga, New York.
+ Country-seat of Spencer Trask, Esq. Photographed by
+ Gustave Lorey_ 89
+
+ _House and Garden at Napanock, County Ulster, New York.
+ Photographed by Edward Lamson Henry, N. A._ facing 92
+
+ _Box Parterre at Hampton, County Baltimore, Maryland.
+ Home of Mrs. John Ridgely. Photographed by Elizabeth
+ W. Trescot_ 95
+
+ _Sun-dial in Box at Broughton Castle, Banbury, England.
+ Garden of Lady Lennox_ 98
+
+ _Sun-dial in Box at Ascott, near Leighton Buzzard, England.
+ Country-seat of Mr. Leopold Rothschild_ facing 100
+
+ _Garden at Tudor Place, Georgetown, District of Columbia.
+ Home of Mrs. Beverly Kennon. Photographed by Elizabeth
+ W. Trescot_ 103
+
+ _Anchor-shaped Flower Beds, Kingston, Rhode Island. Photographed
+ by Sarah P. Marchant_ 104
+
+ _Ancient Box at Tuckahoe, Virginia_ 105
+
+ _Herb Garden at White Birches, Elmhurst, Illinois_ 108
+
+ _Garden at White Birches, Elmhurst, Illinois_ 111
+
+ _Garden of Manning Homestead, Salem, Massachusetts_ facing 112
+
+ _Under the Garret Eaves of Ward Homestead, Shrewsbury,
+ Massachusetts_ 116
+
+ _A Gatherer of Simples. Photographed by Mary F. C.
+ Paschall_ facing 120
+
+ _Sage. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 126
+
+ _Tansy. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 129
+
+ _Garden of Mrs. Abraham Lansing, Albany, New York. Photographed
+ by Gustave Lorey_ facing 130
+
+ _Ladies' Delights. Photographed by Eva E. Newell_ 133
+
+ _Garden House and Long Walk in Garden of Hon. William
+ H. Seward, Auburn, New York_ facing 134
+
+ _Sun-dial in Garden of Hon. William H. Seward, Auburn,
+ New York_ 136
+
+ _Lilacs in Midsummer. In Garden of Mrs. Abraham Lansing,
+ Albany, New York. Photographed by Gustave
+ Lorey_ facing 138
+
+ _Lilacs at Craigie House, Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Home
+ of Longfellow. Photographed by Arthur N. Wilmarth_ 141
+
+ _Box-edged Garden at Home of Longfellow, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
+ Photographed by Arthur N. Wilmarth_ 142
+
+ _Joepye-weed and Queen Anne's Laces. Photographed by Mary
+ F. C. Paschall_ 145
+
+ _Boneset. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 146
+
+ _Magnolias in Garden of William Brown, Esq., Flatbush, Long
+ Island_ facing 148
+
+ _Lilacs at Hopewell_ 149
+
+ _Persian Lilacs and Peonies in Garden of Kimball Homestead,
+ Portsmouth, New Hampshire_ 151
+
+ _Opyn-tide, the Thought of Spring. Garden of Mrs. Abraham
+ Lansing, Albany, New York. Photographed by Pirie
+ MacDonald_ facing 154
+
+ _A Thought of Winter's Snows. Garden of Frederick J. Kingsbury,
+ Esq., Waterbury, Connecticut_ 157
+
+ _Larkspur and Phlox. Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts_ 162
+
+ _Sweet William and Foxglove_ 163
+
+ _Plume Poppy_ 164
+
+ _Meadow Rue_ 167
+
+ _Money-in-both-Pockets_ 171
+
+ _Box Walk in Garden of Frederick J. Kingsbury, Esq., Waterbury,
+ Connecticut_ 173
+
+ _Lunaria in Garden of Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, Fairfield,
+ Connecticut. Photographed by Mabel Osgood Wright_
+ facing 174
+
+ _Dahlia Walk at Ravensworth, County Fairfax, Virginia.
+ Home of Mrs. W. R. Fitzhugh Lee. Photographed by
+ Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 177
+
+ _Petunias_ 180
+
+ _Virgin's Bower, in Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts_ 184
+
+ _Matrimony Vine at Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed by
+ J. Horace McFarland_ 186
+
+ _White Chinese Wistaria, in Garden of Mortimer Howell, Esq.,
+ West Hampton Beach, Long Island_ 188
+
+ _Spiraea Van Houtteii. Photographed by J. Horace McFarland_
+ facing 190
+
+ _Old Apple Tree at Whitehall. Home of Bishop Berkeley,
+ near Newport, Rhode Island_ 194
+
+ "_The valley stretching below
+ Is white with blossoming Apple trees,
+ As if touched with lightest snow._"
+ _Photographed by T. E. M. and G. F. White_ 197
+
+ _Old Hand-power Cider Mill. Photographed by Mary F. C.
+ Paschall_ 198
+
+ _Pressing out the Cider in Old Hand Mill_ 200
+
+ _Old Cider Mill with Horse Power. Photographed by T. E. M.
+ and G. F. White_ 203
+
+ _Straining off the Cider into Barrels_ 204
+
+ _Drying Apples. Photographed by T. E. M. and G. F. White_
+ facing 208
+
+ _Ancient Apple Picker, Apple Racks, Apple Parers, Apple
+ Butter Kettle, Apple Butter Paddle, Apple Butter Stirrer,
+ Apple Butter Crocks. Photographed by Mary F. C.
+ Paschall_ 211
+
+ _Making Apple Butter. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_
+ facing 214
+
+ _Shakespeare Border in Garden at Hillside, Menand's, near
+ Albany, New York. Photographed by Gustave Lorey_ 216
+
+ _Long Border at Hillside, Menand's, near Albany, New York.
+ Photographed by Gustave Lorey_ facing 218
+
+ _The Beauty of Winter Lilacs. In Garden of Mrs. Abraham
+ Lansing, Albany, New York. Photographed by Pirie MacDonald_ 220
+
+ _Garden of Mrs. Frank Robinson, Wakefield, Rhode Island_ 222
+
+ _The Parson's Walk_ 225
+
+ _Garden of Mary Washington_ 228
+
+ _Box and Phlox. Garden of Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island,
+ New York_ 230
+
+ _Within the Weeping Beech. Photographed by E. C. Nichols_
+ facing 232
+
+ _Spring Snowflake, Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts. Photographed by Herschel F.
+ Davis_ 234
+
+ _Star of Bethlehem, in Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts. Photographed by Herschel F.
+ Davis_ 237
+
+ _"The Pearl" Achillaea_ 238
+
+ _Pyrethrum. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 242
+
+ _Terraced Garden of the Misses Nichols, Salem, Massachusetts.
+ Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ 246
+
+ _Arbor in a Salem Garden_ 250
+
+ _Scilla in Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse, Worcester,
+ Massachusetts_ 254
+
+ _Sweet Alyssum Edging of White Border at Indian Hill, Newburyport,
+ Massachusetts_ 256
+
+ _Bachelor's Buttons in a Salem Garden. Home of Mrs. Edward
+ B. Peirson_ 258
+
+ _A "Sweet Garden-side" in Salem, Massachusetts, Home of
+ John Robinson, Esq._ facing 260
+
+ _Salpiglossis in Garden at Indian Hill, Newburyport, Massachusetts.
+ Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ 261
+
+ _The Old Campanula, Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts_ 263
+
+ _Chinese Bellflower. Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ 264
+
+ _Garden at Tudor Place, Georgetown, District of Columbia.
+ Home of Mrs. Beverly Kennon. Photographed by Elizabeth
+ W. Trescot_ facing 266
+
+ _Light as a Loop of Larkspur, in Garden of Judge Oliver Wendell
+ Holmes, Beverly, Massachusetts_ 269
+
+ _Viper's Bugloss. Photographed by Henry Troth_ 274
+
+ _The Prim Precision of Leaf and Flower of Lupine. Photographed
+ by Henry Troth_ 276
+
+ _The Garden's Friend. Photographed by Clifton Johnson_ 281
+
+ _Edging of Striped Lilies in a Salem Garden. Photographed by
+ Herschel F. Davis_ 283
+
+ _Garden Seat at Avonwood Court. Photographed by J. Horace
+ McFarland_ facing 286
+
+ _Terraced Garden of the Misses Nichols, Salem, Massachusetts_ 288
+
+ _"A Running Ribbon of Perfumed Snow which the Sun is
+ melting rapidly." At Marchant Farm, Kingston, Rhode
+ Island. Photographed by Sarah F. Marchant_ 292
+
+ _Fountain Garden at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, New
+ York_ facing 294
+
+ _Hawthorn Arch at Holly House, Peace Dale, Rhode Island.
+ Home of Rowland G. Hazard, Esq._ 298
+
+ _Thyme-covered Graves. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 301
+
+ "_White Umbrellas of Elder_" 305
+
+ _Lower Garden at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, New York_
+ facing 308
+
+ "_Black-heart Amorous Poppies_" 310
+
+ _Valerian. Photographed by E. C. Nichols_ 314
+
+ _Old War Office in Garden at Salem, New Jersey_ 319
+
+ _Crown Imperial. Page from Gerarde's Herball_ facing 324
+
+ _The Children's Garden_ facing 330
+
+ _Foxgloves in a Narragansett Garden_ 333
+
+ _Hollyhocks in Garden of Kimball Homestead, Portsmouth, New
+ Hampshire_ facing 334
+
+ _Autumn View of an Old Worcester Garden_ facing 338
+
+ _Hollyhocks at Tudor Place, Georgetown, District of Columbia.
+ Home of Mrs. Beverly Kennon_ 339
+
+ _An Old Worcester Garden. Home of Edwin A. Fawcett, Esq._
+ facing 340
+
+ _Caraway_ 342
+
+ _Sun-dial of Jonathan Fairbanks, Esq., Dedham, Massachusetts_ 344
+
+ _Bronze Sun-dial on Dutch Reformed Church, West End
+ Avenue, New York_ 346
+
+ _Sun-dial mounted on Boulder, Swiftwater, Pennsylvania_ 347
+
+ _Buckthorn Arch in Garden of Mrs. Edward B. Peirson,
+ Salem, Massachusetts. Photographed by Herschel F.
+ Davis_ facing 348
+
+ _Sun-dial at Emery Place, Brightwood, District of Columbia.
+ Photographed by William Van Zandt Cox_ 349
+
+ _Sun-dial at Travellers' Rest, Virginia. Home of Mrs. Bowie
+ Gray. Photographed by Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 350
+
+ _Two Old Cronies; the Sun-dial and Bee skepe. Photographed
+ by Eva E. Newell_ 354
+
+ _Portable Sun-dial from Collection of the Author_ 356
+
+ _Sun-dial in Garden of Frederick J. Kingsbury, Esq., Waterbury,
+ Connecticut_ 358
+
+ _Sun-dial at Morristown, New Jersey. Designed by W. Gedney
+ Beatty, Esq._ 359
+
+ "_Yes, Toby, it's Three o'clock._" _Judge Daly and his Sun-dial
+ at Sag Harbor, Long Island. Drawn by Edward Lamson
+ Henry, N.A._ 361
+
+ _Face of Dial at Sag Harbor, Long Island_ 362
+
+ _Sun-dial in Garden of Grace Church Rectory, New York.
+ Photographed by J. W. Dow_ 364
+
+ _Fugio Bank-note_ 365
+
+ _Sun-dial at "Washington House," Little Brington, England_ 367
+
+ _Dial-face from Mount Vernon. Owned by William F. Havemeyer,
+ Jr._ 368
+
+ _Sun-dial from Home of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg,
+ Virginia. Photographed by Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 369
+
+ _Kenmore, the Home of Betty Washington Lewis, Fredericksburg,
+ Virginia. Photographed by Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 371
+
+ _Sun-dial in Garden of Charles T. Jenkins, Esq., Germantown,
+ Pennsylvania_ 373
+
+ _Sun-dial at Ophir Farm, White Plains, New York. Country-seat
+ of Hon. Whitelaw Reid_ 375
+
+ _Sun-dial at Hillside, Menand's, near Albany, New York_ 378
+
+ _Old Brass and Pewter Dial-faces from Collection of Author_ 379
+
+ _Beata Beatrix_ facing 380
+
+ _The Faithful Gardener_ 381
+
+ _A Garden Lyre at Waterford, Virginia_ facing 384
+
+ _A Virginia Lyre with Vines_ 386
+
+ _Old Iron Gates at Westover-on-James, Virginia. Photographed
+ by George S. Cook_ 388
+
+ _Ironwork in Court of Colt Mansion, Bristol, Rhode Island.
+ Photographed by J. W. Dow_ 390
+
+ _Sharpening the Old Dutch Scythe. Photographed by Mary
+ F. C. Paschall_ facing 392
+
+ _Summer-house at Ravensworth, County Fairfax, Virginia.
+ Home of Mrs. W. H. Fitzhugh Lee. Photographed by
+ Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 392
+
+ _Beehives at Waterford, Virginia. Photographed by Henry
+ Troth_ facing 394
+
+ _Beehives under the Trees. Photographed by Henry Troth_ 395
+
+ _Spring House at Johnson Homestead, Germantown, Pennsylvania.
+ Photographed by Henry Troth_ facing 396
+
+ _Dovecote at Shirley-on-James, Virginia. From_ Some Colonial
+ Mansions and Those who lived in Them. _Published by
+ Henry T. Coates & Co., Philadelphia_ 397
+
+ _The Peacock in his Pride_ 398
+
+ _The Guardian of the Garden_ 400
+
+ _Brick Terrace Wall at Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed
+ by J. Horace McFarland_ facing 402
+
+ _Rail Fence Corner_ 403
+
+ _Topiary Work at Levens Hall_ 404
+
+ _Oval Pergola at Arlington, Virginia. Photographed by Elizabeth
+ W. Trescot_ facing 406
+
+ _French Homestead, Kingston, Rhode Island, with Old Stone
+ Terrace Wall. Photographed by Sarah F. Marchant_ 407
+
+ _Italian Garden at Wellesley, Massachusetts. Country-seat of
+ Hollis H. Hunnewell, Esq._ facing 408
+
+ _Marble Steps in Italian Garden at Wellesley, Massachusetts_ 410
+
+ _Topiary Work in California_ 412
+
+ _Serpentine Brick Wall at University of Virginia, Charlottesville,
+ Virginia. Photographed by Elizabeth W. Trescot_ 413
+
+ _Chestnut Path in Garden at Indian Hill, Newburyport, Massachusetts.
+ Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ facing 418
+
+ _Foxgloves in Lower Garden at Indian Hill, Newburyport,
+ Massachusetts. Photographed by Herschel F. Davis_ 421
+
+ _Dame's Rocket. Photographed by Mary F. C. Paschall_ 424
+
+ _Snakeroot. Photographed by Mary F. C Paschall_ 426
+
+ _Title-page of Parkinson's_ Paradisi in Solis, _etc._
+ facing 428
+
+ _Yuccas, like White Marble against the Evergreens_ 430
+
+ _Fraxinella in Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse, Worcester,
+ Massachusetts_ facing 432
+
+ _Love-in-a-Mist. Photographed by Henry Troth_ 436
+
+ _Spiderwort in an Old Worcester Garden. Photographed by
+ Herschel F. Davis_ facing 438
+
+ _Gardener's Garters at Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed
+ by J. Horace McFarland_ 440
+
+ _Garden Walk at The Manse, Deerfield, Massachusetts. Photographed
+ by Clifton Johnson_ facing 442
+
+ _London Pride. Photographed by Eva E. Newell_ 445
+
+ _White Fritillaria in Garden of Miss Frances Clary Morse,
+ Worcester, Massachusetts_ 448
+
+ _Bouncing Bet_ 451
+
+ _Overgrown Garden at Llanerck, Pennsylvania. Photographed
+ by Henry Troth_ facing 454
+
+ _Fountain at Yaddo, Saratoga, New York. Country-seat of
+ Spencer Trask, Esq._ 455
+
+ _Avenue of White Pines at Wellesley, Massachusetts. Country-seat
+ of Hollis H. Hunnewell, Esq._ 456
+
+ _Violets in Silver Double Coaster_ 461
+
+ _York and Lancaster Rose at Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed
+ by J. Horace McFarland_ facing 462
+
+ _Cinnamon Roses. Photographed by Mabel Osgood Wright_ 465
+
+ _Cottage Garden with Roses. Photographed by Mary F. C.
+ Paschall_ facing 468
+
+ _Madame Plantier Rose. Photographed by Mabel Osgood
+ Wright_ 474
+
+ _Sun-dial and Roses at Van Cortlandt Manor. Photographed
+ by J. Horace McFarland_ facing 476
+
+
+
+
+
+Old Time Gardens
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+COLONIAL GARDEN-MAKING
+
+ "There is not a softer trait to be found in the character of those
+ stern men than that they should have been sensible of these
+ flower-roots clinging among the fibres of their rugged hearts, and
+ felt the necessity of bringing them over sea, and making them
+ hereditary in the new land."
+
+ --_American Note-book_, NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE.
+
+
+After ten wearisome weeks of travel across an unknown sea, to an equally
+unknown world, the group of Puritan men and women who were the founders
+of Boston neared their Land of Promise; and their noble leader, John
+Winthrop, wrote in his Journal that "we had now fair Sunshine Weather
+and so pleasant a sweet Aire as did much refresh us, and there came a
+smell off the Shore like the Smell of a Garden."
+
+A _Smell of a Garden_ was the first welcome to our ancestors from their
+new home; and a pleasant and perfect emblem it was of the life that
+awaited them. They were not to become hunters and rovers, not to be
+eager to explore quickly the vast wilds beyond; they were to settle down
+in the most domestic of lives, as tillers of the soil, as makers of
+gardens.
+
+What must that sweet air from the land have been to the sea-weary
+Puritan women on shipboard, laden to them with its promise of a garden!
+for I doubt not every woman bore with her across seas some little
+package of seeds and bulbs from her English home garden, and perhaps a
+tiny slip or plant of some endeared flower; watered each day, I fear,
+with many tears, as well as from the surprisingly scant water supply
+which we know was on board that ship.
+
+And there also came flying to the _Arbella_ as to the Ark, a Dove--a
+bird of promise--and soon the ship came to anchor.
+
+ "With hearts revived in conceit new Lands and Trees they spy,
+ Scenting the Caedars and Sweet Fern from heat's reflection dry,"
+
+wrote one colonist of that arrival, in his _Good Newes from New
+England_. I like to think that Sweet Fern, the characteristic wild
+perfume of New England, was wafted out to greet them. And then all went
+on shore in the sunshine of that ineffable time and season,--a New
+England day in June,--and they "gathered store of fine strawberries,"
+just as their Salem friends had on a June day on the preceding year
+gathered strawberries and "sweet Single Roses" so resembling the English
+Eglantine that the hearts of the women must have ached within them with
+fresh homesickness. And ere long all had dwelling-places, were they but
+humble log cabins; and pasture lands and commons were portioned out; and
+in a short time all had garden-plots, and thus, with sheltering
+roof-trees, and warm firesides, and with gardens, even in this lonely
+new world, they had _homes_. The first entry in the Plymouth Records is
+a significant one; it is the assignment of "Meresteads and
+Garden-Plotes," not meresteads alone, which were farm lands, but home
+gardens: the outlines of these can still be seen in Plymouth town. And
+soon all sojourners who bore news back to England of the New-Englishmen
+and New-Englishwomen, told of ample store of gardens. Ere a year had
+passed hopeful John Winthrop wrote, "My Deare Wife, wee are here in a
+Paradise." In four years the chronicler Wood said in his _New England's
+Prospect_, "There is growing here all manner of herbs for meat and
+medicine, and that not only in planted gardens, but in the woods,
+without the act and help of man." Governor Endicott had by that time a
+very creditable garden.
+
+And by every humble dwelling the homesick goodwife or dame, trying to
+create a semblance of her fair English home so far away, planted in her
+"garden plot" seeds and roots of homely English flowers and herbs, that
+quickly grew and blossomed and smiled on bleak New England's rocky
+shores as sturdily and happily as they had bloomed in the old gardens
+and by the ancient door sides in England. What good cheer they must have
+brought! how they must have been beloved! for these old English garden
+flowers are such gracious things; marvels of scent, lavish of bloom,
+bearing such genial faces, growing so readily and hardily, spreading so
+quickly, responding so gratefully to such little care: what pure
+refreshment they bore in their blossoms, what comfort in their seeds;
+they must have seemed an emblem of hope, a promise of a new and happy
+home. I rejoice over every one that I know was in those little colonial
+gardens, for each one added just so much measure of solace to what seems
+to me, as I think upon it, one of the loneliest, most fearsome things
+that gentlewomen ever had to do, all the harder because neither by
+poverty nor by unavoidable stress were they forced to it; they came
+across-seas willingly, for conscience' sake. These women were not
+accustomed to the thought of emigration, as are European folk to-day;
+they had no friends to greet them in the new land; they were to
+encounter wild animals and wild men; sea and country were unknown--they
+could scarce expect ever to return: they left everything, and took
+nothing of comfort but their Bibles and their flower seeds. So when I
+see one of the old English flowers, grown of those days, blooming now in
+my garden, from the unbroken chain of blossom to seed of nearly three
+centuries, I thank the flower for all that its forbears did to comfort
+my forbears, and I cherish it with added tenderness.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of the Johnson Mansion, Germantown, Pennsylvania.]
+
+We should have scant notion of the gardens of these New England
+colonists in the seventeenth century were it not for a cheerful
+traveller named John Josselyn, a man of everyday tastes and much
+inquisitiveness, and the pleasing literary style which comes from
+directness, and an absence of self-consciousness. He published in 1672 a
+book entitled _New England's Rarities discovered_, etc., and in 1674
+another volume giving an account of his two voyages hither in 1638 and
+1663. He made a very careful list of vegetables which he found thriving
+in the new land; and since his flower list is the earliest known, I will
+transcribe it in full; it isn't long, but there is enough in it to make
+it a suggestive outline which we can fill in from what we know of the
+plants to-day, and form a very fair picture of those gardens.
+
+ "Spearmint,
+ Rew, will hardly grow
+ Fetherfew prospereth exceedingly;
+ Southernwood, is no Plant for this Country, Nor
+ Rosemary. Nor
+ Bayes.
+ White-Satten groweth pretty well, so doth
+ Lavender-Cotton. But
+ Lavender is not for the Climate.
+ Penny Royal
+ Smalledge.
+ Ground Ivey, or Ale Hoof.
+ Gilly Flowers will continue two Years.
+ Fennel must be taken up, and kept in a Warm Cellar all Winter
+ Horseleek prospereth notably
+ Holly hocks
+ Enula Canpana, in two years time the Roots rot.
+ Comferie, with White Flowers.
+ Coriander, and
+ Dill, and
+ Annis thrive exceedingly, but Annis Seed, as also the seed of
+ Fennel seldom come to maturity; the Seed of Annis is commonly eaten
+ with a Fly.
+ Clary never lasts but one Summer, the Roots rot with the Frost.
+ Sparagus thrives exceedingly, so does
+ Garden Sorrel, and
+ Sweet Bryer or Eglantine
+ Bloodwort but sorrily, but
+ Patience and
+ English Roses very pleasantly.
+ Celandine, by the West Country now called Kenning Wort grows but slowly.
+ Muschater, as well as in England
+ Dittander or Pepperwort flourisheth notably and so doth
+ Tansie."
+
+These lists were published fifty years after the landing of the Pilgrims
+at Plymouth; from them we find that the country was just as well stocked
+with vegetables as it was a hundred years later when other travellers
+made lists, but the flowers seem few; still, such as they were, they
+formed a goodly sight. With rows of Hollyhocks glowing against the rude
+stone walls and rail fences of their little yards; with clumps of
+Lavender Cotton and Honesty and Gillyflowers blossoming freely; with
+Feverfew "prospering" to sow and slip and pot and give to neighbors just
+as New England women have done with Feverfew every year of the centuries
+that have followed; with "a Rose looking in at the window"--a
+Sweetbrier, Eglantine, or English Rose--these colonial dames might well
+find "Patience growing very pleasantly" in their hearts as in their
+gardens.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Grumblethorp, Germantown, Pennsylvania.]
+
+They had plenty of pot herbs for their accustomed savoring; and plenty
+of medicinal herbs for their wonted dosing. Shakespeare's "nose-herbs"
+were not lacking. Doubtless they soon added to these garden flowers many
+of our beautiful native blooms, rejoicing if they resembled any beloved
+English flowers, and quickly giving them, as we know, familiar old
+English plant-names.
+
+And there were other garden inhabitants, as truly English as were the
+cherished flowers, the old garden weeds, which quickly found a home and
+thrived in triumph in the new soil. Perhaps the weed seeds came over in
+the flower-pot that held a sheltered plant or cutting; perhaps a few
+were mixed with garden seeds; perhaps they were in the straw or other
+packing of household goods: no one knew the manner of their coming, but
+there they were, Motherwort, Groundsel, Chickweed, and Wild Mustard,
+Mullein and Nettle, Henbane and Wormwood. Many a goodwife must have
+gazed in despair at the persistent Plantain, "the Englishman's foot,"
+which seems to have landed in Plymouth from the Mayflower.
+
+Josselyn made other lists of plants which he found in America, under
+these headings:--
+
+ "Such plants as are common with us in England.
+ Such plants as are proper to the Country.
+ Such plants as are proper to the Country and have no name.
+ Such plants as have sprung up since the English planted, and kept cattle
+ in New England."
+
+In these lists he gives a surprising number of English weeds which had
+thriven and rejoiced in their new home.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of the Bartram House, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.]
+
+Mr. Tuckerman calls Josselyn's list of the fishes of the new world a
+poor makeshift; his various lists of plants are better, but they are the
+lists of an herbalist, not of a botanist. He had some acquaintance with
+the practice of physic, of which he narrates some examples; and an
+interest in kitchen recipes, and included a few in his books. He said
+that Parkinson or another botanist might have "found in New England a
+thousand, at least, of plants never heard of nor seen by any Englishman
+before," and adds that he was himself an indifferent observer. He
+certainly lost an extraordinary opportunity of distinguishing himself,
+indeed of immortalizing himself; and it is surprising that he was so
+heedless, for Englishmen of that day were in general eager botanists.
+The study of plants was new, and was deemed of such absorbing interest
+and fascination that some rigid Puritans feared they might lose their
+immortal souls through making their new plants their idols.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Abigail Adams.]
+
+When Josselyn wrote, but few of our American flowers were known to
+European botanists; Indian Corn, Pitcher Plant, Columbine, Milkweed,
+Everlasting, and Arbor-vitae had been described in printed books, and the
+Evening Primrose. A history of Canadian and other new plants, by Dr.
+Cornuti, had been printed in Europe, giving thirty-seven of our plants;
+and all English naturalists were longing to add to the list; the ships
+which brought over homely seeds and plants for the gardens of the
+colonists carried back rare American seeds and plants for English physic
+gardens.
+
+In Pennsylvania, from the first years of the settlement, William Penn
+encouraged his Quaker followers to plant English flowers and fruit in
+abundance, and to try the fruits of the new world. Father Pastorius, in
+his Germantown settlement, assigned to each family a garden-plot of
+three acres, as befitted a man who left behind him at his death a
+manuscript poem of many thousand words on the pleasures of gardening,
+the description of flowers, and keeping of bees. George Fox, the founder
+of the Friends, or Quakers, died in 1690. He had travelled in the
+colonies; and in his will he left sixteen acres of land to the Quaker
+meeting in the city of Philadelphia. Of these sixteen acres, ten were
+for "a close to put Friends' horses in when they came afar to the
+Meeting, that they may not be Lost in the Woods," while the other six
+were for a site for a meeting-house and school-house, and "for a
+Playground for the Children of the town to Play on, and for a Garden to
+plant with Physical Plants, for Lads and Lasses to know Simples, and to
+learn to make Oils and Ointments." Few as are these words, they convey a
+positive picture of Fox's intent, and a pleasing picture it is. He had
+seen what interest had been awakened and what instruction conveyed
+through the "Physick-Garden" at Chelsea, England; and he promised to
+himself similar interest and information from the study of plants and
+flowers by the Quaker "lads and lasses" of the new world. Though
+nothing came from this bequest, there was a later fulfilment of Fox's
+hopes in the establishment of a successful botanic garden in
+Philadelphia, and, in the planting, growth, and flourishing in the
+province of Pennsylvania of the loveliest gardens in the new world;
+there floriculture reached by the time of the Revolution a very high
+point; and many exquisite gardens bore ample testimony to the "pride of
+life," as well as to the good taste and love of flowers of Philadelphia
+Friends. The garden at Grumblethorp, the home of Charles J. Wister,
+Esq., of Germantown, Pennsylvania, shown on page 7, dates to colonial
+days and is still flourishing and beautiful.
+
+In 1728 was established, by John Bartram, in Philadelphia, the first
+botanic garden in America. The ground on which it was planted, and the
+stone dwelling-house he built thereon in 1731, are now part of the park
+system of Philadelphia. A view of the garden as now in cultivation is
+given on page 9. Bartram travelled much in America, and through his
+constant correspondence and flower exchanges with distinguished
+botanists and plant growers in Europe, many native American plants
+became well known in foreign gardens, among them the Lady's Slipper and
+Rhododendron. He was a Quaker,--a quaint and picturesque figure,--and
+his example helped to establish the many fine gardens in the vicinity of
+Philadelphia. The example and precept of Washington also had important
+influence; for he was constant in his desire and his effort to secure
+every good and new plant, grain, shrub, and tree for his home at
+Mount Vernon. A beautiful tribute to his good taste and that of his wife
+still exists in the Mount Vernon flower garden, which in shape, Box
+edgings, and many details is precisely as it was in their day. A view of
+its well-ordered charms is shown opposite page 12. Whenever I walk in
+this garden I am deeply grateful to the devoted women who keep it in
+such perfection, as an object-lesson to us of the dignity, comeliness,
+and beauty of a garden of the olden times.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Mount Vernon-on-the-Potomac. Home of George
+Washington.]
+
+There is little evidence that a general love and cultivation of flowers
+was as common in humble homes in the Southern colonies as in New England
+and the Middle provinces. The teeming abundance near the tropics
+rendered any special gardening unnecessary for poor folk; flowers grew
+and blossomed lavishly everywhere without any coaxing or care. On
+splendid estates there were splendid gardens, which have nearly all
+suffered by the devastations of war--in some towns they were thrice thus
+scourged. So great was the beauty of these Southern gardens and so vast
+the love they provoked in their owners, that in more than one case the
+life of the garden's master was merged in that of the garden. The
+British soldiers during the War of the Revolution wantonly destroyed the
+exquisite flowers at "The Grove," just outside the city of Charleston,
+and their owner, Mr. Gibbes, dropped dead in grief at the sight of the
+waste.
+
+The great wealth of the Southern planters, their constant and
+extravagant following of English customs and fashions, their fertile
+soil and favorable climate, and their many slaves, all contributed to
+the successful making of elaborate gardens. Even as early as 1682 South
+Carolina gardens were declared to be "adorned with such Flowers as to
+the Smell or Eye are pleasing or agreeable, as the Rose, Tulip, Lily,
+Carnation, &c." William Byrd wrote of the terraced gardens of Virginia
+homes. Charleston dames vied with each other in the beauty of their
+gardens, and Mrs. Logan, when seventy years old, in 1779, wrote a
+treatise called _The Gardener's Kalendar_. Eliza Lucas Pinckney of
+Charleston was devoted to practical floriculture and horticulture. Her
+introduction of indigo raising into South Carolina revolutionized the
+trade products of the state and brought to it vast wealth. Like many
+other women and many men of wealth and culture at that time, she kept up
+a constant exchange of letters, seeds, plants, and bulbs with English
+people of like tastes. She received from them valuable English seeds and
+shrubs; and in turn she sent to England what were so eagerly sought by
+English flower raisers, our native plants. The good will and national
+pride of ship captains were enlisted; even young trees of considerable
+size were set in hogsheads, and transported, and cared for during the
+long voyage.
+
+[Illustration: Gate and Hedge of Preston Garden.]
+
+The garden at Mount Vernon is probably the oldest in Virginia still in
+original shape. In Maryland are several fine, formal gardens which do
+not date, however, to colonial days; the beautiful one at Hampton, the
+home of the Ridgelys, in Baltimore County, is shown on pages 57, 60 and
+95. In both North and South Carolina the gardens were exquisite. Many
+were laid out by competent landscape gardeners, and were kept in order
+by skilled workmen, negro slaves, who were carefully trained from
+childhood to special labor, such as topiary work. In Camden and
+Charleston the gardens vied with the finest English manor-house gardens.
+Remains of their beauty exist, despite devastating wars and earthquakes.
+Views of the Preston Garden, Columbia, South Carolina, are shown on
+pages 15 and 18 and facing page 54. They are now the grounds of the
+Presbyterian College for Women. The hedges have been much reduced
+within a few years; but the garden still bears a surprising resemblance
+to the Garden of the Generalife, Granada. The Spanish garden has fewer
+flowers and more fountains, yet I think it must have been the model for
+the Preston Garden. The climax of magnificence in Southern gardens has
+been for years, at Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, the ancestral home of the
+Draytons since 1671. It is impossible to describe the affluence of color
+in this garden in springtime; masses of unbroken bloom on giant
+Magnolias; vast Camellia Japonicas, looking, leaf and flower, thoroughly
+artificial, as if made of solid wax; splendid Crape Myrtles, those
+strange flower-trees; mammoth Rhododendrons; Azaleas of every Azalea
+color,--all surrounded by walls of the golden Banksia Roses, and hedges
+covered with Jasmine and Honeysuckle. The Azaleas are the special glory
+of the garden; the bushes are fifteen to twenty feet in height, and
+fifty or sixty feet in circumference, with rich blossoms running over
+and crowding down on the ground as if color had been poured over the
+bushes; they extend in vistas of vivid hues as far as the eye can reach.
+All this gay and brilliant color is overhung by a startling contrast,
+the most sombre and gloomy thing in nature, great Live-oaks heavily
+draped with gray Moss; the avenue of largest Oaks was planted two
+centuries ago.
+
+I give no picture of this Drayton Garden, for a photograph of these many
+acres of solid bloom is a meaningless thing. Even an oil painting of it
+is confused and disappointing. In the garden itself the excess of color
+is as cloying as its surfeit of scent pouring from the thousands of open
+flower cups; we long for green hedges, even for scanter bloom and for
+fainter fragrance. It is not a garden to live in, as are our
+box-bordered gardens of the North, our cheerful cottage borders, and our
+well-balanced Italian gardens, so restful to the eye; it is a garden to
+look at and wonder at.
+
+The Dutch settlers brought their love of flowering bulbs, and the bulbs
+also, to the new world. Adrian Van der Donck, a gossiping visitor to New
+Netherland when the little town of New Amsterdam had about a thousand
+inhabitants, described the fine kitchen gardens, the vegetables and
+fruits, and gave an interesting list of garden flowers which he found
+under cultivation by the Dutch vrouws. He says:
+
+ "OF THE FLOWERS. The flowers in general which the Netherlanders
+ have introduced there are the white and red roses of different
+ kinds, the cornelian roses, and stock roses; and those of which
+ there were none before in the country, such as eglantine, several
+ kinds of gillyflowers, jenoffelins, different varieties of fine
+ tulips, crown imperials, white lilies, the lily frutularia,
+ anemones, baredames, violets, marigolds, summer sots, etc. The
+ clove tree has also been introduced, and there are various
+ indigenous trees that bear handsome flowers, which are unknown in
+ the Netherlands. We also find there some flowers of native growth,
+ as, for instance, sunflowers, red and yellow lilies, mountain
+ lilies, morning stars, red, white, and yellow maritoffles (a very
+ sweet flower), several species of bell flowers, etc., to which I
+ have not given particular attention, but _amateurs_ would hold
+ them in high estimation and make them widely known."
+
+[Illustration: Fountain Path in Preston Garden, Columbia, South
+Carolina.]
+
+I wish I knew what a Cornelian Rose was, and Jenoffelins, Baredames, and
+Summer Sots; and what the Lilies were and the Maritoffles and Bell
+Flowers. They all sound so cheerful and homelike--just as if they
+bloomed well. Perhaps the Cornelian Rose may have been striped red and
+white like cornelian stone, and like our York and Lancaster Rose.
+
+Tulips are on all seed and plant lists of colonial days, and they were
+doubtless in every home dooryard in New Netherland. Governor Peter
+Stuyvesant had a fine farm on the Bouwerie, and is said to have had a
+flower garden there and at his home, White Hall, at the Battery, for he
+had forty or fifty negro slaves who were kept at work on his estate. In
+the city of New York many fine formal gardens lingered, on what are now
+our most crowded streets, till within the memory of persons now living.
+One is described as full of "Paus bloemen of all hues, Laylocks, and
+tall May Roses and Snowballs intermixed with choice vegetables and herbs
+all bounded and hemmed in by huge rows of neatly-clipped Box-edgings."
+
+An evidence of increase in garden luxury in New York is found in the
+advertisement of one Theophilus Hardenbrook, in 1750, a practical
+surveyor and architect, who had an evening school for teaching
+architecture. He designed pavilions, summer-houses, and garden seats,
+and "Green-houses for the preservation of Herbs with winding Funnels
+through the walls so as to keep them warm." A picture of the green-house
+of James Beekman, of New York, 1764, still exists, a primitive little
+affair. The first glass-house in North America is believed to be one
+built in Boston for Andrew Faneuil, who died in 1737.
+
+Mrs. Anne Grant, writing of her life near Albany in the middle of the
+eighteenth century, gives a very good description of the Schuyler
+garden. Skulls of domestic animals on fence posts, would seem astounding
+had I not read of similar decorations in old Continental gardens. Vines
+grew over these grisly fence-capitals and birds built their nests in
+them, so in time the Dutch housewife's peaceful kitchen garden ceased
+to resemble the kraal of an African chieftain; to this day, in South
+Africa, natives and Dutch Boers thus set up on gate posts the skulls of
+cattle.
+
+Mrs. Grant writes of the Dutch in Albany:--
+
+ "The care of plants, such as needed peculiar care or skill to rear
+ them, was the female province. Every one in town or country had a
+ garden. Into this garden no foot of man intruded after it was dug
+ in the Spring. I think I see yet what I have so often beheld--a
+ respectable mistress of a family going out to her garden, on an
+ April morning, with her great calash, her little painted basket of
+ seeds, and her rake over her shoulder to her garden of labours. A
+ woman in very easy circumstances and abundantly gentle in form and
+ manners would sow and plant and rake incessantly."
+
+We have happily a beautiful example of the old Dutch manor garden, at
+Van Cortlandt Manor, at Croton-on-Hudson, New York, still in the
+possession of the Van Cortlandt family. It is one of the few gardens in
+America that date really to colonial days. The manor house was built in
+1681; it is one of those fine old Dutch homesteads of which we still
+have many existing throughout New York, in which dignity, comfort, and
+fitness are so happily combined. These homes are, in the words of a
+traveller of colonial days, "so pleasant in their building, and
+contrived so delightful." Above all, they are so suited to their
+surroundings that they seem an intrinsic part of the landscape, as they
+do of the old life of this Hudson River Valley.
+
+[Illustration: Door in Wall of Kitchen Garden at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+I do not doubt that this Van Cortlandt garden was laid out when the
+house was built; much of it must be two centuries old. It has been
+extended, not altered; and the grass-covered bank supporting the upper
+garden was replaced by a brick terrace wall about sixty years ago. Its
+present form dates to the days when New York was a province. The upper
+garden is laid out in formal flower beds; the lower border is rich in
+old vines and shrubs, and all the beloved old-time hardy plants. There
+is in the manor-house an ancient portrait of the child Pierre Van
+Cortlandt, painted about the year 1732. He stands by a table bearing a
+vase filled with old garden flowers--Tulip, Convolvulus, Harebell, Rose,
+Peony, Narcissus, and Flowering Almond; and it is the pleasure of the
+present mistress of the manor, to see that the garden still holds all
+the great-grandfather's flowers.
+
+There is a vine-embowered old door in the wall under the piazza (see
+opposite page 20) which opens into the kitchen and fruit garden; a
+wall-door so quaint and old-timey that I always remind me of
+Shakespeare's lines in _Measure for Measure_:--
+
+ "He hath a garden circummured with brick,
+ Whose western side is with a Vineyard back'd;
+ And to that Vineyard is a planched gate
+ That makes his opening with this bigger key:
+ The other doth command a little door
+ Which from the Vineyard to the garden leads."
+
+The long path is a beautiful feature of this garden (it is shown in the
+picture of the garden opposite page 24); it dates certainly to the
+middle of the eighteenth century. Pierre Van Cortlandt, the son of the
+child with the vase of flowers, and grandfather of the present
+generation bearing his surname, was born in 1762. He well recalled
+playing along this garden path when he was a child; and that one day he
+and his little sister Ann (Mrs. Philip Van Rensselaer) ran a race along
+this path and through the garden to see who could first "see the baby"
+and greet their sister, Mrs. Beekman, who came riding to the manor-house
+up the hill from Tarrytown, and through the avenue, which shows on the
+right-hand side of the garden-picture. This beautiful young woman was
+famed everywhere for her grace and loveliness, and later equally so for
+her intelligence and goodness, and the prominent part she bore in the
+War of the Revolution. She was seated on a pillion behind her husband,
+and she carried proudly in her arms her first baby (afterward Dr.
+Beekman) wrapped in a scarlet cloak. This is one of the home-pictures
+that the old garden holds. Would we could paint it!
+
+In this garden, near the house, is a never failing spring and well. The
+house was purposely built near it, in those days of sudden attacks by
+Indians; it has proved a fountain of perpetual youth for the old Locust
+tree, which shades it; a tree more ancient than house or garden, serene
+and beautiful in its hearty old age. Glimpses of this manor-house garden
+and its flowers are shown on many pages of this book, but they cannot
+reveal its beauty as a whole--its fine proportions, its noble
+background, its splendid trees, its turf, its beds of bloom. Oh! How
+beautiful a garden can be, when for two hundred years it has been loved
+and cherished, ever nurtured, ever guarded; how plainly it shows such
+care!
+
+Another Dutch garden is pictured opposite page 32, the garden of the
+Bergen Homestead, at Bay Ridge, Long Island. Let me quote part of its
+description, written by Mrs. Tunis Bergen:--
+
+ "Over the half-open Dutch door you look through the vines that
+ climb about the stoop, as into a vista of the past. Beyond the
+ garden is the great Quince orchard of hundreds of trees in pink and
+ white glory. This orchard has a story which you must pause in the
+ garden to hear. In the Library at Washington is preserved, in
+ quaint manuscript, 'The Battle of Brooklyn,' a farce written and
+ said to have been performed during the British occupation. The
+ scene is partly laid in 'the orchard of one Bergen,' where the
+ British hid their horses after the battle of Long Island--this is
+ the orchard; but the blossoming Quince trees tell no tale of past
+ carnage. At one side of the garden is a quaint little building with
+ moss-grown roof and climbing hop-vine--the last slave kitchen left
+ standing in New York--on the other side are rows of homely
+ beehives. The old Locust tree overshadowing is an ancient
+ landmark--it was standing in 1690. For some years it has worn a
+ chain to bind its aged limbs together. All this beauty of tree and
+ flower lived till 1890, when it was swept away by the growing city.
+ Though now but a memory, it has the perfume of its past flowers
+ about it."
+
+The Locust was so often a "home tree" and so fitting a one, that I have
+grown to associate ever with these Dutch homesteads a light-leaved
+Locust tree, shedding its beautiful flickering shadows on the long roof.
+I wonder whether there was any association or tradition that made the
+Locust the house-friend in old New York!
+
+The first nurseryman in the new world was stern old Governor Endicott of
+Salem. In 1644 he wrote to Governor Winthrop, "My children burnt mee at
+least 500 trees by setting the ground on fire neere them"--which was a
+very pretty piece of mischief for sober Puritan children. We find all
+thoughtful men of influence and prominence in all the colonies raising
+various fruits, and selling trees and plants, but they had no
+independent business nurseries.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+If tradition be true, it is to Governor Endicott we owe an indelible dye
+on the landscape of eastern Massachusetts in midsummer. The Dyer's-weed
+or Woad-waxen (_Genista tinctoria_), which, in July, covers hundreds of
+acres in Lynn, Salem, Swampscott, and Beverly with its solid growth and
+brilliant yellow bloom, is said to have been brought to this country as
+the packing of some of the governor's household belongings. It is far
+more probable that he brought it here to raise it in his garden for
+dyeing purposes, with intent to benefit the colony, as he did other
+useful seeds and plants. Woadwaxen, or Broom, is a persistent thing; it
+needs scythe, plough, hoe, and bitter labor to eradicate it. I cannot
+call it a weed, for it has seized only poor rock-filled land, good for
+naught else; and the radiant beauty of the Salem landscape for many
+weeks makes us forgive its persistence, and thank Endicott for bringing
+it here.
+
+ "The Broom,
+ Full-flowered and visible on every steep,
+ Along the copses runs in veins of gold."
+
+The Broom flower is the emblem of mid-summer, the hottest yellow flower
+I know--it seems to throw out heat. I recall the first time I saw it
+growing; I was told that it was "Salem Wood-wax." I had heard of
+"Roxbury Waxwork," the Bitter-sweet, but this was a new name, as it was
+a new tint of yellow, and soon I had its history, for I find Salem
+people rather proud both of the flower and its story.
+
+Oxeye Daisies (Whiteweed) are also by vague tradition the children of
+Governor Endicott's planting. I think it far more probable that they
+were planted and cherished by the wives of the colonists, when their
+beloved English Daisies were found unsuited to New England's climate and
+soil. We note the Woad-waxen and Whiteweed as crowding usurpers, not
+only because they are persistent, but because their great expanses of
+striking bloom will not let us forget them. Many other English plants
+are just as determined intruders, but their modest dress permits them to
+slip in comparatively unobserved.
+
+It has ever been characteristic of the British colonist to carry with
+him to any new home the flowers of old England and Scotland, and
+characteristic of these British flowers to monopolize the earth.
+Sweetbrier is called "the missionary-plant," by the Maoris in New
+Zealand, and is there regarded as a tiresome weed, spreading and
+holding the ground. Some homesick missionary or his more homesick wife
+bore it there; and her love of the home plant impressed even the savage
+native. We all know the story of the Scotch settlers who carried their
+beloved Thistles to Tasmania "to make it seem like home," and how they
+lived to regret it. Vancouver's Island is completely overrun with Broom
+and wild Roses from England.
+
+The first commercial nursery in America, in the sense of the term as we
+now employ it, was established about 1730 by Robert Prince, in Flushing,
+Long Island, a community chiefly of French Huguenot settlers, who
+brought to the new world many French fruits by seed and cuttings, and
+also a love of horticulture. For over a century and a quarter these
+Prince Nurseries were the leading ones in America. The sale of fruit
+trees was increased in 1774 (as we learn from advertisements in the _New
+York Mercury_ of that year), by the sale of "Carolina Magnolia flower
+trees, the most beautiful trees that grow in America, and 50 large
+Catalpa flower trees; they are nine feet high to the under part of the
+top and thick as one's leg," also other flowering trees and shrubs.
+
+The fine house built on the nursery grounds by William Prince suffered
+little during the Revolution. It was occupied by Washington and
+afterwards house and nursery were preserved from depredations by a guard
+placed by General Howe when the British took possession of Flushing. Of
+course, domestic nursery business waned in time of war; but an
+excellent demand for American shrubs and trees sprung up among the
+officers of the British army, to send home to gardens in England and
+Germany. Many an English garden still has ancient plants and trees from
+the Prince Nurseries.
+
+The "Linnaean Botanic Garden and Nurseries" and the "Old American
+Nursery" thrived once more at the close of the war, and William Prince
+the second entered in charge; one of his earliest ventures of importance
+was the introduction of Lombardy Poplars. In 1798 he advertises ten
+thousand trees, ten to seventeen feet in height. These became the most
+popular tree in America, the emblem of democracy--and a warmly hated
+tree as well. The eighty acres of nursery grounds were a centre of
+botanic and horticultural interest for the entire country; every tree,
+shrub, vine, and plant known to England and America was eagerly sought
+for; here the important botanical treasures of Lewis and Clark found a
+home. William Prince wrote several notable horticultural treatises; and
+even his trade catalogues were prized. He established the first
+steamboats between Flushing and New York, built roads and bridges on
+Long Island, and was a public-spirited, generous citizen as well as a
+man of science. His son, William Robert Prince, who died in 1869, was
+the last to keep up the nurseries, which he did as a scientific rather
+than a commercial establishment. He botanized the entire length of the
+Atlantic States with Dr. Torrey, and sought for collections of trees and
+wild flowers in California with the same eagerness that others there
+sought gold. He was a devoted promoter of the native silk industry,
+having vast plantations of Mulberries in many cities; for one at
+Norfolk, Virginia, he was offered $100,000. It is a curious fact that
+the interest in Mulberry culture and the practice of its cultivation was
+so universal in his neighborhood (about the year 1830), that cuttings of
+the Chinese Mulberry (_Morus multicaulis_) were used as currency in all
+the stores in the vicinity of Flushing, at the rate of 12-1/2 cents
+each.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Prince Homestead, Flushing, Long Island.]
+
+The Prince homestead, a fine old mansion, is here shown; it is still
+standing, surrounded by that forlorn sight, a forgotten garden. This is
+of considerable extent, and evidences of its past dignity appear in the
+hedges and edgings of Box; one symmetrical great Box tree is fifty feet
+in circumference. Flowering shrubs, unkempt of shape, bloom and beautify
+the waste borders each spring, as do the oldest Chinese Magnolias in the
+United States. Gingkos, Paulownias, and weeping trees, which need no
+gardener's care, also flourish and are of unusual size. There are some
+splendid evergreens, such as Mt. Atlas Cedars; and the oldest and finest
+Cedar of Lebanon in the United States. It seemed sad, as I looked at the
+evidences of so much past beauty and present decay, that this historic
+house and garden should not be preserved for New York, as the house and
+garden of John Bartram, the Philadelphia botanist, have been for his
+native city.
+
+While there are few direct records of American gardens in the eighteenth
+century, we have many instructing side glimpses through old business
+letter-books. We find Sir Harry Frankland ordering Daffodils and Tulips
+for the garden he made for Agnes Surriage; and it is said that the first
+Lilacs ever seen in Hopkinton were planted by him for her. The gay young
+nobleman and the lovely woman are in the dust, and of all the beautiful
+things belonging to them there remain a splendid Portuguese fan, which
+stands as a memorial of that tragic crisis in their life--the great
+Lisbon earthquake; and the Lilacs, which still mark the site of her
+house and blossom each spring as a memorial of the shadowed romance of
+her life in New England.
+
+Let me give two pages from old letters to illustrate what I mean by side
+glimpses at the contents of colonial gardens. The fine Hancock mansion
+in Boston had a carefully-filled garden long previous to the Revolution.
+Such letters as the following were sent by Mr. Hancock to England to
+secure flowers for it:--
+
+ "My Trees and Seeds for Capt. Bennett Came Safe to Hand and I like
+ them very well. I Return you my hearty Thanks for the Plumb Tree
+ and Tulip Roots you were pleased to make me a Present off, which
+ are very Acceptable to me. I have Sent my friend Mr. Wilks a mmo.
+ to procure for me 2 or 3 Doz. Yew Trees, Some Hollys and Jessamine
+ Vines, and if you have Any Particular Curious Things not of a high
+ Price, will Beautifye a flower Garden Send a Sample with the Price
+ or a Catalogue of 'em, I do not intend to spare Any Cost or Pains
+ in making my Gardens Beautifull or Profitable.
+
+ "P.S. The Tulip Roots you were Pleased to make a present off to me
+ are all Dead as well."
+
+We find Richard Stockton writing in 1766 from England to his wife at
+their beautiful home "Morven," in Princeton, New Jersey:--
+
+ "I am making you a charming collection of bulbous roots, which
+ shall be sent over as soon as the prospect of freezing on your
+ coast is over. The first of April, I believe, will be time enough
+ for you to put them in your sweet little flower garden, which you
+ so fondly cultivate. Suppose I inform you that I design a ride to
+ Twickenham the latter end of next month principally to view Mr.
+ Pope's gardens and grotto, which I am told remain nearly as he left
+ them; and that I shall take with me a gentleman who draws well, to
+ lay down an exact plan of the whole."
+
+The fine line of Catalpa trees set out by Richard Stockton, along the
+front of his lawn, were in full flower when he rode up to his house on a
+memorable July day to tell his wife that he had signed the Declaration
+of American Independence. Since then Catalpa trees bear everywhere in
+that vicinity the name of Independence trees, and are believed to be
+ever in bloom on July 4th.
+
+[Illustration: Old Box at Prince Homestead.]
+
+In the delightful diary and letters of Eliza Southgate Bowne (_A Girl's
+Life Eighty Years Ago_), are other side glimpses of the beautiful
+gardens of old Salem, among them those of the wealthy merchants of the
+Derby family. Terraces and arches show a formality of arrangement, for
+they were laid out by a Dutch gardener whose descendants still live in
+Salem. All had summer-houses, which were larger and more important
+buildings than what are to-day termed summer-houses; these latter were
+known in Salem and throughout Virginia as bowers. One summer-house had
+an arch through it with three doors on each side which opened into
+little apartments; one of them had a staircase by which you could ascend
+into a large upper room, which was the whole size of the building. This
+was constructed to command a fine view, and was ornamented with Chinese
+articles of varied interest and value; it was used for tea-drinkings. At
+the end of the garden, concealed by a dense Weeping Willow, was a
+thatched hermitage, containing the life-size figure of a man reading a
+prayer-book; a bed of straw and some broken furniture completed the
+picture. This was an English fashion, seen at one time in many old
+English gardens, and held to be most romantic. Apparently summer
+evenings were spent by the Derby household and their visitors wholly in
+the garden and summer-house. The diary keeper writes naively, "The moon
+shines brighter in this garden than anywhere else."
+
+[Illustration: Old Dutch Garden of Bergen Homestead.]
+
+The shrewd and capable women of the colonies who entered so freely and
+successfully into business ventures found the selling of flower seeds a
+congenial occupation, and often added it to the pursuit of other
+callings. I think it must have been very pleasant to buy packages of
+flower seed at the same time and place where you bought your best
+bonnet, and have all sent home in a bandbox together; each would
+prove a memorial of the other; and long after the glory of the bonnet
+had departed, and the bonnet itself was ashes, the thriving Sweet Peas
+and Larkspur would recall its becoming charms. I have often seen the
+advertisements of these seedswomen in old newspapers; unfortunately they
+seldom gave printed lists of their store of seeds. Here is one list
+printed in a Boston newspaper on March 30, 1760:--
+
+ Lavender.
+ Palma Christi.
+ Cerinthe or Honeywort, loved of bees.
+ Tricolor.
+ Indian Pink.
+ Scarlet Cacalia.
+ Yellow Sultans.
+ Lemon African Marigold.
+ Sensitive Plants.
+ White Lupine.
+ Love Lies Bleeding.
+ Patagonian Cucumber.
+ Lobelia.
+ Catchfly.
+ Wing-peas.
+ Convolvulus.
+ Strawberry Spinage.
+ Branching Larkspur.
+ White Chrysanthemum.
+ Nigaella Romano.
+ Rose Campion.
+ Snap Dragon.
+ Nolana prostrata.
+ Summer Savory.
+ Hyssop.
+ Red Hawkweed.
+ Red and White Lavater.
+ Scarlet Lupine.
+ Large blue Lupine.
+ Snuff flower.
+ Caterpillars.
+ Cape Marigold.
+ Rose Lupine.
+ Sweet Peas.
+ Venus' Navelwort.
+ Yellow Chrysanthemum.
+ Cyanus minor.
+ Tall Holyhock.
+ French Marigold.
+ Carnation Poppy.
+ Globe Amaranthus.
+ Yellow Lupine.
+ Indian Branching Coxcombs.
+ Iceplants.
+ Thyme.
+ Sweet Marjoram.
+ Tree Mallows.
+ Everlasting.
+ Greek Valerian.
+ Tree Primrose.
+ Canterbury Bells.
+ Purple Stock.
+ Sweet Scabiouse.
+ Columbine.
+ Pleasant-eyed Pink.
+ Dwarf Mountain Pink.
+ Sweet Rocket.
+ Horn Poppy.
+ French Honeysuckle.
+ Bloody Wallflower.
+ Sweet William.
+ Honesty (to be sold in small parcels that every one may have a little).
+ Persicaria.
+ Polyanthos.
+ 50 Different Sorts of mixed Tulip Roots.
+ Ranunculus.
+ Gladiolus.
+ Starry Scabiouse.
+ Curled Mallows.
+ Painted Lady topknot peas.
+ Colchicum.
+ Persian Iris.
+ Star Bethlehem.
+
+This list is certainly a pleasing one. It gives opportunity for flower
+borders of varied growth and rich color. There is a quality of some
+minds which may be termed historical imagination. It is the power of
+shaping from a few simple words or details of the faraway past, an ample
+picture, full of light and life, of which these meagre details are but a
+framework. Having this list of the names of these sturdy old annuals and
+perennials, what do you perceive besides the printed words? I see that
+the old mid-century garden where these seeds found a home was a cheerful
+place from earliest spring to autumn; that it had many bulbs, and
+thereafter a constant succession of warm blooms till the Coxcombs,
+Marigolds, Colchicums and Chrysanthemums yielded to New England's
+frosts. I know that the garden had beehives and that the bees were
+loved; for when they sallied out of their straw bee-skepes, these happy
+bees found their favorite blossoms planted to welcome them: Cerinthe,
+dropping with honey; Cacalia, a sister flower; Lupine, Larkspur, Sweet
+Marjoram, and Thyme--I can taste the Thyme-scented classic honey from
+that garden! There was variety of foliage as well as bloom, the dovelike
+Lavender, the glaucous Horned Poppy, the glistening Iceplants, the dusty
+Rose Campion.
+
+[Illustration: Old Garden at Duck Cove Farm in Narragansett.]
+
+Stately plants grew from the little seed-packets; Hollyhocks, Valerian,
+Canterbury Bells, Tree Primroses looked down on the low-growing herbs of
+the border; and there were vines of Convolvulus and Honeysuckle. It was
+a garden overhung by clouds of perfume from Thyme, Lavender, Sweet Peas,
+Pleasant-eyed Pink, and Stock. The garden's mistress looked well after
+her household; ample store of savory pot herbs grow among the finer
+blossoms.
+
+It was a garden for children to play in. I can see them; little boys
+with their hair tied in queues, in knee breeches and flapped coats like
+their stately fathers, running races down the garden path, as did the
+Van Cortlandt children; and demure little girls in caps and sacques and
+aprons, sitting in cubby houses under the Lilac bushes. I know what
+flowers they played with and how they played, for they were my
+great-grandmothers and grandfathers, and they played exactly what I did,
+and sang what I did when I was a child in a garden. And suddenly my
+picture expands, as a glow of patriotic interest thrills me in the
+thought that in this garden were sheltered and amused the boys of one
+hundred and forty years ago, who became the heroes of our American
+Revolution; and the girls who were Daughters of Liberty, who spun and
+wove and knit for their soldiers, and drank heroically their miserable
+Liberty tea. I fear the garden faded when bitter war scourged the land,
+when the women turned from their flower beds to the plough and the
+field, since their brothers and husbands were on the frontier.
+
+But when that winter of gloom to our country and darkness to the garden
+was ended, the flowers bloomed still more brightly, and to the cheerful
+seedlings of the old garden is now given perpetual youth and beauty;
+they are fated never to grow faded or neglected or sad, but to live and
+blossom and smile forever in the sunshine of our hearts through the
+magic power of a few printed words in a time-worn old news-sheet.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+FRONT DOORYARDS
+
+ "There are few of us who cannot remember a front yard garden which
+ seemed to us a very paradise in childhood. Whether the house was a
+ fine one and the enclosure spacious, or whether it was a small
+ house with only a narrow bit of ground in front, the yard was kept
+ with care, and was different from the rest of the land
+ altogether.... People do not know what they lose when they make way
+ with the reserve, the separateness, the sanctity, of the front yard
+ of their grandmothers. It is like writing down family secrets for
+ any one to read; it is like having everybody call you by your first
+ name, or sitting in any pew in church."
+
+ --_Country Byways_, SARAH ORNE JEWETT, 1881.
+
+
+Old New England villages and small towns and well-kept New England farms
+had universally a simple and pleasing form of garden called the front
+yard or front dooryard. A few still may be seen in conservative
+communities in the New England states and in New York or Pennsylvania. I
+saw flourishing ones this summer in Gloucester, Marblehead, and Ipswich.
+Even where the front yard was but a narrow strip of land before a tiny
+cottage, it was carefully fenced in, with a gate that was kept rigidly
+closed and latched. There seemed to be a law which shaped and bounded
+the front yard; the side fences extended from the corners of the house
+to the front fence on the edge of the road, and thus formed naturally
+the guarded parallelogram. Often the fence around the front yard was the
+only one on the farm; everywhere else were boundaries of great stone
+walls; or if there were rail fences, the front yard fence was the only
+painted one. I cannot doubt that the first gardens that our foremothers
+had, which were wholly of flowering plants, were front yards, little
+enclosures hard won from the forest.
+
+[Illustration: The Flowering Almond under the Window.]
+
+The word yard, not generally applied now to any enclosure of elegant
+cultivation, comes from the same root as the word garden. Garth is
+another derivative, and the word exists much disguised in orchard. In
+the sixteenth century yard was used in formal literature instead of
+garden; and later Burns writes of "Eden's bonnie yard, Where yeuthful
+lovers first were pair'd."
+
+This front yard was an English fashion derived from the forecourt so
+strongly advised by Gervayse Markham (an interesting old English writer
+on floriculture and husbandry), and found in front of many a yeoman's
+house, and many a more pretentious house as well in Markham's day.
+Forecourts were common in England until the middle of the eighteenth
+century, and may still be seen. The forecourt gave privacy to the house
+even when in the centre of a town. Its readoption is advised with
+handsome dwellings in England, where ground-space is limited,--and why
+not in America, too?
+
+[Illustration: Peter's Wreath.]
+
+The front yard was sacred to the best beloved, or at any rate the most
+honored, garden flowers of the house mistress, and was preserved by its
+fences from inroads of cattle, which then wandered at their will and
+were not housed, or even enclosed at night. The flowers were often of
+scant variety, but were those deemed the gentlefolk of the flower world.
+There was a clump of Daffodils and of the Poet's Narcissus in early
+spring, and stately Crown Imperial; usually, too, a few scarlet and
+yellow single Tulips, and Grape Hyacinths. Later came Phlox in
+abundance--the only native American plant,--Canterbury Bells, and ample
+and glowing London Pride. Of course there were great plants of white and
+blue Day Lilies, with their beautiful and decorative leaves, and purple
+and yellow Flower de Luce. A few old-fashioned shrubs always were seen.
+By inflexible law there must be a Lilac, which might be the aristocratic
+Persian Lilac. A Syringa, a flowering Currant, or Strawberry bush made
+sweet the front yard in spring, and sent wafts of fragrance into the
+house-windows. Spindling, rusty Snowberry bushes were by the gate, and
+Snowballs also, or our native Viburnums. Old as they seem, the Spiraeas
+and Deutzias came to us in the nineteenth century from Japan; as did the
+flowering Quinces and Cherries. The pink Flowering Almond dates back to
+the oldest front yards (see page 39), and Peter's Wreath certainly seems
+an old settler and is found now in many front yards that remain. The
+lovely full-flowered shrub of Peter's Wreath, on page 41, which was
+photographed for this book, was all that remained of a once-loved front
+yard.
+
+The glory of the front yard was the old-fashioned early red "Piny,"
+cultivated since the days of Pliny. I hear people speaking of it with
+contempt as a vulgar flower,--flaunting is the conventional derogatory
+adjective,--but I glory in its flaunting. The modern varieties, of every
+tint from white through flesh color, coral, pink, ruby color, salmon,
+and even yellow, to deep red, are as beautiful as Roses. Some are
+sweet-scented; and they have no thorns, and their foliage is ever
+perfect, so I am sure the Rose is jealous.
+
+I am as fond of the Peony as are the Chinese, among whom it is flower
+queen. It is by them regarded as an aristocratic flower; and in old New
+England towns fine Peony plants in an old garden are a pretty good
+indication of the residence of what Dr. Holmes called New England
+Brahmins. In Salem and Portsmouth are old "Pinys" that have a hundred
+blossoms at a time--a glorious sight. A Japanese name is
+"Flower-of-prosperity"; another name, "Plant-of-twenty-days," because
+its glories last during that period of time.
+
+[Illustration: Peonies in a Salem Garden.]
+
+Rhododendrons are to the modern garden what the Peony was in the
+old-fashioned flower border; and I am glad the modern flower cannot
+drive the old one out. They are equally varied in coloring, but the
+Peony is a much hardier plant, and I like it far better. It has no
+blights, no bugs, no diseases, no running out, no funguses; it
+doesn't have to be covered in winter, and it will bloom in the shade. No
+old-time or modern garden is to me fully furnished without Peonies; see
+how fair they are in this Salem garden. I would grow them in some corner
+of the garden for their splendid healthy foliage if they hadn't a
+blossom. The _Paeonia tenuifolia_ in particular has exquisite feathery
+foliage. The great Tree Peony, which came from China, grows eight feet
+or more in height, and is a triumph of the flower world; but it was not
+known to the oldest front yards. Some of the Tree Peonies have finely
+displayed leafage of a curious and very gratifying tint of green. Miss
+Jekyll, with her usual felicity, compares its blue cast with pinkish
+shading to the vari-colored metal alloys of the Japanese bronze
+workers--a striking comparison. The single Peonies of recent years are
+of great beauty, and will soon be esteemed here as in China.
+
+Not the least of the Peony's charms is its exceeding trimness and
+cleanliness. The plants always look like a well-dressed, well-shod,
+well-gloved girl of birth, breeding, and of equal good taste and good
+health; a girl who can swim, and skate, and ride, and play golf. Every
+inch has a well-set, neat, cared-for look which the shape and growth of
+the plant keeps from seeming artificial or finicky. See the white Peony
+on page 44; is it not a seemly, comely thing, as well as a beautiful
+one?
+
+No flower can be set in our garden of more distinct antiquity than the
+Peony; the Greeks believed it to be of divine origin. A green arbor of
+the fourteenth century in England is described as set around with
+Gillyflower, Tansy, Gromwell, and "Pyonys powdered ay betwene"--just as
+I like to see Peonies set to this day, "powdered" everywhere between all
+the other flowers of the border.
+
+[Illustration: White Peonies.]
+
+I am pleased to note of the common flowers of the New England front
+yard, that they are no new things; they are nearly all Elizabethan of
+date--many are older still. Lord Bacon in his essay on gardens names
+many of them, Crocus, Tulip, Hyacinth, Daffodil, Flower de Luce, double
+Peony, Lilac, Lily of the Valley.
+
+A favorite flower was the yellow garden Lily, the Lemon Lily,
+_Hemerocallis_, when it could be kept from spreading. Often its
+unbounded luxuriance exiled it from the front yard to the kitchen
+dooryard as befell the clump shown facing page 48. Its pretty
+old-fashioned name was Liricon-fancy, given, I am told, in England to
+the Lily of the Valley. I know no more satisfying sight than a good bank
+of these Lemon Lilies in full flower. Below Flatbush there used to be a
+driveway leading to an old Dutch house, set at regular intervals with
+great clumps of Lemon Lilies, and their full bloom made them glorious.
+Their power of satisfactory adaptation in our modern formal garden is
+happily shown facing page 76, in the lovely garden of Charles E. Mather,
+Esq., in Haverford, Pennsylvania.
+
+The time of fullest inflorescence of the nineteenth century front yard
+was when Phlox and Tiger Lilies bloomed; but the pinkish-orange colors
+of the latter (the oddest reds of any flower tints) blended most vilely
+and rampantly with the crimson-purple of the Phlox; and when London
+Pride joined with its glowing scarlet, the front yard fairly ached.
+Nevertheless, an adaptation of that front yard bloom can be most
+effective in a garden border, when white Phlox only is planted, and the
+Tiger Lily or cultivated stalks of our wild nodding Lily rise above the
+white trusses of bloom. These wild Lilies grow very luxuriantly in the
+garden, often towering above our heads and forming great candelabra
+bearing two score or more blooms. It is no easy task to secure their
+deep-rooted rhizomes in the meadow. I know a young man who won his
+sweetheart by the patience and assiduity with which he dug for her all
+one broiling morning to secure for her the coveted Lily roots, and
+collapsed with mild sunstroke at the finish. Her gratitude and remorse
+were equal factors in his favor.
+
+The Tiger Lily is usually thought upon as a truly old-fashioned flower,
+a veritable antique; it is a favorite of artists to place as an
+accessory in their colonial gardens, and of authors for their
+flower-beds of Revolutionary days, but it was not known either in formal
+garden or front yard, until after "the days when we lived under the
+King." The bulbs were first brought to England from Eastern Asia in 1804
+by Captain Kirkpatrick of the East India Company's Service, and shared
+with the Japan Lily the honor of being the first Eastern Lilies
+introduced into European gardens. A few years ago an old gentleman, Mr.
+Isaac Pitman, who was then about eighty-five years of age, told me that
+he recalled distinctly when Tiger Lilies first appeared in our gardens,
+and where he first saw them growing in Boston. So instead of being an
+old-time flower, or even an old-comer from the Orient, it is one of the
+novelties of this century. How readily has it made itself at home, and
+even wandered wild down our roadsides!
+
+The two simple colors of Phlox of the old-time front yard, white and
+crimson-purple, are now augmented by tints of salmon, vermilion, and
+rose. I recall with special pleasure the profuse garden decoration at
+East Hampton, Long Island, of a pure cherry-colored Phlox, generally a
+doubtful color to me, but there so associated with the white blooms of
+various other plants, and backed by a high hedge covered solidly with
+blossoming Honeysuckle, that it was wonderfully successful.
+
+To other members of the Phlox family, all natives of our own continent,
+the old front yard owed much; the Moss Pink sometimes crowded out both
+Grass and its companion the Periwinkle; it is still found in our
+gardens, and bountifully also in our fields; either in white or pink, it
+is one of the satisfactions of spring, and its cheerful little blossom
+is of wonderful use in many waste places. An old-fashioned bloom, the
+low-growing _Phlox amoena_, with its queerly fuzzy leaves and bright
+crimson blossoms, was among the most distinctly old-fashioned flowers of
+the front yard. It was tolerated rather than cultivated, as was its
+companion, the Arabis or Rock Cress--both crowding, monopolizing
+creatures. I remember well how they spread over the beds and up the
+grass banks in my mother's garden, how sternly they were uprooted, in
+spite of the pretty name of the Arabis--"Snow in Summer."
+
+Sometimes the front yard path had edgings of sweet single or lightly
+double white or tinted Pinks, which were not deemed as choice as Box
+edgings. Frequently large Box plants clipped into simple and natural
+shapes stood at the side of the doorstep, usually in the home of the
+well-to-do. A great shell might be on either side of the door-sill, if
+there chanced to be seafaring men-folk who lived or visited under the
+roof-tree. Annuals were few in number; sturdy old perennial plants of
+many years' growth were the most honored dwellers in the front yard,
+true representatives of old families. The Roses were few and poor, for
+there was usually some great tree just without the gate, an Elm or
+Larch, whose shadow fell far too near and heavily for the health of
+Roses. Sometimes there was a prickly semidouble yellow Rose, called by
+us a Scotch Rose, a Sweet Brier, or a rusty-flowered white Rose,
+similar, though inferior, to the Madame Plantier. A new fashion of
+trellises appeared in the front yard about sixty years ago, and crimson
+Boursault Roses climbed up them as if by magic.
+
+One marked characteristic of the front yard was its lack of weeds; few
+sprung up, none came to seed-time; the enclosure was small, and it was a
+mark of good breeding to care for it well. Sometimes, however, the earth
+was covered closely under shrubs and plants with the cheerful little
+Ladies' Delights, and they blossomed in the chinks of the bricked path
+and under the Box edges. Ambrosia, too, grew everywhere, but these were
+welcome--they were not weeds.
+
+Our old New England houses were suited in color and outline to their
+front yards as to our landscape. Lowell has given in verse a good
+description of the kind of New England house that always had a front
+dooryard of flowers.
+
+[Illustration: Yellow Day Lilies.]
+
+ "On a grass-green swell
+ That towards the south with sweet concessions fell,
+ It dwelt retired, and half had grown to be
+ As aboriginal as rock or tree.
+ It nestled close to earth, and seemed to brood
+ O'er homely thoughts in a half-conscious mood.
+ If paint it e'er had known, it knew no more
+ Than yellow lichens spattered thickly o'er
+ That soft lead gray, less dark beneath the eaves,
+ Which the slow brush of wind and weather leaves.
+ The ample roof sloped backward to the ground
+ And vassal lean-tos gathered thickly round,
+ Patched on, as sire or son had felt the need.
+ But the great chimney was the central thought.
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ It rose broad-shouldered, kindly, debonair,
+ Its warm breath whitening in the autumn air."
+
+Sarah Orne Jewett, in the plaint of _A Mournful Villager_, has drawn a
+beautiful and sympathetic picture of these front yards, and she deplores
+their passing. I mourn them as I do every fenced-in or hedged-in garden
+enclosure. The sanctity and reserve of these front yards of our
+grandmothers was somewhat emblematic of woman's life of that day: it was
+restricted, and narrowed to a small outlook and monotonous likeness to
+her neighbor's; but it was a life easily satisfied with small pleasures,
+and it was comely and sheltered and carefully kept, and pleasant to the
+home household; and these were no mean things.
+
+The front yard was never a garden of pleasure; children could not play
+in these precious little enclosed plots, and never could pick the
+flowers--front yard and flowers were both too much respected. Only
+formal visitors entered therein, visitors who opened the gate and closed
+it carefully behind them, and knocked slowly with the brass knocker, and
+were ushered in through the ceremonious front door and the little
+ill-contrived entry, to the stiff fore-room or parlor. The parson and
+his wife entered that portal, and sometimes a solemn would-be
+sweetheart, or the guests at a tea party. It can be seen that every one
+who had enough social dignity to have a front door and a parlor, and
+visitors thereto, also desired a front yard with flowers as the external
+token of that honored standing. It was like owning a pew in church; you
+could be a Christian without having a pew, but not a respected one.
+Sometimes when there was a "vendue" in the house, reckless folk opened
+the front gate, and even tied it back. I attended one where the
+auctioneer boldly set the articles out through the windows under the
+Lilac bushes and even on the precious front yard plants. A vendue and a
+funeral were the only gatherings in country communities when the entire
+neighborhood came freely to an old homestead, when all were at liberty
+to enter the front dooryard. At the sad time when a funeral took place
+in the house, the front gate was fastened widely open, and solemn
+men-neighbors, in Sunday garments, stood rather uncomfortably and
+awkwardly around the front yard as the women passed into the house of
+mourning and were seated within. When the sad services began, the men
+too entered and stood stiffly by the door. Then through the front door,
+down the mossy path of the front yard, and through the open front gate
+was borne the master, the mistress, and then their children, and
+children's children. All are gone from our sight, many from our memory,
+and often too from our ken, while the Lilacs and Peonies and Flowers de
+Luce still blossom and flourish with perennial youth, and still claim us
+as friends.
+
+At the side of the house or by the kitchen door would be seen many
+thrifty blooms: poles of Scarlet Runners, beds of Portulacas and
+Petunias, rows of Pinks, bunches of Marigolds, level expanses of Sweet
+Williams, banks of cheerful Nasturtiums, tangles of Morning-glories and
+long rows of stately Hollyhocks, which were much admired, but were
+seldom seen in the front yard, which was too shaded for them. Weeds grew
+here at the kitchen door in a rank profusion which was hard to conquer;
+but here the winter's Fuchsias or Geraniums stood in flower pots in the
+sunlight, and the tubs of Oleanders and Agapanthus Lilies.
+
+The flowers of the front yard seemed to bear a more formal, a "company"
+aspect; conventionality rigidly bound them. Bachelor's Buttons might
+grow there by accident, but Marigolds never were tolerated,--they were
+pot herbs. Sunflowers were not even permitted in the flower beds at the
+side of the house unless these stretched down to the vegetable beds.
+Outside the front yard would be a rioting and cheerful growth of pink
+Bouncing Bet, or of purple Honesty, and tall straggling plants of a
+certain small flowered, ragged Campanula, and a white Mallow with
+flannelly leaves which, doubtless, aspired to inhabit the sacred bounds
+of the front yard (and probably dwelt there originally), and often were
+gladly permitted to grow in side gardens or kitchen dooryards, but which
+were regarded as interloping weeds by the guardians of the front yard,
+and sternly exiled. Sometimes a bed of these orange-tawny Day Lilies
+which had once been warmly welcomed from the Orient, and now were not
+wanted anywhere by any one, kept company with the Bouncing Bet, and
+stretched cheerfully down the roadside.
+
+[Illustration: Orange Day Lilies.]
+
+When the fences disappeared with the night rambles of the cows, the
+front yards gradually changed character; the tender blooms vanished,
+but the tall shrubs and the Peonies and Flower de Luce sturdily grew and
+blossomed, save where that dreary destroyer of a garden crept in--the
+desire for a lawn. The result was then a meagre expanse of poorly kept
+grass, with no variety, color, or change,--neither lawn nor front yard.
+It is ever a pleasure to me when driving in a village street or a
+country road to find one of these front yards still enclosed, or even to
+note in front of many houses the traces of a past front yard still
+plainly visible in the flourishing old-fashioned plants of many years'
+growth.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+VARIED GARDENS FAIR
+
+ "And all without were walkes and alleys dight
+ With divers trees enrang'd in even rankes;
+ And here and there were pleasant arbors pight
+ And shadie seats, and sundry flowering bankes
+ To sit and rest the walkers wearie shankes."
+
+ --_Faerie Queene_, EDMUND SPENSER.
+
+
+Many simple forms of gardens were common besides the enclosed front
+yard; and as wealth poured in on the colonies, the beautiful gardens so
+much thought of in England were copied here, especially by wealthy
+merchants, as is noted in the first chapter of this book, and by the
+provincial governors and their little courts; the garden of Governor
+Hutchinson, in Milford, Massachusetts, is stately still and little
+changed.
+
+[Illustration: Preston Garden.]
+
+English gardens, at the time of the settlement of America, had passed
+beyond the time when, as old Gervayse Markham said, "Of all the best
+Ornaments used in our English gardens, Knots and Mazes are the most
+ancient." A maze was a placing of low garden hedges of Privet, Box, or
+Hyssop, usually set in concentric circles which enclosed paths, that
+opened into each other by such artful contrivance that it was difficult
+to find one's way in and out through these bewildering paths. "When well
+formed, of a man's height, your friend may perhaps wander in gathering
+berries as he cannot recover himself without your help."
+
+The maze was not a thing of beauty, it was "nothing for sweetness and
+health," to use Lord Bacon's words; it was only a whimsical notion of
+gardening amusement, pleasing to a generation who liked to have hidden
+fountains in their gardens to sprinkle suddenly the unwary. I doubt if
+any mazes were ever laid out in America, though I have heard vague
+references to one in Virginia. Knots had been the choice adornment of
+the Tudor garden. They were not wholly a thing of the past when we had
+here our first gardens, and they have had a distinct influence on garden
+laying-out till our own day.
+
+An Elizabethan poet wrote:--
+
+ "My Garden sweet, enclosed with walles strong,
+ Embanked with benches to sitt and take my rest;
+ The knots so enknotted it cannot be expressed
+ The arbores and alyes so pleasant and so dulce."
+
+These garden knots were not flower beds edged with Box or Rosemary, with
+narrow walks between the edgings, as were the parterres of our later
+formal gardens. They were square, ornamental beds, each of which had a
+design set in some close-growing, trim plant, clipped flatly across the
+top, and the design filled in with colored earth or sand; and with no
+dividing paths. Elaborate models in complicated geometrical pattern were
+given in gardeners' books, for setting out these knots, which were first
+drawn on paper and subdivided into squares; then the square of earth was
+similarly divided, and set out by precise rules. William Lawson, the
+Izaak Walton of gardeners, gave, as a result of forty-eight years of
+experience, some very attractive directions for large "knottys" with
+different "thrids" of flowers, each of one color, which made the design
+appear as if "made of diverse colored ribands." One of his knots, from
+_A New Orchard and Garden_ 1618, being a garden fashion in vogue when my
+forbears came to America, I have chosen as a device for the dedication
+of this book, thinking it, in Lawson's words, "so comely, and orderly
+placed, and so intermingled, that one looking thereon cannot but
+wonder." His knots had significant names, such as "Cinkfoyle; Flower de
+Luce; Trefoyle; Frette; Lozenge; Groseboowe; Diamond; Ovall; Maze."
+
+Gervayse Markham gives various knot patterns to be bordered with Box cut
+eighteen inches broad at the bottom and kept flat at the top--with the
+ever present thought for the fine English linen. He has a varied list of
+circular, diamond-shaped, mixed, and "single impleated knots."
+
+[Illustration: Box-edged Parterre at Hampton.]
+
+These garden knots were mildly sneered at by Lord Bacon; he said, "they
+be but toys, you see as good sights many times in tarts;" still I think
+they must have been quaint, and I should like to see a garden laid out
+to-day in these pretty Elizabethan knots, set in the old patterns, and
+with the old flowers. Nor did Parkinson and other practical gardeners
+look with favor on "curiously knotted gardens," though all gave designs
+to "satisfy the desires" of their readers. "Open knots" were preferred;
+these were made with borders of lead, tiles, boards, or even the
+shankbones of sheep, "which will become white and prettily grace out the
+garden,"--a fashion I saw a few years ago around flower beds in
+Charlton, Massachusetts. "Round whitish pebble stones" for edgings were
+Parkinson's own invention, and proud he was of it, simple as it seems to
+us. These open knots were then filled in, but "thin and sparingly," with
+"English Flowers"; or with "Out-Landish Flowers," which were flowers
+fetched from foreign parts.
+
+The parterre succeeded the knot, and has been used in gardens till the
+present day. Parterres were of different combinations, "well-contriv'd
+and ingenious." The "parterre of cut-work" was a Box-bordered formal
+flower garden, of which the garden at Hampton, Maryland (pages 57, 60,
+and 95), is a striking and perfect example; also the present garden at
+Mount Vernon (opposite page 12), wherein carefully designed flower beds,
+edged with Box, are planted with variety of flowers, and separated by
+paths. Sometimes, of old, fine white sand was carefully strewn on the
+earth under the flowers. The "parterre a l'Anglaise" had an elaborate
+design of vari-shaped beds edged with Box, but enclosing grass instead
+of flowers. In the "parterre de broderie" the Box-edged beds were filled
+with vari-colored earths and sands. Black earth could be made of iron
+filings; red earth of pounded tiles. This last-named parterre differed
+from a knot solely in having the paths among the beds. The _Retir'd
+Gard'ner_ gives patterns for ten parterres.
+
+The main walks which formed the basis of the garden design had in
+ancient days a singular name--forthrights; these were ever to be
+"spacious and fair," and neatly spread with colored sands or gravel.
+Parkinson says, "The fairer and larger your allies and walks be the more
+grace your garden should have, the lesse harm the herbes and flowers
+shall receive, and the better shall your weeders cleanse both the bed
+and the allies." "Covert-walks," or "shade-alleys," had trees meeting in
+an arch over them.
+
+A curious term, found in references to old American flower beds and
+garden designs, as well as English ones, is the "goose-foot." A
+"goose-foot" consisted of three flower beds or three avenues radiating
+rather closely together from a small semicircle; and in some places and
+under some conditions it is still a charming and striking design, as you
+stand at the heel of the design and glance down the three avenues.
+
+[Illustration: Parterre and Clipped Box at Hampton.]
+
+In all these flower beds Box was the favorite edging, but many other
+trim edgings have been used in parterres and borders by those who love
+not Box. Bricks were used, and boards; an edging of boards was not as
+pretty as one of flowers, but it kept the beds trimly in place; a garden
+thus edged is shown on page 63 which realizes this description of the
+pleasure-garden in the _Scots Gard'ner_: "The Bordures box'd and planted
+with variety of fine Flowers orderly Intermixt, Weeded, Mow'd, Rolled
+and Kept all Clean and Handsome." Germander and Rosemary were old
+favorites for edging. I have seen snowy edgings of Candy-tuft and Sweet
+Alyssum, setting off well the vari-colored blooms of the border. One of
+Sweet Alyssum is shown on page 256. Ageratum is a satisfactory edging.
+Thyme is of ancient use, but rather unmanageable; one garden owner has
+set his edgings of Moneywort, otherwise Creeping-jenny. I should be loth
+to use Moneywort as an edging; I would not care for its yellow flowers
+in that place, though I find them very kindly and cheerful on dull banks
+or in damp spots, under the drip of trees and eaves, or better still,
+growing gladly in the flower pot of the poor. I fear if Moneywort
+thrived enough to make a close, suitable edging, that it would thrive
+too well, and would swamp the borders with its underground runners. The
+name Moneywort is akin to its older title Herb-twopence, or Twopenny
+Grass. Turner (1548) says the latter name was given from the leaves all
+"standying together of ech syde of the stalke lyke pence." The striped
+leaves of one variety of Day Lily make pretty edgings. Those from a
+Salem garden are here shown.
+
+We often see in neglected gardens in New England, or by the roadside
+where no gardens now exist, a dense gray-green growth of Lavender
+Cotton, "the female plant of Southernwood," which was brought here by
+the colonists and here will ever remain. It was used as an edging, and
+is very pretty when it can be controlled. I know two or three old
+gardens where it is thus employed.
+
+Sometimes in driving along a country road you are startled by a
+concentration of foliage and bloom, a glimpse of a tiny farm-house, over
+which are clustered and heaped, and round which are gathered, close
+enough to be within touch from door or window, flowers in a crowded
+profusion ample to fill a large flower bed. Such is the mass of June
+bloom at Wilbur Farm in old Narragansett (page 290)--a home of flowers
+and bees. Often by the side of the farm-house is a little garden or
+flower bed containing some splendid examples of old-time flowers. The
+splendid "running ribbons" of Snow Pinks, on page 292, are in another
+Narragansett garden that is a bower of blossoms. Thrift has been a
+common edging since the days of the old herbalist Gerarde.
+
+ "We have a bright little garden, down on a sunny slope,
+ Bordered with sea-pinks and sweet with the songs and blossoms of
+ hope."
+
+The garden of Secretary William H. Seward (in Auburn, New York), so
+beloved by him in his lifetime, is shown on page 146 and facing page
+134. In this garden some beds are edged with Periwinkle, others with
+Polyanthus, and some with Ivy which Mr. Seward brought from Abbotsford
+in 1836. This garden was laid out in its present form in 1816, and the
+sun-dial was then set in its place. The garden has been enlarged, but
+not changed, the old "George II. Roses" and York and Lancaster Roses
+still grow and blossom, and the lovely arches of single Michigan Roses
+still flourish. In it are many flowers and fruits unusual in America,
+among them a bed of Alpine strawberries.
+
+King James I. of Scotland thus wrote of the garden which he saw from his
+prison window in Windsor Castle:--
+
+ "A Garden fair, and in the Corners set
+ An Herbere greene, with Wandis long and small
+ Railit about."
+
+These wandis were railings which were much used before Box edgings
+became universal. Sometimes they were painted the family colors, as at
+Hampton Court they were green and white, the Tudor colors. These
+"wandis" still are occasionally seen. In the Berkshire Hills I drove
+past an old garden thus trimly enclosed in little beds. The rails were
+painted a dull light brown, almost the color of some tree trunks; and
+Larkspur, Foxglove, and other tall flowers crowded up to them and hung
+their heads over the top rails as children hang over a fence or a gate.
+I thought it a neat, trim fashion, not one I would care for in my own
+garden, yet not to be despised in the garden of another.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright, Waldstein, Fairfield,
+Conn.]
+
+A garden enclosed! so full of suggestion are these simple words to me,
+so constant is my thought that an ideal flower garden must be an
+enclosed garden, that I look with regret upon all beautiful flower beds
+that are not enclosed, not shut in a frame of green hedges, or high
+walls, or vine-covered fences and dividing trees. It may be selfish to
+hide so much beauty from general view; but until our dwelling-houses are
+made with uncurtained glass walls, that all the world may see
+everything, let those who have ample grounds enclose at least a portion
+for the sight of friends only.
+
+In the heart of Worcester there is a fine old mansion with ample lawns,
+great trees, and flowering shrubs that all may see over the garden fence
+as they pass by. Flowers bloom lavishly at one side of the house; and
+the thoughtless stroller never knows that behind the house, stretching
+down between the rear gardens and walls of neighboring homes, is a long
+enclosure of loveliness--sequestered, quiet, full of refreshment to the
+spirits. We think of the "Old Garden" of Margaret Deland:--
+
+ "The Garden glows
+ And 'gainst its walls the city's heart still beats.
+ And out from it each summer wind that blows
+ Carries some sweetness to the tired streets!"
+
+[Illustration: Shaded Walk in Garden of Miss Harriet P. F. Burnside,
+Worcester, Massachusetts.]
+
+There is a shaded walk in this garden which is a thing of solace and
+content to all who tread its pathway; a bit is shown opposite this page,
+overhung with shrubs of Lilac, Syringa, Strawberry Bush, Flowering
+Currant, all the old treelike things, so fair-flowered and sweet-scented
+in spring, so heavy-leaved and cool-shadowing in midsummer: what
+pleasure would there be in this shaded walk if this garden were
+separated from the street only by stone curbing or a low rail? And there
+is an old sun-dial too in this enclosed garden! I fear the street imps
+of a crowded city would quickly destroy the old monitor were it in an
+open garden; and they would make sad havoc, too, of the Roses and
+Larkspurs (page 65) so tenderly reared by the two sisters who
+together loved and cared for this "garden enclosed." Great trees are at
+the edges of this garden, and the line of tall shrubs is carried out by
+the lavish vines and Roses on fences and walls. Within all this border
+of greenery glow the clustered gems of rare and beautiful flowers, till
+the whole garden seems like some rich jewel set purposely to be worn in
+honor over the city's heart--a clustered jewel, not one to be displayed
+carelessly and heedlessly.
+
+[Illustration: Roses and Larkspur in the Garden of Miss Harriet P. F.
+Burnside, Worcester, Massachusetts.]
+
+Salem houses and gardens are like Salem people. Salem houses present to
+you a serene and dignified front, gracious yet reserved, not thrusting
+forward their choicest treasures to the eyes of passing strangers; but
+behind the walls of the houses, enclosed from public view, lie cherished
+gardens, full of the beauty of life. Such, in their kind, are Salem
+folk.
+
+I know no more speaking, though silent, criticism than those old Salem
+gardens afford upon the modern fashion in American towns of pulling down
+walls and fences, removing the boundaries of lawns, and living in full
+view of every passer-by, in a public grassy park. It is pleasant, I
+suppose, for the passer-by; but homes are not made for passers-by. Old
+Salem gardens lie behind the house, out of sight--you have to hunt for
+them. They are terraced down if they stretch to the water-side; they are
+enclosed with hedges, and set behind high vine-covered fences, and low
+out-buildings; and planted around with great trees: thus they give to
+each family that secluded centring of family life which is the very
+essence and being of a home. I sat through a June afternoon in a Salem
+garden whose gate is within a stone's throw of a great theatre, but a
+few hundred feet from lines of electric cars and a busy street of trade,
+scarce farther from lines of active steam cars, and with a great power
+house for a close neighbor. Yet we were as secluded, as embowered in
+vines and trees, with beehives and rabbit hutches and chicken coops for
+happy children at the garden's end, as truly in beautiful privacy, as if
+in the midst of a hundred acres. Could the sense of sound be as
+sheltered by the enclosing walls as the sense of sight, such a garden
+were a city paradise.
+
+[Illustration: The Homely Back Yard.]
+
+There is scant regularity in shape in Salem gardens; there is no search
+for exact dimensions. Little narrow strips of flower beds run down from
+the main garden in any direction or at any angle where the fortunate
+owner can buy a few feet of land. Salem gardens do not change with the
+whims of fancy, either in the shape or the planting. A few new flowers
+find place there, such as the _Anemone Japonica_ and the Japanese
+shrubs; for they are akin in flower sentiment, and consort well with the
+old inhabitants. There are many choice flowers and fruits in these
+gardens. In the garden of the Manning homestead (opposite page 112)
+grows a flourishing Fig tree, and other rare fruits; for fifty years ago
+this garden was known as the Pomological Garden. It is fitting it should
+be the home of two Robert Mannings--both well-known names in the history
+of horticulture in Massachusetts.
+
+[Illustration: Covered Well at Home of Bishop Berkeley, Whitehall, Rhode
+Island.]
+
+The homely back yard of an old house will often possess a trim and
+blooming flower border cutting off the close approach of the vegetable
+beds (see opposite page 66). These back yards, with the covered Grape
+arbors, the old pumps, and bricked paths, are cheerful, wholesome
+places, generally of spotless cleanliness and weedless flower beds. I
+know one such back yard where the pump was the first one set in the
+town, and children were taken there from a distance to see the wondrous
+sight. Why are all the old appliances for raising water so pleasing? A
+well-sweep is of course picturesque, with its long swinging pole, and
+you seem to feel the refreshment and purity of the water when you see it
+brought up from such a distance; and an old roofed well with bucket,
+such as this one still in use at Bishop Berkeley's Rhode Island home is
+ever a homelike and companionable object. But a pump is really an
+awkward-looking piece of mechanism, and hasn't a vestige of beauty in
+its lines; yet it has something satisfying about it; it may be its
+domesticity, its homeliness, its simplicity. We have gained infinitely
+in comfort in our perfect water systems and lavish water of to-day, but
+we have lost the gratification of the senses which came from the sight
+and sound of freshly drawn or running water. Much of the delight in a
+fountain comes, not only from the beauty of its setting and the graceful
+shape of its jets, but simply from the sight of the water.
+
+Sometimes a graceful and picturesque growth of vines will beautify gate
+posts, a fence, or a kitchen doorway in a wonderfully artistic and
+pleasing fashion. On page 70 is shown the sheltered doorway of the
+kitchen of a fine old stone farm-house called, from its hedges of Osage
+Orange, "The Hedges." It stands in the village of New Hope, County
+Bucks, Pennsylvania. In 1718 the tract of which this farm of over two
+hundred acres is but a portion was deeded by the Penns to their kinsman,
+the direct ancestor of the present owner, John Schofield Williams, Esq.
+This is but one of the scores of examples I know where the same estate
+has been owned in one family for nearly two centuries, sometimes even
+for two hundred and fifty years; and in several cases where the deed
+from the Indian sachem to the first colonist is the only deed there has
+ever been, the estate having never changed ownership save by direct
+bequest. I have three such cases among my own kinsfolk.
+
+[Illustration: Kitchen Doorway and Porch at the Hedges.]
+
+Another form of garden and mode of planting which was in vogue in the
+"early thirties" is shown facing page 92. This pillared house and the
+stiff garden are excellent types; they are at Napanock, County Ulster,
+New York. Such a house and grounds indicated the possession of
+considerable wealth when they were built and laid out, for both were
+costly. The semicircular driveway swept up to the front door, dividing
+off Box-edged parterres like those of the day of Queen Anne. These
+parterres were sparsely filled, the sunnier beds being set with Spring
+bulbs; and there were always the yellow Day Lilies somewhere in the
+flower beds, and the white and blue Day Lilies, the common Funkias.
+Formal urns were usually found in the parterres and sometimes a great
+cone or ball of clipped Box. These gardens had some universal details,
+they always had great Snowball bushes, and Syringas, and usually white
+Roses, chiefly Madame Plantiers; the piazza trellises had old climbing
+Roses, the Queen of the Prairie or Boursault Roses. These gardens are
+often densely overshadowed with great evergreen trees grown from the
+crowded planting of seventy years ago; none are cut down, and if one
+dies its trunk still stands, entwined with Woodbine. I don't know that
+we would lay out and plant just such a garden to-day, any more than we
+would build exactly such a house; but I love to see both, types of the
+refinement of their day, and I deplore any changes. An old Southern
+house of allied form is shown on page 72, and its garden facing page
+70,--Greenwood, in Thomasville, Georgia; but of course this garden has
+far more lavish and rich bloom. The decoration of this house is most
+interesting--a conventionalized Magnolia, and the garden is surrounded
+with splendid Magnolias and Crape Myrtles. The border edgings in this
+garden are lines of bricks set overlapping in a curious manner. They
+serve to keep the beds firmly in place, and the bricks are covered over
+with an inner edging of thrifty Violets. Curious tubs and boxes for
+plants are made of bricks set solidly in mortar. The garden is glorious
+with Roses, which seem to consort so well with Magnolias and Violets.
+
+[Illustration: Greenwood, Thomasville, Georgia.]
+
+I love a Dutch garden, "circummured" with brick. By a Dutch garden, I
+mean a small garden, oblong or square, sunk about three or four feet in
+a lawn--so that when surrounded by brick walls they seem about two feet
+high when viewed outside, but are five feet or more high from within the
+garden. There are brick or stone steps in the middle of each of the four
+walls by which to descend to the garden, which may be all planted with
+flowers, but preferably should have set borders of flowers with a
+grass-plot in the centre. On either side of the steps should be brick
+posts surmounted by Dutch pots with plants, or by balls of stone.
+Planted with bulbs, these gardens in their flowering time are, as old
+Parkinson said, a "perfect fielde of delite." We have very pretty Dutch
+gardens, so called, in America, but their chief claim to being Dutch is
+that they are set with bulbs, and have Delft or other earthen pots or
+boxes for formal plants or shrubs.
+
+Sunken gardens should be laid out under the supervision of an
+intelligent landscape architect; and even then should have a reason for
+being sunken other than a whim or increase in costliness. I visited last
+summer a beautiful estate which had a deep sunken Dutch garden with a
+very low wall. It lay at the right side of the house at a little
+distance; and beyond it, in full view of the peristyle, extended the
+only squalid objects in the horizon. A garden on the level, well
+planted, with distant edging of shrubbery, would have hidden every ugly
+blemish and been a thing of beauty. As it is now, there can be seen from
+the house nothing of the Dutch garden but a foot or two of the tops of
+several clipped trees, looking like very poor, stunted shrubs. I must
+add that this garden, with its low wall, has been a perfect man-trap. It
+has been evident that often, on dark nights, workmen who have sought a
+"short cut" across the grounds have fallen over the shallow wall, to the
+gardener's sorrow, and the bulbs' destruction. Once, at dawn, the
+unhappy gardener found an ancient horse peacefully feeding among the
+Hyacinths and Tulips. He said he didn't like the grass in his new
+pasture nor the sudden approach to it; that he was too old for such
+new-fangled ways. I know another estate near Philadelphia, where the
+sinking of a garden revealed an exquisite view of distant hills; such a
+garden has reason for its form.
+
+[Illustration: Roses and Violets in Garden at Greenwood, Thomasville,
+Georgia.]
+
+We have had few water-gardens in America till recent years; and there
+are some drawbacks to their presence near our homes, as I was vividly
+aware when I visited one in a friend's garden early in May this year.
+Water-hyacinths were even then in bloom, and two or three exquisite
+Lilies; and the Lotus leaves rose up charmingly from the surface of the
+tank. Less charmingly rose up also a cloud of vicious mosquitoes, who
+greeted the newcomer with a warm chorus of welcome. As our newspapers at
+that time were filled with plans for the application of kerosene to
+every inch of water-surface, such as I saw in these Lily tanks,
+accompanied by magnified drawings of dreadful malaria-bearing insects, I
+fled from them, preferring to resign both _Nymphaea_ and _Anopheles_.
+
+[Illustration: Water Garden at Sylvester Manor, Shelter Island, New
+York.]
+
+After the introduction to English folk of that wonder of the world, the
+Victoria Regia, it was cultivated by enthusiastic flower lovers in
+America, and was for a time the height of the floral fashion. Never has
+the glorious Victoria Regia and scarce any other flower been described
+as by Colonel Higginson, a wonderful, a triumphant word picture. I was a
+very little child when I saw that same lovely Lily in leaf and flower
+that he called his neighbor; but I have never forgotten it, nor how
+afraid I was of it; for some one wished to lift me upon the great leaf
+to see whether it would hold me above the water. We had heard that the
+native children in South America floated on the leaves. I objected to
+this experiment with vehemence; but my mother noted that I was no more
+frightened than was the faithful gardener at the thought of the possible
+strain on his precious plant of the weight of a sturdy child of six or
+seven years. I have seen the Victoria Regia leaves of late years, but
+I seldom hear of its blossoming; but alas! we take less heed of the
+blooming of unusual plants than we used to thirty or forty years ago.
+Then people thronged a greenhouse to see a new Rose or Camellia
+Japonica; even a Night-blooming Cereus attracted scores of visitors to
+any house where it blossomed. And a fine Cactus of one of our neighbors
+always held a crowded reception when in rich bloom. It was a part of the
+"Flower Exchange," an interest all had for the beautiful flowers of
+others, a part of the old neighborly life.
+
+[Illustration: Terrace Wall at Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey.]
+
+Within the past five or six years there have been laid out in America,
+at the country seats of men of wealth and culture, a great number of
+formal gardens,--Italian gardens, some of them are worthily named, as
+they have been shaped and planted in conformity with the best laws and
+rules of Italian garden-making--that special art. On this page is shown
+the finely proportioned terrace wall, and opposite the upper terrace and
+formal garden of Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey, the country seat
+of M. Taylor Pyne, Esq. This garden affords a good example of the accord
+which should ever exist between the garden and its surroundings. The
+name, Drumthwacket--a wooded hill--is a most felicitous one; the place
+is part of the original grant to William Penn, and has remained in the
+possession of one family until late in the nineteenth century. From this
+beautifully wooded hill the terrace-garden overlooks the farm buildings,
+the linked ponds, the fertile fields and meadows; a serene pastoral
+view, typical of the peaceful landscape of that vicinity--yet it was
+once the scene of fiercest battle. For the Drumthwacket farm is the
+battle-ground of that important encounter of 1777 between the British
+and the Continental troops, known as the Battle of Princeton, the
+turning point of the Revolution, in which Washington was victorious. To
+this day, cannon ball and grape shot are dug up in the Drumthwacket
+fields. The Lodge built in 1696 was, at Washington's request, the
+shelter for the wounded British officers; and the Washington Spring in
+front of the Lodge furnished water to Washington. The group of trees on
+the left of the upper pond marks the sheltered and honored graves of the
+British soldiers, where have slept for one hundred and twenty-four
+years those killed at this memorable encounter. If anything could cement
+still more closely the affections of the English and American peoples,
+it would be the sight of the tenderly sheltered graves of British
+soldiers in America, such as these at Drumthwacket and other historic
+fields on our Eastern coast. At Concord how faithfully stand the
+sentinel pines over the British dead of the Battle of Concord, who thus
+repose, shut out from the tread of heedless feet yet ever present for
+the care and thought of Concord people.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Avonwood Court, Haverford, Pennsylvania,
+Country-seat of Charles E. Mather, Esq.]
+
+We have older Italian gardens. Some of them are of great loveliness,
+among them the unique and dignified garden of Hollis H. Hunnewell, Esq.,
+but many of the newer ones, even in their few summers, have become of
+surprising grace and beauty, and their exquisite promise causes a glow
+of delight to every garden lover. I have often tried to analyze and
+account for the great charm of a formal garden, to one who loves so well
+the unrestrained and lavished blossoming of a flower border crowded with
+nature-arranged and disarranged blooms. A chance sentence in the letter
+of a flower-loving friend, one whose refined taste is an inherent
+portion of her nature, runs thus:--
+
+ "I have the same love, the same sense of perfect satisfaction, in
+ the old formal garden that I have in the sonnet in poetry, in the
+ Greek drama as contrasted with the modern drama; something within
+ me is ever drawn toward that which is restrained and classic."
+
+In these few words, then, is defined the charm of the formal garden--a
+well-ordered, a classic restraint.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey.]
+
+Some of the new formal gardens seem imperfect in design and inadequate
+in execution; worse still, they are unsuited to their surroundings; but
+gracious nature will give even to these many charms of color, fragrance,
+and shape through lavish plant growth. I have had given to me sets of
+beautiful photographs of these new Italian gardens, which I long to
+include with my pictures of older flower beds; but I cannot do so in
+full in a book on Old-time Gardens, though they are copied from far
+older gardens than our American ones. I give throughout my book
+occasional glimpses of detail in modern formal gardens; and two examples
+may be fitly illustrated and described in comparative fulness in this
+book, because they are not only unusual in their beauty and promise, but
+because they have in plan and execution some bearing on my special
+presentation of gardens. These two are the gardens of Avonwood Court in
+Haverford, Pennsylvania, the country-seat of Charles E. Mather, Esq., of
+Philadelphia; and of Yaddo, in Saratoga, New York, the country-seat of
+Spencer Trask, Esq., of New York.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Avonwood Court, Haverford, Pennsylvania.]
+
+The garden at Avonwood Court was designed and laid out in 1896 by Mr.
+Percy Ash. The flower planting was done by Mr. John Cope; and the garden
+is delightsome in proportions, contour, and aspect. Its claim to
+illustrative description in this book lies in the fact that it is
+planted chiefly with old-fashioned flowers, and its beds are laid out
+and bordered with thriving Box in a truly old-time mode. It affords a
+striking example of the beauty and satisfaction that can come from the
+use of Box as an edging, and old-time flowers as a filling of these
+beds. Among the two hundred different plants are great rows of yellow
+Day Lilies shown in the view facing page 76; regular plantings of
+Peonies; borders of Flower de Luce; banks of Lilies of the Valley; rows
+of white Fraxinella and Lupine, beds of fringed Poppies, sentinels of
+Yucca--scores of old favorites have grown and thriven in the cheery
+manner they ever display when they are welcome and beloved. The sun-dial
+in this garden is shown facing page 82; it was designed by Mr. Percy
+Ash, and can be regarded as a model of simple outlines, good
+proportions, careful placing, and symmetrical setting. By placing I mean
+that it is in the right site in relation to the surrounding flower beds,
+and to the general outlines of the garden; it is a dignified and
+significant garden centre. By setting I mean its being raised to proper
+prominence in the garden scheme, by being placed at the top of a
+platform formed of three circular steps of ample proportion and suitable
+height, that its pedestal is also of the right size and not so high but
+one can, when standing on the top step, read with ease the dial's
+response to our question, "What's the time o' the day?" The hedges and
+walls of Honeysuckle, Roses, and other flowering vines that surround
+this garden have thriven wonderfully in the five years of the garden's
+life, and look like settings of many years. The simple but graceful wall
+seat gives some idea of the symmetrical and simple garden
+furnishings, as well as the profusion of climbing vines that form the
+garden's boundaries.
+
+[Illustration: Entrance Porch and Gate to the Rose Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+This book bears on the title-page a redrawing of a charming old woodcut
+of the eighteenth century, a very good example of the art thought and
+art execution of that day, being the work of a skilful designer. It is
+from an old stilted treatise on orchards and gardens, and it depicts a
+cheerful little Love, with anxious face and painstaking care, measuring
+and laying out the surface of the earth in a garden. On his either side
+are old clipped Yews; and at his feet a spade and pots of garden
+flowers, among them the Fritillary so beloved of all flower lovers and
+herbalists of that day, a significant flower--a flower of meaning and
+mystery. This drawing may be taken as an old-time emblem, and a happy
+one, to symbolize the making of the beautiful modern Rose Garden at
+Yaddo; where Love, with tenderest thought, has laid out the face of the
+earth in an exquisite garden of Roses, for the happiness and recreation
+of a dearly loved wife. The noble entrance gate and porch of this Rose
+Garden formed a happy surprise to the garden's mistress when unveiled at
+the dedication of the garden. They are depicted on page 81, and there
+may be read the inscription which tells in a few well-chosen words the
+story of the inspiration of the garden; but "between the lines," to
+those who know the Rose Garden and its makers, the inscription speaks
+with even deeper meaning the story of a home whose beauty is only
+equalled by the garden's spirit. To all such readers the Rose Garden
+becomes a fitting expression of the life of those who own it and care
+for it. This quality of expression, of significance, may be seen in many
+a smaller and simpler garden, even in a tiny cottage plot; you can
+perceive, through the care bestowed upon it, and its responsive
+blossoming, a _something_ which shows the life of the garden owners; you
+know that they are thoughtful, kindly, beauty-loving, home-loving.
+
+[Illustration: Pergola and Terrace Walk in Rose Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+Behind the beautiful pergola of the Yaddo garden, set thickly with
+Crimson Rambler, a screenlike row of poplars divides the Rose Garden
+from a luxuriant Rock Garden, and an Old-fashioned Garden of large
+extent, extraordinary profusion, and many years' growth. Perhaps the
+latter-named garden might seem more suited to my pages, since it is more
+advanced in growth and apparently more akin to my subject; but I wish to
+write specially of the Rose Garden, because it is an unusual example of
+what can be accomplished without aid of architect or landscape gardener,
+when good taste, careful thought, attention to detail, a love of
+flowers, and _intent to attain perfection_ guide the garden's makers. It
+is happily placed in a country of most charming topography, but it must
+not be thought that the garden shaped itself; its beautiful proportions,
+contour, and shape were carefully studied out and brought to the present
+perfection by the same force that is felt in the garden's smallest
+detail, the power of Love. The Rose Garden is unusually large for a
+formal garden; with its vistas and walks, the connected Daffodil Dell,
+and the Rock Garden, it fills about ten acres. But the estate is over
+eight hundred acres, and the house very large in ground extent, so the
+garden seems well-proportioned. This Rose Garden has an unusual
+attraction in the personal interest of every detail, such as is found in
+few American gardens of great size, and indeed in few English gardens.
+The gardens of the Countess Warwick, at Easton Lodge, in Essex, possess
+the same charm, a personal meaning and significance in the statues and
+fountains, and even in the planting of flower borders. The illustration
+on page 83 depicts the general shape of the Yaddo Rose Garden, as seen
+from the upper terrace; but it does not show how the garden stretches
+down the fine marble steps, past the marble figures of Diana and Paris,
+and along the paths of standard Roses, past the shallow fountain which
+is not so large as to obscure what speaks the garden's story, the statue
+of Christalan, that grand creation in one of Mrs. Trask's idyls, _Under
+King Constantine_. This heroic figure, showing to full extent the genius
+of the sculptor, William Ordway Partridge, also figures the genius of
+the poet-creator, and is of an inexpressible and impressive nobility.
+With hand and arm held to heaven, Christalan shows against the
+background of rich evergreens as the true knight of this garden of
+sentiment and chivalry.
+
+[Illustration: Statue of Christalan in Rose Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+ "The sunlight slanting westward through the trees
+ Fell first upon his lifted, golden head,
+ Making a shining helmet of his curls,
+ And then upon the Lilies in his hand.
+ His eyes had a defiant, fearless glow;
+ Against the sombre background of the wood
+ He looked scarce human."
+
+The larger and more impressive fountain at Yaddo is shown on these
+pages. It is one hundred feet long and seventy feet wide, and is in
+front of the house, to the east. Its marble figures signify the Dawn;
+it will be noted that on this site its beauties show against a suited
+and ample background, and its grand proportions are not permitted to
+obscure the fine statue of Christalan from the view of those seated on
+the terrace or walking under the shade of the pergola.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Rose Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+Especially beautiful is the sun-dial on the upper terrace, shown on page
+86. The metal dial face is supported by a marble slab resting on two
+carved standards of classic design representing conventionalized lions,
+these being copies of those two splendid standards unearthed at Pompeii,
+which still may be seen by the side of the impluvium in the atrium or
+main hall of the finest Graeco-Roman dwelling-place which has been
+restored in that wonderful city. These sun-dial standards at Yaddo were
+made by the permission and under the supervision of the Italian
+government. I can conceive nothing more fitting or more inspiring to the
+imagination than that, telling as they do the story of the splendor of
+ancient Pompeii and of the passing centuries, they should now uphold to
+our sight a sun-dial as if to bid us note the flight of time and the
+vastness of the past.
+
+[Illustration: Bronze Face of Dial in Rose Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+The entire sun-dial, with its beautiful adjuncts of carefully shaped
+marble seats, stands on a semicircular plaza of marble at the head of
+the noble flight of marble steps. The engraved metal dial face bears
+two exquisite verses--the gift of one poet to another--of Dr. Henry Van
+Dyke to the garden's mistress, Katrina Trask. These dial mottoes are
+unusual, and perfect examples of that genius which with a few words can
+shape a lasting gem of our English tongue. At the edge of the dial face
+is this motto:
+
+ "Hours fly,
+ Flowers die,
+ New Days,
+ New Ways,
+ Pass by;
+ Love stays."
+
+At the base of the gnomon is the second motto:--
+
+ Time is
+ Too Slow for those who Wait,
+ Too Swift for those who Fear,
+ Too Long for those who Grieve,
+ Too Short for those who Rejoice;
+ But for those who Love,
+ Time is
+ Eternity.
+
+I have for years been a student of sun-dial lore, a collector of
+sun-dial mottoes and inscriptions, of which I have many hundreds. I know
+nowhere, either in English, on English or Scotch sun-dials, or in the
+Continental tongues, any such exquisite dial legends as these two--so
+slight of form, so simple in wording, so pure in diction, yet of
+sentiment, of thought, how full! how impressive! They stamp themselves
+forever on the memory as beautiful examples of what James Russell Lowell
+called verbal magic; that wonderful quality which comes, neither from
+chosen words, nor from their careful combination into sentences, but
+from something which is as inexplicable in its nature as it is in its
+charm.
+
+[Illustration: Ancient Pine in Garden at Yaddo.]
+
+To tree lovers the gardens and grounds at Yaddo have glorious charms in
+their splendid trees; but one can be depicted here--the grand native
+Pine, over eight feet in diameter, which, with other stately sentinels
+of its race, stands a sombrely beautiful guard over all this
+loveliness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+BOX EDGINGS
+
+ "They walked over the crackling leaves in the garden, between the
+ lines of Box, breathing its fragrance of eternity; for this is one
+ of the odors which carry us out of time into the abysses of the
+ unbeginning past; if we ever lived on another ball of stone than
+ this, it must be that there was Box growing on it."
+
+ --_Elsie Venner_, OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, 1861.
+
+
+To many of us, besides Dr. Holmes, the unique aroma of the Box, cleanly
+bitter in scent as in taste, is redolent of the eternal past; it is
+almost hypnotic in its effect. This strange power is not felt by all,
+nor is it a present sensitory influence; it is an hereditary memory,
+half-known by many, but fixed in its intensity in those of New England
+birth and descent, true children of the Puritans; to such ones the Box
+breathes out the very atmosphere of New England's past. I cannot see in
+clear outline those prim gardens of centuries ago, nor the faces of
+those who walked and worked therein; but I know, as I stroll to-day
+between our old Box-edged borders, and inhale the beloved bitterness of
+fragrance, and gather a stiff sprig of the beautiful glossy leaves, that
+in truth the garden lovers and garden workers of other days walk beside
+me, though unseen and unheard.
+
+About thirty years ago a bright young Yankee girl went to the island of
+Cuba as a governess to the family of a sugar planter. It was regarded as
+a somewhat perilous adventure by her home-staying folk, and their
+apprehensions of ill were realized in her death there five years later.
+This was not, however, all that happened to her. The planter's wife had
+died in this interval of time, and she had been married to the widower.
+A daughter had been born, who, after her mother's death, was reared in
+the Southern island, in Cuban ways, having scant and formal
+communication with her New England kin. When this girl was twenty years
+old, she came to the little Massachusetts town where her mother had been
+reared, and met there a group of widowed and maiden aunts, and
+great-aunts. After sitting for a time in her mother's room in the old
+home, the reserve which often exists between those of the same race who
+should be friends but whose lives have been widely apart, and who can
+never have more than a passing sight of each other, made them in
+semi-embarrassment and lack of resources of mutual interest walk out
+into the garden. As they passed down the path between high lines of Box,
+the girl suddenly stopped, looked in terror at the gate, and screamed
+out in fright, "The dog, the dog, save me, he will kill me!" _No dog was
+there_, but on that very spot, between those Box hedges, thirty years
+before, her mother had been attacked and bitten by an enraged dog, to
+the distress and apprehension of the aunts, who all recalled the
+occurrence, as they reassured the fainting and bewildered girl. She, of
+course, had never known aught of this till she was told it by the old
+Box.
+
+[Illustration: House and Garden at Napanock. County Ulster, New York.]
+
+Many other instances of the hypnotic effect of Box are known, and also
+of its strong influence on the mind through memory. I know of a man who
+travelled a thousand miles to renew acquaintance and propose marriage to
+an old sweetheart, whom he had not seen and scarcely thought of for
+years, having been induced to this act wholly through memories of her,
+awakened by a chance stroll in an old Box-edged garden such as those of
+his youth; at the gate of one of which he had often lingered, after
+walking home with her from singing-school. I ought to be able to add
+that the twain were married as a result of this sentimental
+memory-awakening through the old Box; but, in truth, they never came
+very close to matrimony. For when he saw her he remained absolutely
+silent on the subject of marriage; the fickle creature forgot the Box
+scent and the singing-school, while she openly expressed to her friends
+her surprise at his aged appearance, and her pity for his dulness. For
+the sense of sight is more powerful than that of smell, and the Box
+might prove a master hand at hinting, but it failed utterly in permanent
+influence.
+
+Those who have not loved the Box for centuries in the persons and with
+the partial noses of their Puritan forbears, complain of its curious
+scent, say, like Polly Peacham, that "they can't abear it," and declare
+that it brings ever the thought of old graveyards. I have never seen
+Box in ancient burying-grounds, they were usually too neglected to be
+thus planted; but it was given a limited space in the cemeteries of the
+middle of this century. Even those borders have now generally been dug
+up to give place to granite copings.
+
+The scent of Box has been aptly worded by Gabriel d'Annunzio, in his
+_Virgin of the Rocks_, in his description of a neglected garden. He
+calls it a "bitter sweet odor," and he notes its influence in making his
+wanderers in this garden "reconstruct some memory of their far-off
+childhood."
+
+The old Jesuit poet Rapin writing in the seventeenth century tells a
+fanciful tale that--
+
+ "Gardens of old, nor Art, nor Rules obey'd,
+ But unadorn'd, or wild Neglect betray'd;"
+
+that Flora's hair hung undressed, neglected "in artless tresses," until
+in pity another nymph "around her head wreath'd a Boxen Bough" from the
+fields; which so improved her beauty that trim edgings were placed ever
+after--"where flowers disordered once at random grew."
+
+He then describes the various figures of Box, the way to plant it, its
+disadvantages, and the associate flowers that should be set with it, all
+in stilted verse.
+
+Queen Anne was a royal enemy of Box. By her order many of the famous Box
+hedges at Hampton Court were destroyed; by her example, many old
+Box-edged gardens throughout England were rooted up. There are manifold
+objections raised to Box besides the dislike of its distinctive odor:
+heavy edgings and hedges of Box "take away the heart of the ground" and
+flowers pine within Box-edged borders; the roots of Box on the inside of
+the flower knot or bed, therefore, have to be cut and pulled out in
+order to leave the earth free for flower roots. It is also alleged that
+Box harbors slugs--and I fear it does.
+
+[Illustration: Box Parterre at Hampton.]
+
+We are told that it is not well to plant Box edgings in our gardens,
+because Box is so frail, is so easily winter-killed, that it dies down
+in ugly fashion. Yet see what great trees it forms, even when untrimmed,
+as in the Prince Garden (page 31). It is true that Box does not always
+flourish in the precise shape you wish, but it has nevertheless a
+wonderfully tenacious hold on life. I know nothing more suggestive of
+persistence and of sad sentiment than the view often seen in forlorn
+city enclosures, as you drive past, or rush by in an electric car, of an
+aged bush of Box, or a few feet of old Box hedge growing in the beaten
+earth of a squalid back yard, surrounded by dirty tenement houses. Once
+a fair garden there grew; the turf and flowers and trees are vanished;
+but spared through accident, or because deemed so valueless, the Box
+still lives. Even in Washington and other Southern cities, where the
+negro population eagerly gather Box at Christmas-tide, you will see
+these forlorn relics of the garden still growing, and their bitter
+fragrance rises above the vile odors of the crowded slums.
+
+Box formed an important feature of the garden of Pliny's favorite villa
+in Tuscany, which he described in his letter to Apollinaris. How I
+should have loved its formal beauty! On the southern front a terrace was
+bordered with a Box hedge and "embellished with various figures in Box,
+the representation of divers animals." Beyond was a circus formed around
+by ranges of Box rising in walls of varied heights. The middle of this
+circus was ornamented with figures of Box. On one side was a hippodrome
+set with a plantation of Box trees backed with Plane trees; thence ran a
+straight walk divided by Box hedges into alleys. Thus expanses were
+enclosed, one of which held a beautiful meadow, another had "knots of
+Plane tree," another was "set with Box a thousand different forms." Some
+of these were letters expressing the name of the owner of all this
+extravagance; or the initials of various fair Roman dames, a very
+gallant pleasantry of young Pliny. Both Plane tree and Box tree of such
+ancient gardens were by tradition nourished with wine instead of water.
+Initials of Box may be seen to-day in English gardens, and heraldic
+devices. French gardens vied with English gardens in curious patterns in
+Box. The garden of Versailles during the reign of Louis XIV. had a stag
+chase, in clipped Box, with greyhounds in chase. Globes, pyramids,
+tubes, cylinders, cones, arches, and other shapes were cut in Box as
+they were in Yew.
+
+A very pretty conceit in Box was--
+
+ "Horizontal dials on the ground
+ In living Box by cunning artists traced."
+
+Reference is frequent enough to these dials of Box to show that they
+were not uncommon in fine old English gardens. There were sun-dials
+either of Box or Thrift, in the gardens of colleges both at Oxford and
+Cambridge, as may be seen in Loggan's _Views_. Two modern ones are
+shown; one, on page 98, is in the garden of Lady Lennox, at Broughton
+Castle, Banbury, England. Another of exceptionally fine growth and trim
+perfection in the garden at Ascott, the seat of Mr. Leopold de
+Rothschild (opposite page 100.) These are curious rather than beautiful,
+but display well that quality given in the poet's term "the tonsile
+Box."
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Box at Broughton Castle.]
+
+Writing of a similar sun-dial, Lady Warwick says:--
+
+ "Never was such a perfect timekeeper as my sun-dial, and the
+ figures which record the hours are all cut out and trimmed in Box,
+ and there again on its outer ring is a legend which read in
+ whatever way you please: Les heures heureuses ne se comptent pas.
+ They were outlined for me, those words, in baby sprigs of Box by a
+ friend who is no more, who loved my garden and was good to it."
+
+Box hedges were much esteemed in England--so says Parkinson, to dry
+linen on, affording the raised expanse and even surface so much desired.
+It can always be noted in all domestic records of early days that the
+vast washing of linen and clothing was one of the great events of the
+year. Sometimes, in households of plentiful supply, these washings were
+done but once a year; in other homes, semi-annually. The drying and
+bleaching linen was an unceasing attraction to rascals like Autolycus,
+who had a "pugging tooth"--that is, a prigging tooth. These linen
+thieves had a special name, they were called "prygmen"; they wandered
+through the country on various pretexts, men and their doxies, and were
+the bane of English housewives.
+
+The Box hedges were also in constant use to hold the bleaching webs of
+homespun and woven flaxen and hempen stuff, which were often exposed for
+weeks in the dew and sunlight. In 1710 a reason given for the disuse and
+destruction of "quicksetted arbors and hedges" was that they "agreed
+very ill with the ladies' muslins."
+
+Box was of little value in the apothecary shop, was seldom used in
+medicine. Parkinson said that the leaves and dust of boxwood "boyld in
+lye" would make hair to be "of an Aborne or Abraham color"--that is,
+auburn. This was a very primitive hair dye, but it must have been a
+powerful one.
+
+Boxwood was a firm, beautiful wood, used to make tablets for
+inscriptions of note. The mottled wood near the root was called dudgeon.
+Holland's translation of Pliny says, "The Box tree seldome hath any
+grain crisped damaske-wise, and never but about the root, the which is
+dudgin." From its esteemed use for dagger hilts came the word
+dudgeon-dagger, and the terms "drawn-dudgeon" and "high-dudgeon,"
+meaning offence or discord.
+
+I plead for the Box, not for its fragrance, for you may not be so
+fortunate as to have a Puritan sense of smell, nor for its weird
+influence, for that is intangible; but because it is the most becoming
+of all edgings to our garden borders of old-time flowers. The clear
+compact green of its shining leaves, the trim distinctness of its
+clipped lines, the attributes that made Pope term it the "shapely Box,"
+make it the best of all foils for the varied tints of foliage, the many
+colors of bloom, and the careless grace in growth of the flowers within
+the border.
+
+Box edgings are pleasant, too, in winter, showing in grateful relief
+against the tiresome monotony of the snow expanse. And they bear
+sometimes a crown of lightest snow wreaths, which seem like a white
+blossoming in promise of the beauties of the border in the coming
+summer. Pick a bit of this winter Box, even with the mercury below zero.
+Lo! you have a breath of the hot dryness of the midsummer garden.
+
+Box grows to great size, even twenty feet in height. In Southern
+gardens, where it is seldom winter-killed, it is often of noble
+proportions. In the lovely garden of Martha Washington at Mount Vernon
+the Box is still preserved in the beauty and interest of its original
+form.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Box at Ascott.]
+
+The Box edgings and hedges of many other Southern gardens still are
+in good condition; those of the old Preston homestead at Columbia, South
+Carolina (shown on pages 15 and 18, and facing page 54), owe their
+preservation during the Civil War to the fact that the house was then
+the refuge of a sisterhood of nuns. The Ridgely estate, Hampton, in
+County Baltimore, Maryland, has a formal garden in which the perfection
+of the Box is a delight. The will of Captain Charles Ridgely, in 1787,
+made an appropriation of money and land for this garden. The high
+terrace which overlooks the garden and the shallow ones which break the
+southern slope and mark the boundaries of each parterre are fine
+examples of landscape art, and are said to be the work of Major Chase
+Barney, a famous military engineer. By 1829 the garden was an object of
+beauty and much renown. A part only of the original parterre remains,
+but the more modern flower borders, through the unusual perspective and
+contour of the garden, do not clash with the old Box-edged beds. These
+edgings were reset in 1870, and are always kept very closely cut. The
+circular domes of clipped box arise from stems at least a hundred years
+old. The design of the parterre is so satisfactory that I give three
+views of it in order to show it fully. (See pages 57, 60, and 95.)
+
+A Box-edged garden of much beauty and large extent existed for some
+years in the grounds connected with the County Jail in Fitchburg,
+Massachusetts. It was laid out by the wife of the warden, aided by the
+manual labor of convicted prisoners, with her earnest hope that working
+among flowers would have a benefiting and softening influence on these
+criminals. She writes rather dubiously: "They all enjoyed being out of
+doors with their pipes, whether among the flowers or the vegetables; and
+no attempt at escape was ever made by any of them while in the
+comparative freedom of the flower-garden." She planted and marked
+distinctly in this garden over seven hundred groups of annuals and hardy
+perennials, hoping the men would care to learn the names of the flowers,
+and through that knowledge, and their practise in the care of Box
+edgings and hedges, be able to obtain positions as under-gardeners when
+their terms of imprisonment expired.
+
+The garden at Tudor Place, the home of Mrs. Beverley Kennon (page 103),
+displays fine Box; and the garden of the poet Longfellow which is said
+to have been laid out after the Box-edged parterres at Versailles.
+Throughout this book are scattered several good examples of Box from
+Salem and other towns; in a sweet, old garden on Kingston Hill, Rhode
+Island (page 104) the flower-beds are anchor-shaped.
+
+In favorable climates Box edgings may grow in such vigor as to entirely
+fill the garden beds. An example of this is given on page 105, showing
+the garden at Tuckahoe. The beds were laid out over a large space of
+ground in a beautiful design, which still may be faintly seen by
+examining the dark expanse beside the house, which is now almost solid
+Box. The great hedges by the avenue are also Box; between similar ones
+at Upton Court in Camden, South Carolina, riders on horseback cannot be
+seen nor see over it. New England towns seldom show such growth of Box;
+but in Hingham, Massachusetts, at the home of Mrs. Robbins, author of
+that charming book, _The Rescue of an Old Place_, there is a Box bower,
+with walls of Box fifteen feet in height. These walls were originally
+the edgings of a flower bed on the "Old Place." Read Dr. John Brown's
+charming account of the Box bower of the "Queen's Maries."
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Tudor Place.]
+
+Box grows on Long Island with great vigor. At Brecknock Hall, the family
+residence of Mrs. Albert Delafield at Greenport, Long Island, the
+hedges of plain and variegated Box are unusually fine, and the paths are
+well laid out. Some of them are entirely covered by the closing together
+of the two hedges which are often six or seven feet in height.
+
+[Illustration: Anchor-shaped Flower-beds. Kingston, Rhode Island.]
+
+In spite of the constant assertion of the winter-killing of Box in the
+North, the oldest Box in the country is that at Sylvester Manor, Shelter
+Island, New York. The estate is now owned by the tenth mistress of the
+manor, Miss Cornelia Horsford; the first mistress of the manor, Grissel
+Sylvester, who had been Grissel Gardiner, came there in 1652. It is
+told, and is doubtless true, that she brought there the first Box
+plants, to make, in what was then a far-away island, a semblance of her
+home garden. It is said that this Box was thriving in Madam Sylvester's
+garden when George Fox preached there to the Indians. The oldest Box is
+fifteen or eighteen feet high; not so tall, I think, as the neglected
+Box at Vaucluse, the old Hazard place near Newport, but far more massive
+and thrifty and shapely. Box needs unusual care and judgment, an
+instinct almost, for the removal of certain portions. It sends out tiny
+rootlets at the joints of the sprays, and these grow readily. The
+largest and oldest Box bushes at Sylvester Manor garden are a study in
+their strong, hearty stems, their perfect foliage, their symmetry; they
+show their care of centuries.
+
+[Illustration: Ancient Box at Tuckahoe.]
+
+The delightful Box-edged flower beds were laid out in their present form
+about seventy years ago by the grandfather of the present owner. There
+is a Lower Garden, a Terrace Garden, which are shown on succeeding
+pages, a Fountain Garden, a Rose Garden, a Water Garden; a bit of the
+latter is on page 75. In some portions of these gardens, especially on
+the upper terrace, the Box is so high, and set in such quaint and
+rambling figures, that it closely approaches an old English maze; and it
+was a pretty sight to behold a group of happy little children running in
+and out among these Box hedges that extended high over their heads,
+searching long and eagerly for the central bower where their little tea
+party was set.
+
+Over these old garden borders hangs literally an atmosphere of the past;
+the bitter perfume stimulates the imagination as we walk by the side of
+these splendid Box bushes, and think, as every one must, of what they
+have seen, of what they know; on this garden is written the history of
+over two centuries of beautiful domestic home life. It is well that we
+still have such memorials to teach us the nobility and beauty of such a
+life.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE HERB GARDEN
+
+ "To have nothing here but Sweet Herbs, and those only choice ones
+ too, and every kind its bed by itself."
+
+ --DESIDERIUS ERASMUS, 1500.
+
+
+In Montaigne's time it was the custom to dedicate special chapters of
+books to special persons. Were it so to-day, I should dedicate this
+chapter to the memory of a friend who has been constantly in my mind
+while writing it; for she formed in her beautiful garden, near our
+modern city, Chicago, the only perfect herb garden I know,--a garden
+that is the counterpart of the garden of Erasmus, made four centuries
+ago; for in it are "nothing but Sweet Herbs, and choice ones too, and
+every kind its bed by itself." A corner of it is shown on page 108. This
+herb garden is so well laid out that I will give directions therefrom
+for a bed of similar planting. It may be placed at the base of a grass
+bank or at the edge of a garden. Let two garden walks be laid out, one
+at the lower edge, perhaps, of the bank, the other parallel, ten,
+fifteen, twenty feet away. Let narrow paths be left at regular intervals
+running parallel from walk to walk, as do the rounds of a ladder from
+the two side bars. In the narrow oblong beds formed by these paths plant
+solid rows of herbs, each variety by itself, with no attempt at
+diversity of design. You can thus walk among them, and into them, and
+smell them in their concentrated strength, and you can gather them at
+ease. On the bank can be placed the creeping Thyme, and other
+low-running herbs. Medicinal shrubs should be the companions of the
+herbs; plant these as you will, according to their growth and habit,
+making them give variety of outline to the herb garden.
+
+[Illustration: Herb Garden at White Birches, Elmhurst, Illinois.]
+
+There are few persons who have a strong enough love of leaf scents, or
+interest in herbs, to make them willing to spend much time in working in
+an herb garden. The beauty and color of flowers would compensate them,
+but not the growth or scent of leafage. It is impossible to describe to
+one who does not feel by instinct "the lure of green things growing,"
+the curious stimulation, the sense of intoxication, of delight, brought
+by working among such green-growing, sweet-scented things. The maker of
+this interesting garden felt this stimulation and delight; and at her
+city home on a bleak day in December we both revelled in holding and
+breathing in the scent of tiny sprays of Rue, Rosemary, and Balm which,
+still green, had been gathered from beneath fallen leaves and stalks in
+her country garden, as a tender and grateful attention of one herb lover
+to another. Thus did she prove Shakespeare's words true even on the
+shores of Lake Michigan:--
+
+ "Rosemary and Rue: these keep
+ Seeming and savor all the winter long."
+
+There is ample sentiment in the homely inhabitants of the herb garden.
+The herb garden of the Countess of Warwick is called by her a Garden of
+Sentiment. Each plant is labelled with a pottery marker, swallow-shaped,
+bearing in ineradicable colors the flower name and its significance.
+Thus there is Balm for sympathy, Bay for glory, Foxglove for sincerity,
+Basil for hatred.
+
+A recent number of _The Garden_ deplored the dying out of herbs in old
+English gardens; so I think it may prove of interest to give the list of
+herbs and medicinal shrubs and trees which grew in this friend's herb
+garden in the new world across the sea.
+
+ Arnica, Anise, Ambrosia, Agrimony, Aconite.
+
+ Belladonna, Black Alder, Betony, Boneset or Thorough-wort, Sweet
+ Basil, Bryony, Borage, Burnet, Butternut, Balm, _Melissa
+ officinalis_, Balm (variegated), Bee-balm, or Oswego tea, mild,
+ false, and true Bergamot, Burdock, Bloodroot, Black Cohosh,
+ Barberry, Bittersweet, Butterfly-weed, Birch, Blackberry,
+ Button-Snakeroot, Buttercup.
+
+ Costmary, or Sweet Mary, Calamint, Choke-cherry, Comfrey,
+ Coriander, Cumin, Catnip, Caraway, Chives, Castor-oil Bean,
+ Colchicum, Cedronella, Camomile, Chicory, Cardinal-flower,
+ Celandine, Cotton, Cranesbill, Cow-parsnip, High-bush Cranberry.
+
+ Dogwood, Dutchman's-pipe, Dill, Dandelion, Dock, Dogbane.
+
+ Elder, Elecampane, Slippery Elm.
+
+ Sweet Fern, Fraxinella, Fennel, Flax, Fumitory, Fig, Sweet Flag,
+ Blue Flag, Foxglove.
+
+ Goldthread, Gentian, Goldenrod.
+
+ Hellebore, Henbane, Hops, Horehound, Hyssop, Horseradish,
+ Horse-chestnut, Hemlock, Small Hemlock or Fool's Parsley.
+
+ American Ipecac, Indian Hemp, Poison Ivy, wild, false, and blue
+ Indigo, wild yellow Indigo, wild white Indigo.
+
+ Juniper, Joepye-weed.
+
+ Lobelia, Lovage, Lavender Lemon Verbena, Lemon, Mountain Laurel,
+ Yellow Lady's-slippers, Lily of the Valley, Liverwort, Wild
+ Lettuce, Field Larkspur, Lungwort.
+
+ Mosquito plant, Wild Mint, Motherwort, Mullein, Sweet Marjoram,
+ Meadowsweet, Marshmallow, Mandrake, Mulberry, black and white
+ Mustard, Mayweed, Mugwort, Marigold.
+
+ Nigella.
+
+ Opium Poppy, Orange, Oak.
+
+ Pulsatilla, Pellitory or Pyrethrum, Red Pepper, Peppermint,
+ Pennyroyal, False Pennyroyal, Pope-weed, Pine, Pigweed, Pumpkin,
+ Parsley, Prince's-pine, Peony, Plantain.
+
+ Rhubarb, Rue, Rosemary, Rosa gallica, Dog Rose.
+
+ Sassafras, Saxifrage, Sweet Cicely, Sage (common blue), Sage (red),
+ Summer Savory, Winter Savory, Santonin, Sweet Woodruff, Saffron,
+ Spearmint, wild Sarsaparilla, Black Snakeroot, Squills, Senna,
+ St.-John's-Wort, Sorrel, Spruce Fir, Self-heal, Southernwood.
+
+ Thorn Apple, Tansy, Thyme, Tobacco, Tarragon.
+
+ Valerian, Dogtooth Violet, Blue Violet.
+
+ Witchhazel, Wormwood, Wintergreen, Willow, Walnut.
+
+ Yarrow.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at White Birches. Elmhurst, Illinois.]
+
+It will be noted that some common herbs and medicinal plants are
+missing; there is, for instance, no Box; it will not live in that
+climate; and there are many other herbs which this garden held for a
+short time, but which succumbed under the fierce winter winds from Lake
+Michigan.
+
+It is interesting to compare this list with one made in rhyme three
+centuries ago, the garland of herbs of the nymph Lelipa in Drayton's
+_Muse's Elyzium_.
+
+ "A chaplet then of Herbs I'll make
+ Than which though yours be braver,
+ Yet this of mine I'll undertake
+ Shall not be short in savour.
+ With Basil then I will begin,
+ Whose scent is wondrous pleasing:
+ This Eglantine I'll next put in
+ The sense with sweetness seizing.
+ Then in my Lavender I lay
+ Muscado put among it,
+ With here and there a leaf of Bay,
+ Which still shall run along it.
+ Germander, Marjoram and Thyme,
+ Which used are for strewing;
+ With Hyssop as an herb most prime
+ Here in my wreath bestowing.
+ Then Balm and Mint help to make up
+ My chaplet, and for trial
+ Costmary that so likes the Cup,
+ And next it Pennyroyal.
+ Then Burnet shall bear up with this,
+ Whose leaf I greatly fancy;
+ Some Camomile doth not amiss
+ With Savory and some Tansy.
+ Then here and there I'll put a sprig
+ Of Rosemary into it,
+ Thus not too Little nor too Big,
+ 'Tis done if I can do it."
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Manning Homestead, Salem, Massachusetts.]
+
+Another name for the herb garden was the olitory; and the word herber,
+or herbar, would at first sight appear to be an herbarium, an herb
+garden; it was really an arbor. I have such satisfaction in herb
+gardens, and in the herbs themselves, and in all their uses, all their
+lore, that I am confirmed in my belief that I really care far less for
+Botany than for that old-time regard and study of plants covered by the
+significant name, Wort-cunning. Wort was a good old common English word,
+lost now in our use, save as the terminal syllable of certain
+plant-names; it is a pity we have given it up since its equivalent,
+herb, seems so variable in application, especially in that very trying
+expression of which we weary so of late--herbaceous border. This seems
+an architect's phrase rather than a florist's; you always find it on the
+plans of fine houses with gardens. To me it annihilates every
+possibility of sentiment, and it usually isn't correct, since many of
+the plants in these borders are woody perennials instead of annuals;
+any garden planting that is not "bedding-out" is wildly named "an
+herbaceous border."
+
+Herb gardens were no vanity and no luxury in our grandmothers' day; they
+were a necessity. To them every good housewife turned for nearly all
+that gave variety to her cooking, and to fill her domestic
+pharmacopoeia. The physician placed his chief reliance for supplies on
+herb gardens and the simples of the fields. An old author says, "Many an
+old wife or country woman doth often more good with a few known and
+common garden herbs, than our bombast physicians, with all their
+prodigious, sumptuous, far-fetched, rare, conjectural medicines." Doctor
+and goodwife both had a rival in the parson. The picture of the country
+parson and his wife given by old George Herbert was equally true of the
+New England minister and his wife:--
+
+ "In the knowledge of simples one thing would be carefully observed,
+ which is to know what herbs may be used instead of drugs of the
+ same nature, and to make the garden the shop; for home-bred
+ medicines are both more easy for the parson's purse, and more
+ familiar for all men's bodies. So when the apothecary useth either
+ for loosing Rhubarb, or for binding Bolearmana, the parson useth
+ damask or white Rose for the one, and Plantain, Shepherd's Purse,
+ and Knot-grass for the other; and that with better success. As for
+ spices, he doth not only prefer home-bred things before them, but
+ condemns them for vanities, and so shuts them out of his family,
+ esteeming that there is no spice comparable for herbs to Rosemary,
+ Thyme, savory Mints, and for seeds to Fennel and Caraway.
+ Accordingly, for salves, his wife seeks not the city, but prefers
+ her gardens and fields before all outlandish gums."
+
+Simples were medicinal plants, so called because each of these vegetable
+growths was held to possess an individual virtue, to be an element, a
+simple substance constituting a single remedy. The noun was generally
+used in the plural.
+
+You must not think that sowing, gathering, drying, and saving these
+herbs and simples in any convenient or unstudied way was all that was
+necessary. Not at all; many and manifold were the rules just when to
+plant them, when to pick them, how to pick them, how to dry them, and
+even how to keep them. Gervayse Markham was very wise in herb lore, in
+the suited seasons of the moon, and hour of the day or night, for herb
+culling. In the garret of every old house, such as that of the Ward
+Homestead, shown on page 116, with the wreckage of house furniture, were
+hung bunches of herbs and simples, waiting for winter use.
+
+The still-room was wholly devoted to storing these herbs and
+manufacturing their products. This was the careful work of the house
+mistress and her daughters. It was not intrusted to servants. One book
+of instruction was entitled, _The Vertuouse Boke of Distyllacyon of the
+Waters of all Manner of Herbs_.
+
+Thomas Tusser wrote:--
+
+ "Good huswives provide, ere an sickness do come,
+ Of sundrie good things in house to have some,
+ Good aqua composita, vinegar tart,
+ Rose water and treacle to comfort the heart,
+ Good herbes in the garden for agues that burn,
+ That over strong heat to good temper turn."
+
+[Illustration: Under the Garret Eaves of the Ward Homestead. Shrewsbury,
+Massachusetts.]
+
+Both still-room and simple-closet of a dame of the time of Queen
+Elizabeth or Queen Anne had crowded shelves. Many an herb and root,
+unused to-day, was deemed then of sovereign worth. From a manuscript
+receipt book I have taken names of ingredients, many of which are
+seldom, perhaps never, used now in medicine. Unripe Blackberries, Ivy
+berries, Eglantine berries, "Ashen Keys," Acorns, stones of Sloes,
+Parsley seed, Houseleeks, unripe Hazelnuts, Daisy roots, Strawberry
+"strings," Woodbine tops, the inner bark of Oak and of red Filberts,
+green "Broom Cod," White Thorn berries, Turnips, Barberry bark, Dates,
+Goldenrod, Gourd seed, Blue Lily roots, Parsnip seed, Asparagus roots,
+Peony roots.
+
+From herbs and simples were made, for internal use, liquid medicines
+such as wines and waters, syrups, juleps; and solids, such as conserves,
+confections, treacles, eclegms, tinctures. There were for external use,
+amulets, oils, ointments, liniments, plasters, cataplasms, salves,
+poultices; also sacculi, little bags of flowers, seeds, herbs, etc., and
+pomanders and posies.
+
+That a certain stimulus could be given to the brain by inhaling the
+scent of these herbs will not be doubted, I think, by the herb lover
+even of this century. In the _Haven of Health_, 1636, cures were
+promised by sleeping on herbs, smelling of them, binding the leaves on
+the forehead, and inhaling the vapors of their boiling or roasting. Mint
+was "a good Posie for Students to oft smell." Pennyroyal "quickened the
+brain by smelling oft." Basil cleared the wits, and so on.
+
+The use of herbs in medicine is far from being obsolete; and when we
+give them more stately names we swallow the same dose. Dandelion bitters
+is still used for diseases caused by an ill-working liver. Wintergreen,
+which was universally made into tea or oil for rheumatism, appears now
+in prescriptions for the same disease under the name of Gaultheria.
+Peppermint, once a sovereign cure for heartburn and "nuralogy," serves
+us decked with the title of Menthol. "Saffern-tea" never has lost its
+good standing as a cure for the "jarnders." In country communities
+scores of old herbs and simples are used in vast amounts; and in every
+village is some aged man or woman wise in gathering, distilling, and
+compounding these "potent and parable medicines," to use Cotton Mather's
+words. One of these gatherers of simples is shown opposite page 120, a
+quaint old figure, seen afar as we drive through country by-roads, as
+she bends over some dense clump of weeds in distant meadow or pasture.
+
+In our large city markets bunches of sweet herbs are still sold; and
+within a year I have seen men passing my city home selling great bunches
+of Catnip and Mint, in the spring, and dried Sage, Marjoram, and other
+herbs in the autumn. In one case I noted that it was the same man,
+unmistakably a real countryman, whom I had noted selling quail on the
+street, when he had about forty as fine quail as I ever saw. I never saw
+him sell quail, nor herbs. I think his customers are probably all
+foreigners--emigrants from continental Europe, chiefly Poles and
+Italians.
+
+The use of herbs as component parts of love philters and charms is a
+most ancient custom, and lingered into the nineteenth century in country
+communities. I knew but one case of the manufacture and administering
+of a love philter, and it was by a person to whom such an action would
+seem utterly incongruous. A very gentle, retiring girl in a New England
+town eighty years ago was deeply in love with the minister whose church
+she attended, and of which her father was the deacon. The parson was a
+widower, nearly of middle age, and exceedingly sombre and reserved in
+character--saddened, doubtless, by the loss of his two young children
+and his wife through that scourge of New England, consumption; but he
+was very handsome, and even his sadness had its charm. His house, had
+burned down as an additional misfortune, and he lived in lodgings with
+two elderly women of his congregation. Therefore church meetings and
+various gatherings of committees were held at the deacon's house, and
+the deacon's daughter saw him day after day, and grew more desperately
+in love. Desperate certainly she was when she dared even to think of
+giving a love philter to a minister. The recipe was clearly printed on
+the last page of an old dream book; and she carried it out in every
+detail. It was easy to introduce it into the mug of flip which was
+always brewed for the meeting, and the parson drank it down
+abstractedly, thinking that it seemed more bitter than usual, but
+showing no sign of this thought. The philter was promised to have effect
+in making the drinker love profoundly the first person of opposite sex
+whom he or she saw after drinking it; and of course the minister saw
+Hannah as she stood waiting for his empty tankard. The dull details of
+parish work were talked over in the usual dragging way for half an
+hour, when the minister became conscious of an intense coldness which
+seemed to benumb him in every limb; and he tried to walk to the
+fireplace. Suddenly all in the room became aware that he was very ill,
+and one called out, "He's got a stroke." Luckily the town doctor was
+also a deacon, and was therefore present; and he promptly said, "He's
+poisoned," and hot water from the teakettle, whites of eggs, mustard,
+and other domestic antidotes were administered with promptitude and
+effect. It is useless to detail the days of agony to the wretched girl,
+during which the sick man wavered between life and death, nor her
+devoted care of him. Soon after his recovery he solemnly proposed
+marriage to her, and was refused. But he never wavered in his love for
+her; and every year he renewed his offer and told his wishes, to be met
+ever with a cold refusal, until ten years had passed; when into his
+brain there entered a perception that her refusal had some extraordinary
+element in it. Then, with a warmth of determination worthy a younger
+man, he demanded an explanation, and received a confession of the
+poisonous love philter. I suppose time had softened the memory of his
+suffering, at any rate they were married--so the promise of the love
+charm came true, after all.
+
+[Illustration: A Gatherer of Simples.]
+
+Amos Bronson Alcott was another author of Concord, a sweet philosopher
+whom I shall ever remember with deepest gratitude as the only person who
+in my early youth ever imagined any literary capacity in me (and in that
+he was sadly mistaken, for he fancied I would be a poet). I have read
+very faithfully all his printed writings, trying to believe him a great
+man, a seer; but I cannot, in spite of my gratitude for his flattering
+though unfulfilled prophecy, discover in his books any profound signs of
+depth or novelty of thought. In his _Tablets_ are some very pleasant, if
+not surprisingly wise, essays on domestic subjects; one, on "Sweet
+Herbs," tells cheerfully of the womanly care of the herb garden, but
+shows that, when written--about 1850--borders of herbs were growing
+infrequent.
+
+One great delight of old English gardens is never afforded us in New
+England; we do not grow Lavender beds. I have of course seen single
+plants of Lavender, so easily winter-killed, but I never have seen a
+Lavender bed, nor do I know of one. It is a great loss. A bed or hedge
+of Lavender is pleasing in the same way that the dress of a Quaker lady
+is pleasing; it is reposeful, refined. It has a soft effect at the edge
+of a garden, like a blue-gray haze, and always reminds me of doves. The
+power of association or some inherent quality of the plant, makes
+Lavender always suggest freshness and cleanliness.
+
+We may linger a little with a few of these old herb favorites. One of
+the most balmy and beautiful of all the sweet breaths borne by leaves or
+blossoms is that of Basil, which, alas! I see so seldom. I have always
+loved it, and can never pass it without pressing its leaves in my hand;
+and I cannot express the satisfaction, the triumph, with which I read
+these light-giving lines of old Thomas Tusser, which showed me why I
+loved it:--
+
+ "Faire Basil desireth it may be hir lot
+ To growe as the gilly flower trim in a pot
+ That Ladies and Gentils whom she doth serve
+ May help hir as needeth life to preserve."
+
+An explanation of this rhyme is given by _Tusser Redivivus_: "Most
+people stroak Garden Basil which leaves a grateful smell on the hand and
+he will have it that Stroaking from a fair lady preserves the life of
+the Basil."
+
+This is a striking example of floral telepathy; you know what the Basil
+wishes, and the Basil knows and craves your affection, and repays your
+caress with her perfume and growth. It is a case of mutual attraction;
+and I beg the "Gentle Reader" never to pass a pot or plant of Basil
+without "stroaking" it; that it may grow and multiply and forever retain
+its relations with fair women, as a type of the purest, the most
+clinging, and grateful love.
+
+One amusing use of Basil (as given in one of my daughter's old Herbals)
+was intended to check obesity:--
+
+ "TO MAKE THAT A WOMAN SHALL EAT OF NOTHING THAT IS SET UPON THE
+ TABLE:--Take a little green Basil, and when Men bring the Dishes to
+ the Table put it underneath them that the Woman perceive it not; so
+ Men say that she will eat of none of that which is in the Dish
+ whereunder the Basil lieth."
+
+I cannot understand why so sinister an association was given to a pot of
+Basil by Boccaccio, who makes the unhappy Isabella conceal the head of
+her murdered lover in a flower pot under a plant of Basil; for in Italy
+Basil is ever a plant of love, not of jealousy or crime. One of its
+common names is _Bacia, Nicola_--Kiss me, Nicholas. Peasant girls always
+place Basil in their hair when they go to meet their sweethearts, and an
+offered sprig of Basil is a love declaration. It is believed that
+Boccaccio obtained this tale from some tradition of ancient Greece,
+where Basil is a symbol of hatred and despair. The figure of poverty was
+there associated with a Basil plant as with rags. It had to be sown with
+abuse, with cursing and railing, else it would not flourish. In India
+its sanctity is above all other herbs. A pious Indian has at death a
+leaf of Basil placed in his bosom as his reward. The house surrounded by
+Basil is blessed, and all who cherish the plant are sure of heaven.
+
+Mithridate was a favorite medicine of our Puritan ancestors; there were
+various elaborate compound rules for its manufacture, in which Rue
+always took a part. It was simple enough in the beginning, when King
+Mithridates invented it as an antidote against poison: twenty leaves of
+Rue pounded with two Figs, two dried Walnuts and a grain of salt; which
+receipt may be taken _cum grano salis_. Rue also entered into the
+composition of the famous "Vinegar of the Four Thieves." These four
+rascals, at the time of the Plague in Marseilles, invented this vinegar,
+and, protected by its power, entered infected houses and carried away
+property without taking the disease. Rue had innumerable virtues. Pliny
+says eighty-four remedies were made of it. It was of special use in case
+of venomous bites, and to counteract "Head-Ach" from over indulgence in
+wine, especially if a little Sage were added. It promoted love in man
+and diminished it in woman; it was good for the ear-ache, eye-ache,
+stomach-ache, leg-ache, back-ache; good for an ague, good for a surfeit;
+indeed, it would seem wise to make Rue a daily article of food and thus
+insure perpetual good health.
+
+The scent of Rue seems never dying. A sprig of it was given me by a
+friend, and it chanced to lie for a single night on the sheets of paper
+upon which this chapter is written. The scent has never left them, and
+indeed the odor of Rue hangs literally around this whole book.
+
+Summer Savory and Sweet Marjoram are rarely employed now in American
+cooking. They are still found in my kitchen, and are used in scant
+amount as a flavoring for stuffing of fowl. Many who taste and like the
+result know not the old-fashioned materials used to produce that flavor,
+and "of the younger sort" the names even are wholly unrecognized.
+
+Sage is almost the only plant of the English kitchen garden which is
+ordinarily grown in America. I like its fresh grayness in the garden. In
+the days of our friend John Gerarde, the beloved old herbalist, there
+was no fixed botanical nomenclature; but he scarcely needed botanical
+terms, for he had a most felicitous and dextrous use of words. "Sage
+hath broad leaves, long, wrinkled, rough, and whitish, like in roughness
+to woollen cloth threadbare." What a description! it is far more vivid
+than the picture here shown. Sage has never lost its established place
+as a flavoring for the stuffing for ducks, geese, and for sausages; but
+its universal employment as a flavoring for Sage cheese is nearly
+obsolete. In my childhood home, we always had Sage cheese with other
+cheeses; it was believed to be an aid in digestion. I had forgotten its
+taste; and I must say I didn't like it when I ate it last summer, in New
+Hampshire.
+
+[Illustration: Our Friend, John Gerarde.]
+
+Tansy was highly esteemed in England as a medicine, a cosmetic, and a
+flavoring and ingredient in cooking. It was rubbed over raw meat to keep
+the flies away and prevent decay, for in those days of no refrigerators
+there had to be strong measures taken for the preservation of all
+perishable food. Its strong scent and taste would be deemed intolerable
+to us, who can scarce endure even the milder Sage in any large quantity.
+A good folk name for it is "Bitter Buttons." Gerarde wrote of Tansy, "In
+the spring time, are made with the leaves hereof newly sprung up, and
+with Eggs, cakes or Tansies, which be pleasant in Taste and goode for
+the Stomach."
+
+[Illustration: Sage.]
+
+"To Make a Tansie the Best Way," I learn from _The Accomplisht Cook_,
+was thus:--
+
+ "Take twenty Eggs, and take away five whites, strain them with a
+ quart of good sweet thick Cream, and put to it a grated nutmeg, a
+ race of ginger grated, as much cinnamon beaten fine, and a penny
+ white loaf grated also, mix them all together with a little salt,
+ then stamp some green wheat with some tansie herbs, strain it into
+ the cream and eggs and stir all together; then take a clean
+ frying-pan, and a quarter of a pound of butter, melt it, and put in
+ the tansie, and stir it continually over the fire with a slice,
+ ladle, or saucer, chop it, and break it as it thickens, and being
+ well incorporated put it out of the pan into a dish, and chop it
+ very fine; then make the frying-pan very clean, and put in some
+ more butter, melt it, and fry it whole or in spoonfuls; being
+ finely fried on both sides, dish it up and sprinkle it with
+ rose-vinegar, grape-verjuyce, elder-vinegar, cowslip-vinegar, or
+ the juyce of three or four oranges, and strow on a good store of
+ fine sugar."
+
+To all of this we can say that it would certainly be a very good
+dish--without the Tansy. Another mediaeval recipe was of Tansy, Feverfew,
+Parsley, and Violets mixed with eggs, fried in butter, and sprinkled
+with sugar.
+
+The Minnow-Tansie of old Izaak Walton, a "Tanzie for Lent," was made
+thus:--
+
+ "Being well washed with salt and cleaned, and their heads and tails
+ cut off, and not washed after, they prove excellent for that use;
+ that is being fried with the yolks of eggs, the flowers of cowslips
+ and of primroses, and a little tansy, thus used they make a dainty
+ dish."
+
+The name Tansy was given afterward to a rich fruit cake which had no
+Tansy in it. It was apparently a favorite dish of Pepys. A certain
+derivative custom obtained in some New England towns--certainly in
+Hartford and vicinity. Tansy was used to flavor the Fast Day pudding.
+One old lady recalls that it was truly a bitter food to the younger
+members of the family; Miss Shelton, in her entertaining book, _The Salt
+Box House_, tells of Tansy cakes, and says children did not dislike
+them. Tansy bitters were made of Tansy leaves placed in a bottle with
+New England rum. They were a favorite spring tonic, where all physicians
+and housewives prescribed "the bitter principle" in the spring time.
+
+No doubt Tansy was among the earliest plants brought over by the
+settlers; it was carefully cherished in the herb garden, then spread to
+the dooryard and then to farm lanes. As early as 1746 the traveller Kalm
+noted Tansy growing wild in hedges and along roads in Pennsylvania. Now
+it extends its sturdy growth for miles along the country road, one of
+the rankest of weeds. It still is used in the manufacture of proprietary
+medicines, and for this purpose is cut with a sickle in great armfuls
+and gathered in cartloads. I have always liked its scent; and its
+leaves, as Gerarde said, "infinitely jagged and nicked and curled"; and
+its cheerful little "bitter buttons" of gold. Some old flowers adapt
+themselves to modern conditions and look up-to-date; but to me the
+Tansy, wherever found, is as openly old-fashioned as a betty-lamp or a
+foot-stove.
+
+[Illustration: Tansy.]
+
+On July 1, 1846, an old grave was opened in the ancient "God's Acre"
+near the halls of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This
+grave was a brick vault covered with irregularly shaped flagstones about
+three inches thick. Over it was an ancient slab of peculiar stone,
+unlike any others in the cemetery save those over the graves of two
+presidents of the College, Rev. Dr. Chauncy and Dr. Oakes. As there were
+headstones near this slab inscribed with the names of the
+great-grandchildren of President Dunster, it was believed that this was
+the grave of a third President, Dr. Dunster. He died in the year 1659;
+but his death took place in midwinter; and when this coffin was opened,
+the skeleton was found entirely surrounded with common Tansy, in seed, a
+portion of which had been pulled up by the roots, and it was therefore
+believed by many who thought upon the matter that it was the coffin and
+grave of President Mitchell, who died in July, 1668, of "an extream
+fever." The skeleton was found still wrapped in a cerecloth, and in the
+record of the church is a memorandum of payment "for a terpauling to
+wrap Mr. Mitchell." The Tansy found in this coffin, placed there more
+than two centuries ago, still retained its shape and scent.
+
+This use of Tansy at funerals lingered long in country neighborhoods in
+New England, in some vicinities till fifty years ago. To many older
+persons the Tansy is therefore so associated with grewsome sights and
+sad scenes, that they turn from it wherever seen, and its scent to them
+is unbearable. One elderly friend writes me: "I never see the leaves of
+Tansy without recalling also the pale dead faces I have so often seen
+encircled by the dank, ugly leaves. Often as a child have I been sent to
+gather all the Tansy I could find, to be carried by my mother to the
+house of mourning; and I gathered it, loathing to touch it, but not
+daring to refuse, and I loathe it still."
+
+Tansy not only retains its scent for a long period, but the "golden
+buttons" retain their color; I have seen them in New England parlors
+forming part of a winter posy; this, I suppose, in neighborhoods where
+Tansy was little used at funerals.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Mrs. Abraham Lansing, Albany, New York.]
+
+If an herb garden had no other reason for existence, let me commend it
+to the attention of those of ample grounds and kindly hearts, for a
+special purpose--as a garden for the blind. Our many flower-charities
+furnish flowers throughout the summer to our hospitals, but what
+sweet-scented flowers are there for those debarred from any sight of
+beauty? Through the past summer my daughters sent several times a week,
+by the generous carriage of the Long Island Express Company, boxes of
+wild flowers to any hospital of their choice. What could we send to the
+blind? The midsummer flowers of field and meadow gratified the sight,
+but scent was lacking. A sprig of Sweet Fern or Bayberry was the only
+resource. Think of the pleasure which could be given to the sightless by
+a posy of sweet-scented leaves, by Southernwood, Mint, Balm, or Basil,
+and when memory was thereby awakened in those who once had seen, what
+tender thoughts! If this book could influence the planting of an herb
+garden for the solace of those who cannot see the flowers of field and
+garden, then it will not have been written in vain.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+IN LILAC TIDE
+
+ "Ere Man is aware
+ That the Spring is here
+ The Flowers have found it out."
+
+ --_Ancient Chinese Saying._
+
+
+"A flower opens, and lo! another Year," is the beautiful and suggestive
+legend on an old vessel found in the Catacombs. Since these words were
+written, how many years have begun! how many flowers have opened! and
+yet nature has never let us weary of spring and spring flowers. My
+garden knows well the time o' the year. It needs no almanac to count the
+months.
+
+ "The untaught Spring is wise
+ In Cowslips and Anemonies."
+
+While I sit shivering, idling, wondering when I can "start the
+garden"--lo, there are Snowdrops and spring starting up to greet me.
+
+Ever in earliest spring are there days when there is no green in grass,
+tree, or shrub; but when the garden lover is conscious that winter is
+gone and spring is waiting. There is in every garden, in every
+dooryard, as in the field and by the roadside, in some indefinable way a
+look of spring. One hint of spring comes even before its flowers--you
+can smell its coming. The snow is gone from the garden walks and some of
+the open beds; you walk warily down the softened path at midday, and you
+smell the earth as it basks in the sun, and a faint scent comes from
+some twigs and leaves. Box speaks of summer, not of spring; and the
+fragrance from that Cedar tree is equally suggestive of summer. But
+break off that slender branch of Calycanthus--how fresh and welcome its
+delightful spring scent. Carry it into the house with branches of
+Forsythia, and how quickly one fills its leaf buds and the other
+blossoms.
+
+[Illustration: Ladies' Delights.]
+
+For several years the first blossom of the new year in our garden was
+neither the Snowdrop nor Crocus, but the Ladies' Delight, that laughing,
+speaking little garden face, which is not really a spring flower, it is
+a stray from summer; but it is such a shrewd, intelligent little
+creature that it readily found out that spring was here ere man or other
+flowers knew it. This dear little primitive of the Pansy tribe has
+become wonderfully scarce save in cherished old gardens like those of
+Salem, where I saw this year a space thirty feet long and several feet
+wide, under flowering shrubs and bushes, wholly covered with the
+everyday, homely little blooms of Ladies' Delights. They have the
+party-colored petal of the existing strain of English Pansies, distinct
+from the French and German Pansies, and I doubt not are the descendants
+of the cherished garden children of the English settlers. Gerarde
+describes this little English Pansy or Heartsease in 1587 under the name
+of _Viola tricolor_:--
+
+ "The flouers in form and figure like the Violet, and for the most
+ part of the same Bignesse, of three sundry colours, purple, yellow
+ and white or blew, by reason of the beauty and braverie of which
+ colours they are very pleasing to the eye, for smel they have
+ little or none."
+
+In Breck's _Book of Flowers_, 1851, is the first printed reference
+I find to the flower under the name Ladies' Delight. In my
+childhood I never heard it called aught else; but it has a score
+of folk names, all testifying to an affectionate intimacy: Bird's-eye;
+Garden-gate; Johnny-jump-up; None-so-pretty; Kitty-come; Kit-run-about;
+Three-faces under-a-hood; Come-and-cuddle-me; Pink-of-my-Joan;
+Kiss-me; Tickle-my-fancy; Kiss-me-ere-I rise; Jump-up-and-kiss-me.
+To our little flower has also been given this folk name,
+Meet-her-in-the-entry-kiss-her-in-the-buttery, the longest
+plant name in the English language, rivalled only by Miss
+Jekyll's triumph of nomenclature for the Stonecrop, namely:
+Welcome-home-husband-be-he-ever-so-drunk.
+
+[Illustration: Garden House in Garden of Hon. William H. Seward, Auburn,
+New York.]
+
+These little Ladies' Delights have infinite variety of expression; some
+are laughing and roguish, some sharp and shrewd, some surprised, others
+worried, all are animated and vivacious, and a few saucy to a degree.
+They are as companionable as people--nay, more; they are as
+companionable as children. No wonder children love them; they recognize
+kindred spirits. I know a child who picked unbidden a choice Rose, and
+hid it under her apron. But as she passed a bed of Ladies' Delights
+blowing in the wind, peering, winking, mocking, she suddenly threw the
+Rose at them, crying out pettishly, "Here! take your old flower!"
+
+The Dandelion is to many the golden seal of spring, but it blooms the
+whole circle of the year in sly garden corners and in the grass. Of it
+might have been written the lines:--
+
+ "It smiles upon the lap of May,
+ To sultry August spreads its charms,
+ Lights pale October on its way,
+ And twines December's arms."
+
+I have picked both Ladies' Delights and Dandelions every month in the
+year.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Garden of Hon. William H. Seward, Auburn, New
+York.]
+
+I suppose the common Crocus would not be deemed a very great garden
+ornament in midsummer, in its lowly growth; but in its spring blossoming
+it is--to use another's words--"most gladsome of the early flowers." A
+bed of Crocuses is certainly a keen pleasure, glowing in the sun, almost
+as grateful to the human eye as to the honey-gathering bees that come
+unerringly, from somewhere, to hover over the golden cups. How welcome
+after winter is the sound of that humming.
+
+In the garden's story, there are ever a few pictures which stand out
+with startling distinctness. When the year is gone you do not recall
+many days nor many flowers with precision; often a single flower seems
+of more importance than a whole garden. In the day book of 1900 I have
+but few pictures; the most vivid was the very first of the season. It
+could have been no later than April, for one or two Snowdrops still
+showed white in the grass, when a splendid ribbon of Chionodoxa--Glory
+of the Snow--opened like blue fire burning from plant to plant, the
+bluest thing I ever saw in any garden. It was backed with solid masses
+of equally vivid yellow Alyssum and chalk-white Candy-tuft, both of
+which had had a good start under glass in a temporary forcing bed. These
+three solid masses of color surrounded by bare earth and showing little
+green leafage made my eyes ache, but a picture was burnt in which will
+never leave my brain. I always have a sense of importance, of actual
+ownership of a plant, when I can recall its introduction--as I do of the
+Chionodoxa, about 1871. It is said to come up and bloom in the snow, but
+I have never seen it in blossom earlier than March, and never then
+unless the snow has vanished. It has much of the charm of its relative,
+the Scilla.
+
+We all have flower favorites, and some of us have flower antipathies, or
+at least we are indifferent to certain flowers; but I never knew any one
+but loved the Daffodil. Not only have poets and dramatists sung it, but
+it is a common favorite, as shown by its homely names in our everyday
+speech. I am always touched in _Endymion_ that the only flowers named as
+"a thing of beauty that is a joy forever" are Daffodils "with the green
+world they live in."
+
+In Daffodils I like the "old fat-headed sort with nutmeg and cinnamon
+smell and old common English names--Butter-and-eggs, Codlins-and-cream,
+Bacon and eggs." The newer ones are more slender in bud and bloom, more
+trumpet-shaped, and are commonplace of name instead of common. In
+Virginia the name of a variety has become applied to a family, and all
+Daffodils are called Butter-and-eggs by the people.
+
+On spring mornings the Tulips fairly burn with a warmth, which makes
+them doubly welcome after winter. Emerson--ever able to draw a picture
+in two lines--to show the heart of everything in a single sentence--thus
+paints them:--
+
+ "The gardens fire with a joyful blaze
+ Of Tulips in the morning's rays."
+
+"Tulipase do carry so stately and delightful a form, and do abide so
+long in their bravery, that there is no Lady or Gentleman of any worth
+that is not caught with this delight,"--wrote the old herbalist
+Parkinson. Bravery is an ideal expression for Tulips.
+
+[Illustration: Lilacs in Midsummer in Garden of Mrs. Abraham Lansing,
+Albany, New York.]
+
+It is with something of a shock that we read the words of Philip
+Hamerton in _The Sylvan Year_, that nature is not harmonious in the
+spring, but is only in the way of becoming so. He calls it the time of
+crudities, like the adolescence of the mind. He says, "The green is
+good for us, and we welcome it with uncritical gladness; but when we
+think of painting, it may be doubted whether any season of the year is
+less propitious to the broad and noble harmonies which are the secrets
+of all grand effects in art." And he compares the season to the
+uncomfortable hour in a household when the early risers are walking
+about, not knowing what to do with themselves, while others have not yet
+come down to breakfast.
+
+I must confess that an undiversified country landscape in spring has
+upon me the effect asserted by Hamerton. I recall one early spring week
+in the Catskills, when I fairly complained, "Everything is so green
+here." I longed for rocks, water, burnt fields, bare trees, anything to
+break that glimmering green of new grass and new Birches. But in the
+spring garden there is variety of shape and color; the Peony leaf buds
+are red, some sprouting leaves are pink, and there are vast varieties of
+brown and gray and gold in leaf.
+
+Let me give the procession of spring in the garden in the words of a
+lover of old New England flowers, Dr. Holmes. It is a vivid word picture
+of the distinctive forms and colors of budding flowers and leaves.
+
+ "At first the snowdrop's bells are seen,
+ Then close against the sheltering wall
+ The tulip's horn of dusky green,
+ The peony's dark unfolding ball.
+
+ "The golden-chaliced crocus burns;
+ The long narcissus blades appear;
+ The cone-beaked hyacinth returns
+ To light her blue-flamed chandelier.
+
+ "The willow's whistling lashes, wrung
+ By the wild winds of gusty March,
+ With sallow leaflets lightly strung,
+ Are swaying by the tufted larch.
+
+ "See the proud tulip's flaunting cup,
+ That flames in glory for an hour,--
+ Behold it withering, then look up--
+ How meek the forest-monarchs flower!
+
+ "When wake the violets, Winter dies;
+ When sprout the elm buds, Spring is near;
+ When lilacs blossom, Summer cries,
+ 'Bud, little roses, Spring is here.'"
+
+The universal flower in the old-time garden was the Lilac; it was the
+most beloved bloom of spring, and gave a name to Spring--Lilac tide. The
+Lilac does not promise "spring is coming"; it is the emblem of the
+_presence_ of spring. Dr. Holmes says, "When Lilacs blossom, Summer
+cries, '_Spring is here_'" in every cheerful and lavish bloom. Lilacs
+shade the front yard; Lilacs grow by the kitchen doorstep; Lilacs spring
+up beside the barn; Lilacs shade the well; Lilacs hang over the spring
+house; Lilacs crowd by the fence side and down the country road. In many
+colonial dooryards it was the only shrub--known both to lettered and
+unlettered folk as Laylock, and spelt Laylock too. Walter Savage Landor,
+when Laylock had become antiquated, still clung to the word, and used it
+with a stubborn persistence such as he alone could compass, and which
+seems strange in the most finished classical scholar of his day.
+
+[Illustration: Lilacs at Craigie House, the Home of Longfellow.]
+
+"I shall not go to town while the Lilacs bloom," wrote Longfellow; and
+what Lilac lover could have left a home so Lilac-embowered as Craigie
+House! A view of its charms in Lilac tide is given in outline on this
+page; the great Lilac trees seem wondrously suited to the fine old
+Revolutionary mansion.
+
+[Illustration: Box-edged Garden at the Home of Longfellow.]
+
+There is in Albany, New York, a lovely garden endeared to those who know
+it through the memory of a presence that lighted all places associated
+with it with the beauty of a noble life. It is the garden of the home of
+Mrs. Abraham Lansing, and was planted by her father and mother, General
+and Mrs. Peter Gansevoort, in 1846, having been laid out with taste and
+an art that has borne the test of over half a century's growth. In the
+garden are scores of old-time favorites: Flower de Luce, Peonies,
+Daffodils, and snowy Phlox; but instead of bending over the flower
+borders, let us linger awhile in the wonderful old Lilac walk. It is a
+glory of tender green and shaded amethyst and grateful hum of bees, the
+very voice of Spring. Every sense is gratified, even that of touch, when
+the delicate plumes of the fragrant Lilac blossoms brush your cheek as
+you walk through its path; there is no spot of fairer loveliness than
+this Lilac walk in May. It is a wonderful study of flickering light and
+grateful shade in midsummer. Look at its full-leaf charms opposite page
+138; was there ever anything lovelier in any garden, at any time, than
+the green vista of this Lilac walk in July? But for the thoughtful
+garden-lover it has another beauty still, the delicacy and refinement of
+outline when the Lilac walk is bare of foliage, as is shown on page 220
+and facing page 154. The very spirit of the Lilacs seems visible, etched
+with a purity of touch that makes them sentient, speaking beings,
+instead of silent plants. See the outlines of stem and branch against
+the tender sky of this April noon. Do you care for color when you have
+such beauty of outline? Surely this Lilac walk is loveliest in April,
+with a sensitive etherealization beyond compare. How wonderfully these
+pictures have caught the look of tentative spring--spring waiting for a
+single day to burst into living green. There is an ancient Saxon name
+for springtime--Opyn-tide--thus defined by an old writer, "Whenne that
+flowres think on blowen"--when the flowers begin to think of budding and
+blowing; and so I name this picture Opyn-tide, the Thought of Spring.
+
+For many years Lilacs were planted for hedges; they were seldom
+satisfactory if clipped, for the broad-spreading leaves were always gray
+with dust, and they often had a "rust" which wholly destroyed their
+beauty. The finest clipped Lilac hedge I ever saw is at Indian Hill,
+Newburyport. It was set out about 1850, and is compact and green as
+Privet; the leaves are healthy, and the growth perfect down to the
+ground; it is an unusual example of Lilac growth--a perfect hedge. An
+unclipped Lilac hedge is lovely in its blooming; a beautiful one grows
+by the side of the old family home of Mr. Mortimer Howell at West
+Hampton Beach, Long Island. To this hedge in May come a-begging dusky
+city flower venders, who break off and carry away wagon loads of blooms.
+As the fare from and to New York is four dollars, and a wagon has to be
+hired to convey the flowers from the hedge two miles to the railroad
+station, there must be a high price charged for these Lilacs to afford
+any profit; but the Italian flower sellers appear year after year.
+
+[Illustration: Joepye-weed and Queen Anne's Lace.]
+
+Lilacs bloom not in our ancient literature; they are not named by
+Shakespeare, nor do I recall any earlier mention of them than in the
+essay of Lord Bacon on "Gardens," published about 1610, where he spelled
+it Lelacke. Blue-pipe tree was the ancient name of the Lilac, a reminder
+of the time when pipes were made of its wood; I heard it used in modern
+speech once. An old Narragansett coach driver called out to me, "Ye set
+such store on flowers, don't ye want to pick that Blue-pipe in Pender
+Zeke's garden?"--a deserted garden and home at Pender Zeke's Corner.
+This man had some of the traits of Mrs. Wright's delightful
+"Time-o'-Day," and he knew well my love of flowers; for he had been my
+charioteer to the woods where Rhododendron and Rhodora bloom, and he had
+revealed to me the pond where grew the pink Water Lilies. And from a
+chance remark of mine he had conveyed to me a wagon load of Joepye-weed
+and Boneset, to the dismay of my younger children, who had apprehensions
+of unlimited gallons of herb tea therefrom. Let me steal a few lines
+from my spring Lilacs to write of these two "Sisters of Healing," which
+were often planted in the household herb garden. From July to September
+in the low lying meadows of every state from the Bay of Fundy to the
+Gulf of Mexico, can be found Joepye-weed and Boneset. The dull pink
+clusters of soft fringy blooms of Joepye-weed stand up three to eight
+feet in height above the moist earth, catching our eye and the visit of
+every passing butterfly, and commanding attention for their fragrance,
+and a certain dignity of carriage notable even among the more striking
+hues of the brilliant Goldenrod and vivid Sunflowers. Joe Pye was an
+Indian medicine-man of old New England, famed among his white neighbors
+for his skill in curing the devastating typhoid fevers which, in those
+days of no drainage and ignorance of sanitation, vied with so-called
+"hereditary" consumption in exterminating New England families. His
+cure-all was a bitter tea decocted from leaves and stalks of this
+_Eupatorium purpureum_, and in token of his success the plant bears
+everywhere his name, but it is now wholly neglected by the simpler and
+herb-doctor. The sister plant, the _Eupatorium perfoliatum_, known as
+Thoroughwort, Boneset, Ague-weed, or Indian Sage, grows everywhere by
+its side, and is also used in fevers. It was as efficacious in "break
+bone fever" in the South a century ago as it is now for the grippe, for
+it still is used, North and South, in many a country home. Neltje
+Blanchan and Mrs. Dana Parsons call Thoroughwort or Boneset tea a
+"nauseous draught," and I thereby suspect that neither has tasted it. I
+have many a time, and it has a clear, clean bitter taste, no stronger
+than any bitter beer or ale. Every year is Boneset gathered in old
+Narragansett; but swamp edges and meadows that are easy of access have
+been depleted of the stately growth of saw-edged wrinkled leaves, and
+the Boneset gatherer must turn to remote brooksides and inaccessible
+meadows for his harvest. The flat-topped terminal cymes of leaden white
+blooms are not distinctive as seen from afar, and many flowers of
+similar appearance lure the weary simpler here and there, until at last
+the welcome sight of the connate perfoliate leaves, surrounding the
+strong stalk, distinctive of the Boneset, show that his search is
+rewarded.
+
+[Illustration: Boneset.]
+
+After these bitter draughts of herb tea, we will turn, as do children,
+to sweets, to our beloved Lilac blooms. The Lilac has ever been a flower
+welcomed by English-speaking folk since it first came to England by the
+hand of some mariner. It is said that a German traveller named Busbeck
+brought it from the Orient to the continent in the sixteenth century. I
+know not when it journeyed to the new world, but long enough ago so that
+it now grows cheerfully and plentifully in all our states of temperate
+clime and indeed far south. It even grows wild in some localities,
+though it never looks wild, but plainly shows its escape or exile from
+some garden. It is specially beloved in New England, and it seems so
+much more suited in spirit to New England than to Persia that it ought
+really to be a native plant. Its very color seems typical of New
+England; some parts of celestial blue, with more of warm pink, blended
+and softened by that shading of sombre gray ever present in New England
+life into a distinctive color known everywhere as lilac--a color
+grateful, quiet, pleasing, what Thoreau called a "tender, civil,
+cheerful color." Its blossoming at the time of Election Day, that
+all-important New England holiday, gave it another New England
+significance.
+
+There is no more emblematic flower to me than the Lilac; it has an
+association of old homes, of home-making and home interests. On the
+country farm, in the village garden, and in the city yard, the lilac was
+planted wherever the home was made, and it attached itself with deepest
+roots, lingering sometimes most sadly but sturdily, to show where the
+home once stood.
+
+[Illustration: Magnolias.]
+
+Let me tell of two Lilacs of sentiment. One of them is shown on page
+149; a glorious Lilac tree which is one of a group of many
+full-flowered, pale-tinted ones still growing and blossoming each spring
+on a deserted homestead in old Narragansett. They bloom over the grave
+of a fine old house, and the great chimney stands sadly in their midst
+as a gravestone. "Hopewell," ill-suited of name, was the home of a
+Narragansett Robinson famed for good cheer, for refinement and luxury,
+and for a lovely garden, laid out with cost and care and filled with
+rare shrubs and flowers. Perhaps these Lilacs were a rare variety in
+their day, being pale of tint; now they are as wild as their
+companions, the Cedar hedges.
+
+[Illustration: Lilacs at Hopewell.]
+
+Gathering in the front dooryard of a fallen farm-house some splendid
+branches of flowering Lilac, I found a few feet of cellar wall and
+wooden house side standing, and the sills of two windows. These window
+sills, exposed for years to the bleaching and fading of rain and sun and
+frost, still bore the circular marks of the flower pots which, filled
+with houseplants, had graced the kitchen windows for many a winter under
+the care of a flower-loving house mistress. A few days later I learned
+from a woman over ninety years of age--an inmate of the "Poor
+House"--the story of the home thus touchingly indicated by the Lilac
+bushes and the stains of the flower pots. Over eighty years ago she had
+brought the tiny Lilac-slip to her childhood's home, then standing in a
+clearing in the forest. She carried it carefully in her hands as she
+rode behind her father on a pillion after a visit to her grandmother.
+She and her little brothers and sisters planted the tiny thing "of two
+eyes only," as she said, in the shadow of the house, in the little front
+yard. And these children watered it and watched it, as it rooted and
+grew, till the house was surrounded each spring with its vivacious
+blooms, its sweet fragrance. The puny slip has outlived the house and
+all its inmates save herself, outlived the brothers and sisters, their
+children and grandchildren, outlived orchard and garden and field. And
+it will live to tell a story to every thoughtful passer-by till a second
+growth of forest has arisen in pasture and garden and even in the
+cellar-hole, when even then the cheerful Lilac will not be wholly
+obliterated.
+
+A bunch of early Lilacs was ever a favorite gift to "teacher," to be
+placed in a broken-nosed pitcher on her desk. And Lilac petals made such
+lovely necklaces, thrust within each other or strung with needle and
+thread. And there was a love divination by Lilacs which we children
+solemnly observed. There will occasionally appear a tiny Lilac flower,
+usually a white Lilac, with five divisions of the petal instead of
+four--this is a Luck Lilac. This must be solemnly swallowed. If it goes
+down smoothly, the dabbler in magic cries out, "He loves me;" if she
+chokes at her floral food, she must say sadly, "He loves me not." I
+remember once calling out, with gratification and pride, "He loves me!"
+"Who is he?" said my older companions. "Oh, I didn't know he had to be
+somebody," I answered in surprise, to be met by derisive laughter at my
+satisfaction with a lover in general and not in particular. It was a
+matter of Lilac-luck-etiquette that the lover's name should be
+pronounced mentally before the petal was swallowed.
+
+[Illustration: Persian Lilacs and Peonies in Garden of the Kimball
+Homestead, Portsmouth, New Hampshire.]
+
+In the West Indies the Lilac is a flower of mysterious power; its
+perfume keeps away evil spirits, ghosts, banshees. If it grows not in
+the dooryard, its protecting branches are hung over the doorway. I think
+of this when I see it shading the door of happy homes in New England.
+
+In our old front yards we had only the common Lilacs, and occasionally
+a white one; and as a rarity the graceful, but sometimes rather
+spindling, Persian Lilacs, known since 1650 in gardens, and shown on
+page 151. How the old gardens would have stared at the new double
+Lilacs, which have luxuriant plumes of bloom twenty inches long.
+
+The "pensile Lilac" has been sung by many poets; but the spirit of the
+flower has been best portrayed in verse by Elizabeth Akers. I can quote
+but a single stanza from so many beautiful ones.
+
+ "How fair it stood, with purple tassels hung,
+ Their hue more tender than the tint of Tyre;
+ How musical amid their fragrance rung
+ The bee's bassoon, keynote of spring's glad choir!
+ O languorous Lilac! still in time's despite
+ I see thy plumy branches all alight
+ With new-born butterflies which loved to stay
+ And bask and banquet in the temperate ray
+ Of springtime, ere the torrid heats should be:
+ For these dear memories, though the world grow gray,
+ I sing thy sweetness, lovely Lilac tree!"
+
+Another poet of the Lilac is Walt Whitman. He tells his delight in "the
+Lilac tall and its blossoms of mastering odor." He sings: "with the
+birds a warble of joy for Lilac-time." That noble, heroic dirge, the
+_Burial Hymn of Lincoln_, begins:--
+
+ "When Lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd."
+
+The poet stood under the blossoming Lilacs when he learned of the death
+of Lincoln, and the scent and sight of the flowers ever bore the sad
+association. In this poem is a vivid description of--
+
+ "The Lilac bush, tall growing, with heart-shaped leaves of rich green,
+ With many a pointed blossom, rising delicate with the perfume strong
+ I love.
+ With every leaf a miracle."
+
+Thomas William Parsons could turn from his profound researches and
+loving translations of Dante to write with deep sympathy of the Lilac.
+His verses have to me an additional interest, since I believe they were
+written in the house built by my ancestor in 1740, and occupied still by
+his descendants. In its front dooryard are Lilacs still standing under
+the windows of Dr. Parsons' room, in which he loved so to write.
+
+Hawthorne felt a sort of "ludicrous unfitness in the idea of a
+time-stricken and grandfatherly Lilac bush." He was dissatisfied with
+aged Lilacs, though he knew not whether his heart, judgment, or rural
+sense put him in that condition. He felt the flower should either
+flourish in immortal youth or die. Apple trees could grow old and feeble
+without his reproach, but an aged Lilac was improper.
+
+I fancy no one ever took any care of Lilacs in an old garden. As soon
+water or enrich the Sumach and Elder growing by the roadside! But care
+for your Lilacs nowadays, and see how they respond. Make them a _garden_
+flower, and you will never regret it. There be those who prefer grafted
+Lilacs--the stock being usually a Syringa; they prefer the single trunk,
+and thus get rid of the Lilac suckers. But compare a row of grafted
+Lilacs to a row of natural fastigate growth, as shown on page 220, and I
+think nature must be preferred.
+
+"Methinks I see my contemplative girl now in the garden watching the
+gradual approach of Spring," wrote Sterne. My contemplative girl lives
+in the city, how can she know that spring is here? Even on those few
+square feet of mother earth, dedicated to clotheslines and posts, spring
+sets her mark. Our Lilacs seldom bloom, but they put forth lovely fresh
+green leaves; and even the unrolling of the leaves of our Japanese ivies
+are a pleasure.
+
+Our poor little strips of back yard in city homes are apt to be too
+densely shaded for flower blooms, but some things will grow, even there.
+Some wild flowers will live, and what a delight they are in spring. We
+have a Jack-in-the-pulpit who comes up just as jauntily there as in the
+wild woods; Dog-tooth Violet and our common wild Violet also bloom. A
+city neighbor has Trillium which blossoms each year; our Trillium shows
+leaves, but no blossoms, and does not increase in spread of roots.
+Bloodroot, a flower so shy when gathered in the woods, and ever loving
+damp sites, flourishes in the dryest flower bed, grows coarser in leaf
+and bloom, and blossoms earlier, and holds faster its snowy petals.
+Corydalis in the garden seems so garden-bred that you almost forget the
+flower was ever wild.
+
+[Illustration: Opyn-tide, the Thought of Spring.]
+
+The approach of spring in our city parks is marked by the appearance of
+the Dandelion gatherers. It is always interesting to see, in May, on the
+closely guarded lawns and field expanses of our city parks, the hundreds
+of bareheaded, gayly-dressed Italian and Portuguese women and children
+eagerly gathering the young Dandelion plants to add to their meagre
+fare as a greatly-loved delicacy. They collect these "greens" in
+highly-colored kerchiefs, in baskets, in squares of sheeting; I have
+seen the women bearing off a half-bushel of plants; even their stumpy
+little children are impressed to increase the welcome harvest, and with
+a broken knife dig eagerly in the greensward. The thrifty park
+commissioners, in Dandelion-time, relax their rigid rules, "Keep Off the
+Grass," and turn the salad-loving Italians loose to improve the public
+lawns by freeing them from weeds.
+
+The earliest sign of spring in the fields and woods in my childhood was
+the appearance of the Willow catkins, and was heralded by the cry of one
+child to another,--"Pussy-willows are out." How eagerly did those who
+loved the woods and fields turn, after the storm, whiteness, and chill
+of a New England winter, to Pussy-willows as a promise of summer and
+sunshine. Some of their charm ever lingers to us as we see them in the
+baskets of swarthy street venders in New York.
+
+Magnolia blossoms are sold in our city streets to remind city dwellers
+of spring. "Every flower its own bow-kwet," is the call of the vender.
+Bunches of Locust blossoms follow, awkwardly tied together. Though the
+Magnolia is earlier, I do not find it much more splendid as a flowering
+tree for the garden than our northern Dogwood; and the Dogwood when in
+bloom seems just as tropical. It is then the glory of the landscape; and
+its radiant starry blossoms turn into ideal beauty even our sombre
+cemeteries.
+
+The Magnolia has been planted in northern gardens for over a century.
+Gardens on Long Island have many beautiful old specimens, doubtless
+furnished by the Prince Nurseries. These seem thoroughly at home; just
+as does the Locust brought from Virginia, a century ago, by one Captain
+Sands of Sands Point, to please his Virginia bride with the presence of
+the trees of her girlhood's home. These Locusts have spread over every
+rood of Long Island earth, and seem as much at home as Birch or Willow.
+The three Magnolia trees on Mr. Brown's lawn in Flatbush are as large as
+any I know in the North, and were exceptionally full of bloom this year,
+this photograph (shown facing page 148) being taken when they were past
+their prime. I saw children eagerly gathering the waxy petals which had
+fallen, and which show so plainly in the picture. But the flower is not
+common enough here for northern children to learn the varied attractions
+of the Magnolia.
+
+The flower lore of American children is nearly all of English
+derivation; but children invent as well as copy. In the South the lavish
+growth of the Magnolia affords multiform playthings. The beautiful broad
+white petals give a snowy surface for the inditing of messages or
+valentines, which are written with a pin, when the letters turn dark
+brown. The stamens of the flower--waxlike with red tips--make mock
+illuminating matches. The leaves shape into wonderful drinking cups, and
+the scarlet seeds give a glowing necklace.
+
+[Illustration: A Thought of Winter's Snows.]
+
+The glories of a spring garden are not in the rows of flowering bulbs,
+beautiful as they are; but in the flowering shrubs and trees. The old
+garden had few shrubs, but it had unsurpassed beauty in its rows of
+fruit trees which in their blossoming give the spring garden, as here
+shown, that lovely whiteness which seems a blending of the seasons--a
+thought of winter's snows. The perfection of Apple blossoms I have told
+in another chapter. Earlier to appear was the pure white, rather chilly,
+blooms of the Plum tree, to the Japanese "the eldest brother of an
+hundred flowers." They are faintly sweet-scented with the delicacy
+found in many spring blossoms. A good example of the short verses of the
+Japanese poets tells of the Plum blossom and its perfume.
+
+ "In springtime, on a cloudless night,
+ When moonbeams throw their silver pall
+ O'er wooded landscapes, veiling all
+ In one soft cloud of misty white,
+ 'Twere vain almost to hope to trace
+ The Plum trees in their lovely bloom
+ Of argent; 'tis their sweet perfume
+ Alone which leads me to their place."
+
+The lovely family of double white Plum blossoms which now graces our
+gardens is varied by tinted ones; there are sixty in all which the
+nineteenth century owes to Japan.
+
+The Peach tree has a flower which has given name to one of the loveliest
+colors in the world. The Peach has varieties with wonderful double
+flowers of glorious color. Cherry trees bear a more cheerful white
+flower than Plum trees.
+
+ "The Cherry boughs above us spread
+ The whitest shade was ever seen;
+ And flicker, flicker came and fled
+ Sun-spots between."
+
+I do not recall the Judas tree in my childhood. I am told there were
+many in Worcester; but there were none in our garden, nor in our
+neighborhood, and that was my world. Orchids might have hung from the
+trees a mile from my home, and would have been no nearer me than the
+tropics. I had a small world, but it was large enough, since it was
+bounded by garden walls.
+
+Almond trees are seldom seen in northern gardens; but the Flowering
+Almond flourishes as one of the purest and loveliest familiar shrubs.
+Silvery pink in bloom when it opens, the pink darkens till when in full
+flower it is deeply rosy. It was, next to the Lilac, the favorite shrub
+of my childhood. I used to call the exquisite little blooms "fairy
+roses," and there were many fairy tales relating to the Almond bush.
+This made the flower enhaloed with sentiment and mystery, which charmed
+as much as its beauty. The Flowering Almond seemed to have a special
+place under a window in country yards and gardens, as it is shown on
+page 39. A fitting spot it was, since it never grew tall enough to shade
+the little window panes.
+
+With Pussy-willows and Almond blossoms and Ladies' Delights, with
+blossoming playhouse Apple trees and sweet-scented Lilac walks, spring
+was certainly Paradise in our childhood. Would it were an equally happy
+season in mature years; but who, garden-bred, can walk in the springtime
+through the garden of her childhood without thought of those who cared
+for the garden in its youth, and shared the care of their children with
+the care of their flowers, but now are seen no more.
+
+ "Oh, far away in some serener air,
+ The eyes that loved them see a heavenly dawn:
+ How can they bloom without her tender care?
+ Why should they live when her sweet life is gone?"
+
+I have written of the gladness of spring, but I know nothing more
+overwhelming than the heartache of spring, the sadness of a
+fresh-growing spring garden. Where is the dear one who planted it and
+loved it, and he who helped her in the care, and the loving child who
+played in it and left it in the springtime? All that is good and
+beautiful has come again to us with the sunlight and warmth, save those
+whom we still love but can see no more. By that very measure of
+happiness poured for us in childhood in Lilac tide, is our cup of
+sadness now filled.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+OLD FLOWER FAVORITES
+
+ "God does not send us strange flowers every year.
+ When the spring winds blow o'er the pleasant places
+ The same dear things lift up the same fair faces;
+ The Violet is here.
+
+ "It all comes back; the odor, grace, and hue
+ Each sweet relation of its life repeated;
+ No blank is left, no looking-for is cheated;
+ It is the thing we knew."
+
+ --ADELINE D. T. WHITNEY, 1861.
+
+
+Not only do I love to see the same dear things year after year, and to
+welcome the same odor, grace, and hue; but I love to find them in the
+same places. I like a garden in which plants have been growing in one
+spot for a long time, where they have a fixed home and surroundings. In
+our garden the same flowers shoulder each other comfortably and crowd
+each other a little, year after year. They look, my sister says, like
+long-established neighbors, like old family friends, not as if they had
+just "moved in," and didn't know each other's names and faces. Plants
+grow better when they are among flower friends. I suppose we have to
+transplant some plants, sometimes; but I would try to keep old friends
+together even in those removals. They would be lonely when they opened
+their eyes after the winter's sleep, and saw strange flower forms and
+unknown faces around them.
+
+[Illustration: Larkspur and Phlox.]
+
+For flowers have friendships, and antipathies as well. How Canterbury
+Bells and Foxgloves love to grow side by side! And Sweet Williams, with
+Foxgloves, as here shown. And in my sister's garden Larkspur always
+starts up by white Phlox--see a bit of the border on this page. Whatever
+may influence these docile alliances, it isn't a proper sense of fitness
+of color; for Tiger Lilies dearly love to grow by crimson-purple Phlox,
+a most inharmonious association, and you can hardly separate them. If a
+flower dislikes her neighbor in the garden, she moves quietly away, I
+don't know where or how. Sometimes she dies, but at any rate she is
+gone. It is so queer; I have tried every year to make Feverfew grow in
+this bed, and it won't do it, though it grows across the path. There is
+some flower here that the pompous Feverfew doesn't care to associate
+with. Not the Larkspur, for they are famous friends--perhaps it is the
+Sweet William, who is rather a plain fellow. In general flowers are very
+sociable with each other, but they have some preferences, and these are
+powerful ones.
+
+[Illustration: Sweet William and Foxglove.]
+
+It is amusing to read in no less than five recent English
+"garden-books," by flower-loving souls, the solemn advice that if you
+wish a beautiful garden effect you "must plant the great Oriental Poppy
+by the side of the White Lupine."
+
+ "Thou say'st an undisputed thing
+ In such a solemn way."
+
+The truth is, you have very little to do with it. That Poppy chooses to
+keep company with the White Lupine, and to that impulse you owe your
+fine garden effect. The Poppy is the slyest magician of the whole
+garden. He comes and goes at will. This year a few blooms, nearly all in
+one corner; next year a blaze of color banded across the middle of the
+garden like the broad sash of a court chamberlain. Then a single grand
+blossom quite alone in the pansy bed, while another pushes up between
+the tight close leaves of the box edging:--the Poppy is _queer_.
+
+[Illustration: Plume Poppy.]
+
+Some flowers have such a hatred of man they cannot breathe and live in
+his presence, others have an equal love of human companionship. The
+white Clover clings here to our pathway as does the English Daisy across
+seas. And in our garden Ladies' Delights and Ambrosia tell us, without
+words, of their love for us and longing to be by our side; just as
+plainly as a child silently tells us his love and dependence on us by
+taking our hand as we walk side by side. There is not another gesture of
+childhood, not an affectionate word which ever touched my heart as did
+that trustful holding of the hand. One of my children throughout his
+brief life never walked by my side without clinging closely--I think
+without conscious intent--with his little hand to mine. I can never
+forget the affection, the trust of that vanished hand.
+
+I find that my dearest flower loves are the old flowers,--not only old
+to me because I knew them in childhood, but old in cultivation.
+
+ "Give me the good old weekday blossoms
+ I used to see so long ago,
+ With hearty sweetness in their bosoms,
+ Ready and glad to bud and blow."
+
+Even were they newcomers, we should speedily care for them, they are so
+lovable, so winning, so endearing. If I had seen to-day for the first
+time a Fritillaria, a Violet, a Lilac, a Bluebell, or a Rose, I know it
+would be a case of love at first sight. But with intimacy they have
+grown dearer still.
+
+The sense of long-continued acquaintance and friendship which we feel
+for many garden flowers extends to a few blossoms of field and forest.
+It is felt to an inexplicable degree by all New Englanders for the
+Trailing Arbutus, our Mayflower; and it is this unformulated sentiment
+which makes us like to go to the same spot year after year to gather
+these beloved flowers. I am sensible of this friendship for Buttercups,
+they seem the same flowers I knew last year; and I have a distinct
+sympathy with Owen Meredith's poem:--
+
+ "I pluck the flowers I plucked of old
+ About my feet--yet fresh and cold
+ The Buttercups do bend;
+ The selfsame Buttercups they seem,
+ Thick in the bright-eyed green, and such
+ As when to me their blissful gleam
+ Was all earth's gold--how much!"
+
+We have little of the intense sentiment, the inspiration which filled
+flower-lovers of olden times. We admire flowers certainly as beautiful
+works of nature, as objects of wonder in mechanism and in the profusion
+of growth, and we are occasionally roused to feelings of gratitude to
+the Maker and Giver of such beauty; but it is not precisely the same
+regard that the old gardeners and "flowerists" had, which is expressed
+in this quotation from Gerarde of "the gallant grace of violets":--
+
+ "They admonish and stir up a man to that which is comelie and
+ honest; for flowers through their beautie, varietie of colour and
+ exquisite forme doe bring to a liberall and gentlemanly mind, the
+ remembrance of honestie, comelinesse and all kinds of virtues."
+
+It was a virtue to be comely in those days; as it is indeed a virtue
+now; and to the pious old herbalists it seemed an impossible thing that
+any creation which was beautiful should not also be good.
+
+[Illustration: Meadow Rue.]
+
+All flowers cannot be loved with equal warmth; it is possible to have a
+wholesome liking for a flower, a wish to see it around you, which would
+make you plant it in your borders and treat it well, but which would not
+be at all akin to love. For others you have a placid tolerance; others
+you esteem--good, virtuous, worthy creatures, but you cannot warm toward
+them. Sometimes they have been sung with passion by poets (Swinburne is
+always glowing over very unresponsive flower souls) and they have been
+painted with fervor by artists--and still you do not love them. I do not
+love Tulips, but I welcome them very cordially in my garden. Others have
+loved them; the Tulip has had her head turned by attention.
+
+Some flowers we like at first sight, but they do not wear well. This is
+a hard truth; and I shall not shame the garden-creatures who have done
+their best to please by betraying them to the world, save in a single
+case to furnish an example. In late August the Bergamot blossoms in
+luxuriant heads of white and purplish pink bloom, similar in tint to the
+abundant Phlox. Both grow freely in the garden of Sylvester Manor. When
+the Bergamot has romped in your borders for two or three years, you may
+wish to exile it to a vegetable garden, near the blackberry vines. Is
+this because it is an herb instead of a purely decorative flower? You
+never thus thrust out Phlox. A friend confesses to me that she exiled
+even the splendid scarlet Bergamot after she had grown it for three
+years in her flower-beds; such subtle influences control our
+flower-loves.
+
+Beautiful and noble as are the grand contributions of the nineteenth
+century to us from the garden and fields of Japan and China, we seldom
+speak of loving them. Thus the Chinese White Wistaria is similar in
+shape of blossom to the Scotch Laburnum, though a far more elegant, more
+lavish flower; but the Laburnum is the loved one. I used to read
+longingly of the Laburnum in volumes of English poetry, especially in
+Hood's verses, beginning:--
+
+ "I remember, I remember,
+ The house where I was born,"
+
+Ella Partridge had a tall Laburnum tree at her front door; it peeped in
+the second-story windows. It was so cherished, that I doubt whether its
+blooms were ever gathered. She told us with conscious pride and
+rectitude that it was a "yellow Wistaria tree which came from China"; I
+saw no reason to doubt her words, and as I never chanced to speak to my
+parents about it, I ever thought of it as a yellow Wistaria tree until I
+went out into the world and found it was a Scotch Laburnum.
+
+Few garden owners plant now the Snowberry, _Symphoricarpus racemosus_,
+once seen in every front yard, and even used for hedges. It wasn't a
+very satisfactory shrub in its habit; the oval leaves were not a
+cheerful green, and were usually pallid with mildew. The flowers were
+insignificant, but the clusters of berries were as pure as pearls. In
+country homes, before the days of cheap winter flowers and omnipresent
+greenhouses, these snowy clusters were cherished to gather in winter to
+place on coffins and in hands as white and cold as the berries. Its
+special offence in our garden was partly on account of this funereal
+association, but chiefly because we were never permitted to gather its
+berries to string into necklaces. They were rigidly preserved on the
+stem as a garden decoration in winter; though they were too closely akin
+in color to the encircling snowdrifts to be of any value.
+
+In country homes in olden times were found several universal winter
+posies. On the narrow mantel shelves of farm and village parlors, both
+in England and America, still is seen a winter posy made of dried stalks
+of the seed valves of a certain flower; they are shown on the opposite
+page. Let us see how our old friend, Gerarde, describes this plant:--
+
+ "The stalkes are loden with many flowers like the
+ stocke-gilliflower, of a purple colour, which, being fallen, the
+ seede cometh foorthe conteined in a flat thinne cod, with a sharp
+ point or pricke at one end, in fashion of the moone, and somewhat
+ blackish. This cod is composed of three filmes or skins whereof the
+ two outermost are of an overworne ashe colour, and the innermost,
+ or that in the middle whereon the seed doth hang or cleave, is thin
+ and cleere shining, like a piece of white satten newly cut from the
+ peece."
+
+In the latter clause of this striking description is given the reason
+for the popular name of the flower, Satin-flower or White Satin, for the
+inner septum is a shining membrane resembling white satin. Another
+interesting name is Pricksong-flower. All who have seen sheets of music
+of Elizabethan days, when the notes of music were called pricks, and the
+whole sheet a pricksong, will readily trace the resemblance to the seeds
+of this plant.
+
+Gerarde says it was named "Penny-floure, Money-floure, Silver-plate,
+Sattin, and among our women called Honestie." The last name was commonly
+applied at the close of the eighteenth century. It is thus named in
+writings of Rev. William Hanbury, 1771, and a Boston seedsman then
+advertised seeds of Honestie "in small quantities, that all might have
+some." In 1665, Josselyn found White Satin planted and growing
+plentifully in New England gardens, where I am sure it formed, in garden
+and house, a happy reminder of their English homes to the wives of the
+colonists. Since that time it has spread so freely in some localities,
+especially in southern Connecticut, that it grows wild by the wayside.
+It is seldom seen now in well-kept gardens, though it should be, for it
+is really a lovely flower, showing from white to varied and rich light
+purples. I was charmed with its fresh beauty this spring in the garden
+of Mrs. Mabel Osgood Wright; a photograph of one of her borders
+containing Honesty is shown opposite page 174.
+
+[Illustration: Money-in-both-pockets.]
+
+At Belvoir Castle in England, in the "Duchess's Garden," the
+Satin-flower can be seen in full variety of tint, and fills an important
+place. It is carefully cultivated by seed and division, all inferior
+plants being promptly destroyed, while the superior blossoms are
+cherished.
+
+The flower was much used in charms and spells, as was everything
+connected with the moon. Drayton's Clarinax sings of Lunaria:--
+
+ "Enchanting lunarie here lies
+ In sorceries excelling."
+
+As a child this Lunaria was a favorite flower, for it afforded to us
+juvenile money. Indeed, it was generally known among us as Money-flower
+or Money-seed, or sometimes as Money-in-both-pockets. The seed valves
+formed our medium of exchange and trade, passing as silver dollars.
+
+Through the streets of a New England village there strolled, harmless
+and happy, one who was known in village parlance as a "softy," one of
+"God's fools," a poor addle-pated, simple-minded creature, witless--but
+neither homeless nor friendless; for children cared for him, and
+feeble-minded though he was, he managed to earn, by rush-seating chairs
+and weaving coarse baskets, and gathering berries, scant pennies enough
+to keep him alive; and he slept in a deserted barn, in a field full of
+rocks and Daisies and Blueberry bushes,--a barn which had been built by
+one but little more gifted with wits than himself. Poor Elmer never was
+able to understand that the money which he and the children saved so
+carefully each autumn from the money plants was not equal in value to
+the great copper cents of the village store; and when he asked gleefully
+for a loaf of bread or a quart of molasses, was just as apt to offer the
+shining seed valves in payment as he was to give the coin of the land;
+and it must be added that his belief received apparent confirmation in
+the fact that he usually got the bread whether he gave seeds or cents.
+
+[Illustration: Box Walk in Garden of Frederick J. Kingsbury, Esq.
+Waterbury, Connecticut.]
+
+He lost his life through his poor simple notion. In the village he was
+kindly treated by all, clothed, fed, and warmed; but one day there came
+skulking along the edge of the village what were then rare visitors, two
+tramps, who by ill-chance met poor Elmer as he was gathering chestnuts.
+And as the children lingered on their way home from school to take toll
+of Elmer's store of nuts, they heard him boasting gleefully of his
+wealth, "hundreds and hundreds of dollars all safe for winter." The
+children knew what his dollars were, but the tramps did not. Three days
+of heavy rain passed by, and Elmer did not appear at the store or any
+house. Then kindly neighbors went to his barn in the distant field, and
+found him cruelly beaten, with broken ribs and in a high fever, while
+scattered around him were hundreds of the seeds of his autumnal store of
+the money plant; these were all the silver dollars his assailants found.
+He was carried to the almshouse and died in a few weeks, partly from the
+beating, partly from exposure, but chiefly, I ever believed, from
+homesickness in his enforced home. His old house has fallen down, but
+his well still is open, and around it grows a vast expanse of Lunaria,
+which has spread and grown from the seeds poor Elmer saved, and every
+year shoots of the tender lilac blooms mingle so charmingly with the
+white Daisies that the sterile field is one of the show-places of the
+village, and people drive from afar to see it.
+
+[Illustration: Lunaria in Garden at Waldstein.]
+
+There grow in profusion in our home garden what I always called the
+Mullein Pink, the Rose Campion (_Lychnis coronaria_). I never heard any
+one speak of this plant with special affection or admiration; but as
+a child I loved its crimson flower more than any other flower in the
+garden. Perhaps I should say I loved the royal color rather than the
+flower. I gathered tight bunches without foliage into a glowing mass of
+color unequalled in richness of tint by anything in nature. I have seen
+only in a stained glass window flooded with high sunlight a crimson
+approaching that of the Mullein Pink. Gerarde calls the flower the
+"Gardener's Delight or Gardner's Eie." It was known in French as the Eye
+of God; and the Rose of Heaven. We used to rub our cheeks with the
+woolly leaves to give a beautiful rosy blush, and thereby I once skinned
+one cheek.
+
+Snapdragons were a beloved flower--companions of my childhood in our
+home garden, but they have been neglected a bit by nearly every one of
+late years. Plant a clump of the clear yellow and one of pure white
+Snapdragons, and see how beautiful they are in the garden, and how fresh
+they keep when cut. We had such a satisfying bunch of them on the dinner
+table to-day, in a milk-white glazed Chinese jar; yellow Snapdragons,
+with "borrowed leaves" of Virgin's-bower (_Adlumia_) and a haze of
+Gypsophila over all.
+
+A flower much admired in gardens during the early years of the
+nineteenth century was the Plume Poppy (_Bocconia_). It has a pretty
+pinkish bloom in general shape somewhat like Meadow Rue (see page 164
+and page 167). A friend fancied a light feathery look over certain of
+her garden borders, and she planted plentifully Plume Poppy and Meadow
+Rue; this was in 1895. In 1896 the effect was exquisite; in 1897 the
+garden feathered out with far too much fulness; in 1901 all the combined
+forces of all the weeds of the garden could not equal these two flowers
+in utter usurpment and close occupation of every inch of that garden.
+The Plume Poppy has a strong tap-root which would be a good symbol of
+the root of the tree Ygdrassyl--the Tree of Life, that never dies. You
+can go over the borders with scythe and spade and hoe, and even with
+manicure-scissors, but roots of the Plume Poppy will still hide and send
+up vigorous growth the succeeding year.
+
+We have grown so familiar with some old doubled blossoms that we think
+little of their being double. One such, symmetrical of growth, beautiful
+of foliage, and gratifying of bloom, is the Double Buttercup. It is to
+me distinctly one of our most old-fashioned flowers in aspect. A hardy
+great clump of many years' growth is one of the ancient treasures of our
+garden; its golden globes are known in England as Bachelor's Buttons,
+and are believed by many to be the Bachelor's Buttons of Shakespeare's
+day.
+
+[Illustration: Dahlia Walk at Ravensworth.]
+
+Dahlias afford a striking example of the beauty of single flowers when
+compared to their doubled descendants. Single Dahlias are fine flowers,
+the yellow and scarlet ones especially so. I never thought double
+Dahlias really worth the trouble spent on them in our Northern gardens;
+so much staking and tying, and fussing, and usually an autumn storm
+wrenches them round and breaks the stem or a frost nips them just as
+they are in bloom. A Dahlia hedge or a walk such as this one at
+Ravensworth, Virginia, is most stately and satisfying. I like, in
+moderation, many of the smaller single and 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 embroidered 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 bicentenary exhibition of
+Sweet Peas was given in London 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, "I love every flower that grows," but I
+answer with emphasis, "I don't!" I have ever disliked the Portulaca,--I
+hate its stems. It is my fate never to escape it. I planted it once to
+grow under Sweet Alyssum in the little enclosure of earth behind my city
+home; when I returned in the autumn, everything was covered, blanketed,
+overwhelmed with Portulaca. Since then it comes up even in the grass,
+and seems to thrive by being trampled upon. The Portulaca was not a
+flower of colonial days; I am glad to learn our great-grandmothers were
+not pestered with it; it was not described in the _Botanical Magazine_
+till 1829.
+
+I do not care for the Petunia close at hand on account of its sickish
+odor. But in the dusky border the flowers shine like white stars (page
+180), and make you almost forgive their poor colors in the daylight. I
+never liked the Calceolaria. Every child in our town used to have a
+Calceolaria in her own small garden plot, but I never wanted one. I care
+little for Chrysanthemums; they fill in the border in autumn, and they
+look pretty well growing, but I like few of the flowers close at hand.
+By some curious twist of a brain which, alas! is apt not to deal as it
+is expected and ought to, with sensations furnished to it, I have felt
+this distaste for Chrysanthemums since I attended a Chrysanthemum Show.
+Of course, I ought to love them far more, and have more eager interest
+in them--but I do not. Their sister, the China Aster, I care little for.
+The Germans call Asters "death-flowers." The Empress of Austria at the
+Swiss hotel where she lodged just before she was murdered, found the
+rooms decorated with China Asters. She said to her attendant that the
+flowers were in Austria termed death-flowers--and so they proved. The
+Aster is among the flowers prohibited in Japan for felicitous occasions,
+as are the Balsam, Rhododendron, and Azalea.
+
+[Illustration: Petunias.]
+
+Those who read these pages may note perhaps that I say little of Lilies.
+I do not care as much for them as most garden lovers do. I like all our
+wild Lilies, especially the yellow Nodding Lily of our fields; and the
+Lemon Lily of our gardens is ever a delight; but the stately Lilies
+which are such general favorites, Madonna Lilies, Japan Lilies, the
+Gold-banded Lilies, are not especially dear to me.
+
+I love climbing vines, whether of delicate leaf or beautiful flower. In
+a room I place all the decoration that I can on the walls, out of the
+way, leaving thus space to move around without fear of displacement or
+injury of fragile things; so in a limited garden space, grass room under
+our feet, with flowering vines on the surrounding walls are better than
+many crowded flower borders. A tiny space can quickly be made delightful
+with climbing plants. The common Morning-glory, called in England the
+Bell-bind, is frequently advertised by florists of more encouragement
+than judgment, as suitable to plant freely in order to cover fences and
+poor sandy patches of ground with speedy and abundant leafage and bloom.
+There is no doubt that the Morning-glory will do all this and far more
+than is promised. It will also spread above and below ground from the
+poor strip of earth to every other corner of garden and farm. This it
+has done till, in our Eastern states, it is now classed as a wild
+flower. It will never look wild, however, meet it where you will. It is
+as domestic and tame as a barnyard fowl, which, wandering in the wildest
+woodland, could never be mistaken as game. The garden at Claymont, the
+Virginia home of Mr. Frank R. Stockton, afforded a striking example of
+the spreading and strangling properties of the Morning-glory, not under
+encouragement, but simply under toleration. Mr. Stockton tells me that
+the entire expanse of his yards and garden, when he first saw them, was
+a solid mass of Morning-glory blooms. Every stick, every stem, every
+stalk, every shrub and blade of grass, every vegetable growth, whether
+dead or alive, had its encircling and overwhelming Morning-glory
+companion, set full of tiny undersized blossoms of varied tints. It was
+a beautiful sight at break of day,--a vast expanse of acres jewelled
+with Morning-glories--but it wasn't the new owner's notion of a flower
+garden.
+
+In my childhood flower agents used to canvass country towns from house
+to house. Sometimes they had a general catalogue, and sold many plants,
+trees, and shrubs. Oftener they had but a single plant which they were
+"booming." I suspect that their trade came through the sudden
+introduction of so many and varied flowers and shrubs from China and
+Japan. I am told that the first Chinese Wistarias and a certain Fringe
+tree were sold in this manner; and I know the white Hydrangea was, for I
+recall it, though I do not know that this was its first sale. I remember
+too that suddenly half the houses in town, on piazza or trellis, had the
+rich purple blooms of the _Clematis Jackmanni_; for a very persuasive
+agent had gone through the town the previous year. Of course people of
+means bought then, as now, at nurseries; but at many humble homes, whose
+owners would never have thought of buying from a greenhouse, he sold his
+plants. It gave an agreeable rivalry, when all started plants together,
+to see whose flourished best and had the amplest bloom. Thoreau recalled
+the pleasant emulation of many owners in Concord of a certain
+Rhododendron, sold thus sweepingly by an agent. The purple Clematis
+displaced an old climbing favorite, the Trumpet Honeysuckle, once seen
+by every door. It was so beloved of humming-birds and so beautiful, I
+wonder we could ever destroy it. Its downfall was hastened by its being
+infested by a myriad of tiny green aphides, which proceeded from it to
+our Roses. I recall well these little plant insects, for I was very fond
+of picking the tubes of the Honeysuckle for the drop of pure honey
+within, and I had to abandon reluctantly the sweet morsels.
+
+We have in our garden, and it is shown on the succeeding page, a vine
+which we carefully cherished in seedlings from year to year, and took
+much pride in. It came to us with the Ambrosia from the Walpole garden.
+It was not common in gardens in our neighborhood, and I always looked
+upon it as something very choice, and even rare, as it certainly was
+something very dainty and pretty. We called it Virgin's-bower. When I
+went out into the world I found that it was not rare, that it grew wild
+from Connecticut to the far West; that it was Climbing Fumitory, or
+Mountain Fringe, _Adlumia_. When Mrs. Margaret Deland asked if we had
+Alleghany Vine in our garden, I told her I had never seen it, when all
+the while it was our own dear Virgin's-bower. It doesn't seem hardy
+enough to be a wild thing; how could it make its way against the fierce
+vines and thorns of the forest when it hasn't a bit of woodiness in its
+stems and its leaves and flowers are so tender! I cannot think any
+garden perfect without it, no matter what else is there, for its
+delicate green Rue-like leaves lie so gracefully on stone or brick
+walls, or on fences, and it trails its slender tendrils so lightly over
+dull shrubs that are out of flower, beautifying them afresh with an
+alien bloom of delicate little pinkish blossoms like tiny
+Bleeding-hearts.
+
+[Illustration: Virgin's-bower.]
+
+Another old favorite was the Balloon-vine, sometimes called Heartseed
+or Heart-pea, with its seeds like fat black hearts, with three lobes
+which made them globose instead of flat. This, too, had pretty compound
+leaves, and the whole vine, like our Virgin's-bower, lay lightly on what
+it covered; but the Dutchman's-pipe had a leafage too heavy save to make
+a thick screen or arch quickly and solidly. It did well enough in
+gardens which had not had a long cultivated past, or made little
+preparation for a cherished future; but it certainly was not suited to
+our garden, where things were not planted for a day. These three are
+native vines of rich woods in our Central and Western states. The
+Matrimony-vine was an old favorite; one from the porch of the Van
+Cortlandt manor-house, over a hundred years old, is shown on the next
+page. Often you see a straggling, sprawling growth; but this one is as
+fine as any vine could be.
+
+Patient folk--as were certainly those of the old-time gardens, tried to
+keep the Rose Acacia as a favorite. It was hardy enough, but so
+hopelessly brittle in wood that it was constantly broken by the wind and
+snow of our Northern winters, even though it was sheltered under some
+stronger shrub. At the end of a lovely Salem garden, I beheld this June
+a long row of Rose Acacias in full bloom. I am glad I possess in my
+memory the exquisite harmony of their shimmering green foliage and rosy
+flower clusters. Miss Jekyll, ever resourceful, trains the Rose Acacia
+on a wall; and fastens it down by planting sturdy Crimson Ramblers by
+its side; her skilful example may well be followed in America and thus
+restore to our gardens this beautiful flower.
+
+[Illustration: Matrimony-vine at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+One flower, termed old-fashioned by nearly every one, is really a recent
+settler of our gardens. A popular historical novel of American life at
+the time of the Revolution makes the hero and heroine play a very pretty
+love scene over a spray of the Bleeding-heart, the Dielytra, or
+Dicentra. Unfortunately for the truth of the novelist's picture, the
+Dielytra was not introduced to the gardens of English-speaking folk
+till 1846, when the London Horticultural Society received a single plant
+from the north of China. How quickly it became cheap and abundant; soon
+it bloomed in every cottage garden; how quickly it became beloved! The
+graceful racemes of pendant rosy flowers were eagerly welcomed by
+children; they have some inexplicable, witching charm; even young
+children in arms will stretch out their little hands and attempt to
+grasp the Dielytra, when showier blossoms are passed unheeded. Many tiny
+playthings can be formed of the blossoms: only deft fingers can shape
+the delicate lyre in the "frame." One of its folk names is "Lyre
+flower"; the two wings can be bent back to form a gondola.
+
+We speak of modern flowers, meaning those which have recently found
+their way to our gardens. Some of these clash with the older occupants,
+but one has promptly been given an honored place, and appears so allied
+to the older flowers in form and spirit that it seems to belong by their
+side--the _Anemone Japonica_. Its purity and beauty make it one of the
+delights of the autumn garden; our grandmothers would have rejoiced in
+it, and have divided the plants with each other till all had a row of it
+in the garden borders. In its red form it was first pictured in the
+_Botanical Magazine_, in 1847, but it has been commonly seen in our
+gardens for only twenty or thirty years.
+
+[Illustration: White Wistaria.]
+
+These two flowers, the _Dielytra spectabilis_ and _Anemone Japonica_,
+are among the valuable gifts which our gardens received through the
+visits to China of that adventurous collector, Robert Fortune. He went
+there first in 1842, and for some years constantly sent home fresh
+treasures. Among the best-known garden flowers of his introducing are
+the two named above, and _Kerria Japonica_, _Forsythia viridissima_,
+_Weigela rosea_, _Gardenia Fortuniana_, _Daphne Fortunei_, _Berberis
+Fortunei_, _Jasminum nudiflorum_, and many varieties of Prunus,
+Viburnum, Spiraea, Azalea, and Chrysanthemum. The fine yellow Rose known
+as Fortune's Yellow was acquired by him during a venturesome trip which
+he took, disguised as a Chinaman. The white Chinese Wistaria is regarded
+as the most important of his collections. It is deemed by some
+flower-lovers the most exquisite flower in the entire world. The Chinese
+variety is distinguished by the length of its racemes, sometimes three
+feet long. The lower part of a vine of unusual luxuriance and beauty is
+shown above. This special vine flowers in full richness of bloom every
+alternate year, and this photograph was taken during its "poor year";
+for in its finest inflorescence its photograph would show simply a mass
+of indistinguishable whiteness. Mr. Howell has named it The Fountain,
+and above the pouring of white blossoms shown in this picture is an
+upper cascade of bloom. This Wistaria is not growing in an
+over-favorable locality, for winter winds are bleak on the southern
+shores of Long Island; but I know no rival of its beauty in far warmer
+and more sheltered sites.
+
+Many of the Deutzias and Spiraeas which beautify our spring gardens were
+introduced from Japan before Fortune's day by Thunberg, the great
+exploiter of Japanese shrubs, who died in 1828. The Spiraea Van Houtteii
+(facing page 190) is perhaps the most beautiful of all. Dean Hole names
+the Spiraeas, Deutzias, Weigelas, and Forsythias as having been brought
+into his ken in English gardens within his own lifetime, that is within
+fourscore years.
+
+In New England gardens the Forsythia is called 'Sunshine Bush'--and
+never was folk name better bestowed, or rather evolved. For in the eager
+longing for spring which comes in the bitterness of March, when we cry
+out with the poet, "O God, for one clear day, a Snowdrop and sweet air,"
+in our welcome to fresh life, whether shown in starting leaf or frail
+blossom, the Forsythia shines out a grateful delight to the eyes and
+heart, concentrating for a week all the golden radiance of sunlight,
+which later will be shared by sister shrubs and flowers. _Forsythia
+suspensa_, falling in long sweeps of yellow bells, is in some favorable
+places a cascade of liquid light. No shrub in our gardens is more
+frequently ruined by gardeners than these Forsythias. It takes an
+artist to prune the _Forsythia suspensa_. You can steal the sunshine for
+your homes ere winter is gone by breaking long sprays of the Sunshine
+Bush and placing them in tall deep jars of water. Split up the ends of
+the stems that they may absorb plentiful water, and the golden plumes
+will soon open to fullest glory within doors.
+
+There is another yellow flowered shrub, the Corchorus, which seems as
+old as the Lilac, for it is ever found in old gardens; but it proves to
+be a Japanese shrub which we have had only a hundred years. The little,
+deep yellow, globular blossoms appear in early spring and sparsely
+throughout the whole summer. The plant isn't very adorning in its usual
+ragged growth, but it was universally planted.
+
+It may be seen from the shrubs of popular growth which I have named that
+the present glory of our shrubberies is from the Japanese and Chinese
+shrubs, which came to us in the nineteenth century through Thunberg,
+Fortune, and other bold collectors. We had no shrub-sellers of
+importance in the eighteenth century; the garden lover turned wholly to
+the seedsman and bulb-grower for garden supplies, just as we do to-day
+to fill our old-fashioned gardens. The new shrubs and plants from China
+and Japan did not clash with the old garden flowers, they seemed like
+kinsfolk who had long been separated and rejoiced in being reunited;
+they were indeed fellow-countrymen. We owed scores of our older flowers
+to the Orient, among them such important ones as the Lilac, Rose, Lily,
+Tulip, Crown Imperial.
+
+[Illustration: Spiraea Van Houtteii.]
+
+We can fancy how delighted all these Oriental shrubs and flowers were to
+meet after so many years of separation. What pleasant greetings all the
+cousins must have given each other; I am sure the Wistaria was glad to
+see the Lilac, and the Fortune's Yellow Rose was duly respectful to his
+old cousin, the thorny yellow Scotch Rose. And I seem to hear a bit of
+scandal passing from plant to plant! Listen! it is the Bleeding-heart
+gossiping with the Japanese Anemone: "Well! I never thought that Lilac
+girl would grow to be such a beauty. So much color! Do you suppose it
+can be natural? Mrs. Tulip hinted to me yesterday that the girl used
+fertilizers, and it certainly looks so. But she can't say much
+herself--I never saw such a change in any creatures as in those Tulips.
+You remember how commonplace their clothes were? Now such extravagance!
+Scores of gowns, and all made abroad, and at _her_ age! Here are you and
+I, my dear, both young, and we really ought to have more clothes. I
+haven't a thing but this pink gown to put on. It's lucky you had a white
+gown, for no one liked your pink one. Here comes Mrs. Rose! How those
+Rose children have grown! I never should have known them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+COMFORT ME WITH APPLES
+
+ "What can your eye desire to see, your eares to heare, your mouth
+ to taste, or your nose to smell, that is not to be had in an
+ Orchard? with Abundance and Variety? What shall I say? 1000 of
+ Delights are in an Orchard; and sooner shall I be weary than I can
+ reckon the least part of that pleasure which one, that hath and
+ loves an Orchard, may find therein."
+
+ --_A New Orchard_, WILLIAM LAWSON, 1618.
+
+
+In every old-time garden, save the revered front yard, the borders
+stretched into the domain of the Currant and Gooseberry bushes, and into
+the orchard. Often a row of Crabapple trees pressed up into the garden's
+precincts and shaded the Sweet Peas. Orchard and garden could scarcely
+be separated, so closely did they grow up together. Every old garden
+book had long chapters on orchards, written _con amore_, with a zest
+sometimes lacking on other pages. How they loved in the days of Queen
+Elizabeth and of Queen Anne to sit in an orchard, planted, as Sir Philip
+Sidney said, "cunningly with trees of taste-pleasing fruits." How
+charming were their orchard seats, "fachoned for meditacon!" Sometimes
+these orchard seats were banks of the strongly scented Camomile, a
+favorite plant of Lord Bacon's day. Wordsworth wrote in jingling
+rhyme:--
+
+ "Beneath these fruit-tree boughs that shed
+ Their snow-white blossoms on my head,
+ With brightest sunshine round me spread
+ Of spring's unclouded weather,
+ In this sequester'd nook how sweet
+ To sit upon my orchard seat;
+ And flowers and birds once more to greet,
+ My last year's friends together."
+
+The incomparable beauty of the Apple tree in full bloom has ever been
+sung by the poets, but even their words cannot fitly nor fully tell the
+delight to the senses of the close view of those exquisite pink and
+white domes, with their lovely opalescent tints, their ethereal
+fragrance; their beauty infinitely surpasses that of the vaunted Cherry
+plantations of Japan. In the hand the flowers show a distinct ruddiness,
+a promise of future red cheeks; but a long vista of trees in bloom
+displays no tint of pink, the flowers seem purest white. Looking last
+May across the orchard at Hillside, adown the valley of the Hudson with
+its succession of blossoming orchards, we could paraphrase the words of
+Longfellow's _Golden Legend_:--
+
+ "The valley stretching below
+ Is white with blossoming Apple trees, as if touched with lightest
+ snow."
+
+In the darkest night flowering Apple trees shine with clear radiance,
+and an orchard of eight hundred acres, such as may be seen in Niagara
+County, New York, shows a white expanse like a lake of quicksilver.
+This county, and its neighbor, Orleans County, form an Apple
+paradise--with their orchards of fifty and even a hundred thousand
+trees.
+
+[Illustration: Apple Trees at White Hall, the Home of Bishop Berkeley.]
+
+The largest Apple tree in New England is in Cheshire, Connecticut. Its
+trunk measures, one foot above all root enlargements, thirteen feet
+eight inches in circumference.
+
+Its age is traced back a hundred and fifty years. At White Hall, the
+old home of Bishop Berkeley in the island of Rhode Island, still stand
+the Apple trees of his day. A picture of them is shown on page 194.
+
+The sedate and comfortable motherliness of old Apple trees is felt by
+all Apple lovers. John Burroughs speaks of "maternal old Apple trees,
+regular old grandmothers, who have seen trouble." James Lane Allen, amid
+his apostrophes to the Hemp plant, has given us some beautiful glimpses
+of Apple trees and his love for them. He tells of "provident old tree
+mothers on the orchard slope, whose red-cheeked children are autumn
+Apples." It is this motherliness, this domesticity, this homeliness that
+makes the Apple tree so cherished, so beloved. No scene of life in the
+country ever seems to me homelike if it lacks an Apple orchard--this
+doubtless, because in my birthplace in New England they form a part of
+every farm scene, of every country home. Apple trees soften and humanize
+the wildest country scene. Even in a remote pasture, or on a mountain
+side, they convey a sentiment of home; and after being lost in the mazes
+of close-grown wood-roads Apple trees are inexpressibly welcome as
+giving promise of a sheltering roof-tree. Thoreau wrote of wild Apples,
+but to me no Apples ever look wild. They may be the veriest Crabs,
+growing in wild spots, unbidden, and savage and bitter in their tang,
+but even these seedling Pippins are domestic in aspect.
+
+On the southern shores of Long Island, where meadow, pasture, and farm
+are in soil and crops like New England, the frequent absence of Apple
+orchards makes these farm scenes unsatisfying, not homelike. No other
+fruit trees can take their place. An Orange tree, with its rich glossy
+foliage, its perfumed ivory flowers and buds, and abundant golden fruit,
+is an exquisite creation of nature; but an Orange grove has no ideality.
+All fruit trees have a beautiful inflorescence--few have sentiment. The
+tint of a blossoming Peach tree is perfect; but I care not for a Peach
+orchard. Plantations of healthy Cherry trees are lovely in flower and
+fruit time, whether in Japan or Massachusetts, and a Cherry tree is full
+of happy child memories; but their tree forms in America are often
+disfigured with that ugly fungous blight which is all the more
+disagreeable to us since we hear now of its close kinship to disease
+germs in the animal world.
+
+I cannot see how they avoid having Apple trees on these Long Island
+farms, for the Apple is fully determined to stand beside every home and
+in every garden in the land. It does not have to be invited; it will
+plant and maintain itself. Nearly all fruits and vegetables which we
+prize, depend on our planting and care, but the Apple is as independent
+as the New England farmer. In truth Apple trees would grow on these
+farms if they were loved or even tolerated, for I find them forced into
+Long Island hedge-rows as relentlessly as are forest trees.
+
+The Indians called the Plantain the "white man's foot," for it sprung up
+wherever he trod; the Apple tree might be called the white man's shadow.
+It is the Vine and Fig tree of the temperate zone, and might be chosen
+as the totem of the white settlers. Our love for the Apple is natural,
+for it was the characteristic fruit of Britain; the clergy were its
+chief cultivators; they grew Apples in their monastery gardens, prayed
+for them in special religious ceremonies, sheltered the fruit by laws,
+and even named the Apple when pronouncing the blessings of God upon
+their princes and rulers.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+ "The valley stretching below
+ Is white with blossoming Apple trees, as if touched with lightest
+ snow."]
+
+Thoreau described an era of luxury as one in which men cultivate the
+Apple and the amenities of the garden. He thought it indicated relaxed
+nerves to read gardening books, and he regarded gardening as a civil and
+social function, not a love of nature. He tells of his own love for
+freedom and savagery--and he found what he so deemed at Walden Pond. I
+am told his haunts are little changed since the years when he lived
+there; and I had expected to find Walden Pond a scene of much wild
+beauty, but it was the mildest of wild woods; it seemed to me as
+thoroughly civilized and social as an Apple orchard.
+
+[Illustration: Old Hand-power Cider Mill.]
+
+Thoreau christened the Apple trees of his acquaintance with appropriate
+names in the _lingua vernacula_: the Truant's Apple, the Saunterer's
+Apple, December Eating, Wine of New England, the Apple of the Dell in
+the Wood, the Apple of the Hollow in the Pasture, the Railroad Apple,
+the Cellar-hole Apple, the Frozen-thawed, and many more; these he loved
+for their fruit; to them let me add the Playhouse Apple trees, loved
+solely for their ingeniously twisted branches, an Apple tree of the
+garden, often overhanging the flower borders. I recall their glorious
+whiteness in the spring, but I cannot remember that they bore any fruit
+save a group of serious little girls. I know there were no Apples on the
+Playhouse Apple trees in my garden, nor on the one in Nelly Gilbert's or
+Ella Partridge's garden. There is no play place for girls like an old
+Apple tree. The main limbs leave the trunk at exactly the right height
+for children to reach, and every branch and twig seems to grow and turn
+only to form delightful perches for children to climb among and cling
+to. Some Apple trees in our town had a copy of an Elizabethan garden
+furnishing; their branches enclosed tree platforms about twelve feet
+from the ground, reached by a narrow ladder or flight of steps. These
+were built by generous parents for their children's playhouses, but
+their approach of ladder was too unhazardous, their railings too
+safety-assuring, to prove anything but conventional and uninteresting.
+The natural Apple tree offered infinite variety, and a slight sense of
+daring to the climber. Its possibility of accident was fulfilled; untold
+number of broken arms and ribs--juvenile--were resultant from falls from
+Apple trees.
+
+[Illustration: Pressing out Cider in Old Hand Mill.]
+
+One of Thoreau's Apples was the Green Apple (_Malus viridis_, or
+_Cholera morbifera puerelis delectissima_). I know not for how many
+centuries boys (and girls too) have eaten and suffered from green
+apples. A description was written in 1684 which might have happened any
+summer since; I quote it with reminiscent delight, for I have the same
+love for the spirited relation that I had in my early youth when I
+never, for a moment, in spite of the significant names, deemed the
+entire book anything but a real story; the notion that _Pilgrim's
+Progress_ was an allegory never entered my mind.
+
+ "Now there was on the other side of the wall a _Garden_. And some
+ of the Fruit-Trees that grew in the Garden shot their Branches over
+ the Wall, and being mellow, they that found them did gather them up
+ and oft eat of them to their hurt. So _Christiana's_ Boys, _as Boys
+ are apt to do_, being _pleas'd_ with the Trees did _Plash_ them and
+ began to eat. Their Mother did also chide them for so doing, but
+ still the Boys went on. Now _Matthew_ the Eldest Son of
+ _Christiana_ fell sick.... There dwelt not far from thence one Mr.
+ _Skill_ an Ancient and well approved Physician. So Christiana
+ desired it and they sent for him and he came. And when he was
+ entered the Room and a little observed the Boy he concluded that he
+ was sick of the Gripes. Then he said to his Mother, _What Diet has
+ Matthew of late fed upon_? _Diet_, said Christiana, _nothing but
+ which is wholesome_. The Physician answered, _This Boy has been
+ tampering with something that lies in his Maw undigested_.... Then
+ said Samuel, _Mother, Mother, what was that which my brother did
+ gather up and eat. You know there was an Orchard and my Brother did
+ plash and eat. True, my child_, said Christiana, _naughty boy as he
+ was. I did chide him and yet he would eat thereof._"
+
+The realistic treatment of Mr. Skill and Matthew's recovery thereby need
+not be quoted.
+
+An historic Apple much esteemed in Connecticut and Rhode Island, and
+often planted at the edge of the flower garden, is called the Sapson, or
+Early Sapson, Sapson Sweet, Sapsyvine, and in Pennsylvania, Wine-sap.
+The name is a corruption of the old English Apple name, Sops-o'-wine. It
+is a charming little red-cheeked Apple of early autumn, slightly larger
+than a healthy Crab-apple. The clear red of its skin perfuses in
+coral-colored veins and beautiful shadings to its very core. It has a
+condensed, spicy, aromatic flavor, not sharp like a Crab-apple, but it
+makes a better jelly even than the Crab-apple--jelly of a ruby color
+with an almost wine-like flavor, a true Sops-of-wine. This fruit is
+deemed so choice that I have known the sale of a farm to halt for some
+weeks until it could be proved that certain Apple trees in the orchard
+bore the esteemed Sapsyvines.
+
+Under New England and New York farm-houses was a cellar filled with bins
+for vegetables and apples. As the winter passed on there rose from these
+cellars a curious, earthy, appley smell, which always seemed most
+powerful in the best parlor, the room least used. How Schiller, who
+loved the scent of rotten apples, would have rejoiced! The cellar also
+contained many barrels of cider; for the beauty of the Apple trees, and
+the use of their fruit as food, were not the only factors which
+influenced the planting of the many Apple orchards of the new world;
+they afforded a universal drink--cider. I have written at length, in my
+books, _Home Life in Colonial Days_ and _Stage-Coach and Tavern Days_,
+the history of the vogue and manufacture of cider in the new world. The
+cherished Apple orchards of Endicott, Blackstone, Wolcott, and Winthrop
+were so speedily multiplied that by 1670 cider was plentiful and cheap
+everywhere. By the opening of the eighteenth century it had wholly
+crowded out beer and metheglin; and was the drink of old and young on
+all occasions.
+
+[Illustration: Old Horse-lever Cider Mill.]
+
+At first, cider was made by pounding the Apples by hand in wooden
+mortars; then simple mills were formed of a hollowed log and a spring
+board. Rude hand presses, such as are shown on pages 198 and 200, were
+known in 1660, and lingered to our own day. Kalm, the Swedish
+naturalist, saw ancient horse presses (like the one depicted on this
+page) in use in the Hudson River Valley in 1749. In autumn the whole
+country-side was scented with the sour, fruity smell from these cider
+mills; and the gift of a draught of sweet cider to any passer-by was as
+ample and free as of water from the brookside. The cider when barrelled
+and stored for winter was equally free to all comers, as well it might
+be, when many families stored a hundred barrels for winter use.
+
+[Illustration: "Straining off" the Cider.]
+
+The Washingtonian or Temperance reform which swept over this country
+like a purifying wind in the first quarter of the nineteenth century,
+found many temporizers who tried to exclude cider from the list of
+intoxicating drinks which converts pledged themselves to abandon. Some
+farmers who adopted this much-needed movement against the
+all-prevailing vice of drunkenness received it with fanatic zeal. It
+makes the heart of the Apple lover ache to read that in this spirit they
+cut down whole orchards of flourishing Apple trees, since they could
+conceive no adequate use for their apples save for cider. That any
+should have tried to exclude cider from the list of intoxicating
+beverages seems barefaced indeed to those who have tasted that most
+potent of all spirits--frozen cider. I once drank a small modicum of
+Jericho cider, as smooth as Benedictine and more persuasive, which made
+a raw day in April seem like sunny midsummer. I afterward learned from
+the ingenuous Long Island farmer whose hospitality gave me this liqueur
+that it had been frozen seven times. Each time he had thrust a red-hot
+poker into the bung-hole of the barrel, melted all the watery ice and
+poured it out; therefore the very essence of the cider was all that
+remained.
+
+It is interesting to note the folk customs of Old England which have
+lingered here, such as domestic love divinations. The poet Gay wrote:--
+
+ "I pare this Pippin round and round again,
+ My shepherd's name to flourish on the plain.
+ I fling th' unbroken paring o'er my head,
+ Upon the grass a perfect L. is read."
+
+I have seen New England schoolgirls, scores of times, thus toss an
+"unbroken paring." An ancient trial of my youth was done with Apple
+seeds; these were named for various swains, then slightly wetted and
+stuck on the cheek or forehead, while we chanted:--
+
+ "Pippin! Pippin! Paradise!
+ Tell me where my true love lies!"
+
+The seed that remained longest in place indicated the favored and
+favoring lover.
+
+With the neglect in this country of Saints' Days and the Puritanical
+frowning down of all folk customs connected with them, we lost the
+delightful wassailing of the Apple trees. This, like many another
+religious observance, was a relic of heathen sacrifice, in this case to
+Pomona. It was celebrated with slight variations in various parts of
+England; and was called an Apple howling, a wassailing, a youling, and
+other terms. The farmer and his workmen carried to the orchard great
+jugs of cider or milk pans filled with cider and roasted apples.
+Encircling in turn the best bearing trees, they drank from
+"clayen-cups," and poured part of the contents on the ground under the
+trees. And while they wassailed the trees they sang:--
+
+ "Here's to thee, old Apple tree!
+ Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow,
+ And whence thou mayst bear Apples enow!
+ Hats full! caps full,
+ Bushel--Bushel--sacks full,
+ And my pockets full too."
+
+Another Devonshire rhyme ran:--
+
+ "Health to thee, good Apple tree!
+ Well to bear pocket-fulls, hat-fulls,
+ Peck-fulls, bushel bag-fulls."
+
+The wassailing of the trees gave place in America to a jovial autumnal
+gathering known as an Apple cut, an Apple paring, or an Apple bee. The
+cheerful kitchen of the farm-house was set out with its entire array of
+empty pans, pails, tubs, and baskets. Heaped-up barrels of apples stood
+in the centre of the room. The many skilful hands of willing neighbors
+emptied the barrels, and with sharp knives or an occasional Apple parer,
+filled the empty vessels with cleanly pared and quartered apples.
+
+When the work was finished, divinations with Apple parings and Apple
+seeds were tried, simple country games were played; occasionally there
+was a fiddler and a dance. An autumnal supper was served from the three
+zones of the farm-house: nuts from the attic, Apples from the pantry,
+and cider from the cellar. The apple-quarters intended for drying were
+strung on homespun linen thread and hung out of doors on clear drying
+days. A humble hillside home in New Hampshire thus quaintly festooned is
+shown in the illustration opposite page 208--a characteristic New
+Hampshire landscape. When thoroughly dried in sun and wind, these sliced
+apples were stored for the winter by being hung from rafter to rafter of
+various living rooms, and remained thus for months (gathering vast
+accumulations of dust and germs for our blissfully ignorant and
+unsqueamish grandparents) until the early days of spring, when Apple
+sauce, Apple butter, and the stores of Apple bin and Apple pit were
+exhausted, and they then afforded, after proper baths and soakings, the
+wherewithal for that domestic comestible--dried Apple pie. The Swedish
+parson, Dr. Acrelius, writing home to Sweden in 1758 an account of the
+settlement of Delaware, said:--
+
+ "Apple pie is used throughout the whole year, and when fresh Apples
+ are no longer to be had, dried ones are used. It is the evening
+ meal of children. House pie, in country places, is made of Apples
+ neither peeled nor freed from their cores, and its crust is not
+ broken if a wagon wheel goes over it."
+
+I always had an undue estimation of Apple pie in my childhood, from an
+accidental cause: we were requested by the conscientious teacher in our
+Sunday-school to "take out" each week without fail from the "Select
+Library" of the school a "Sabbath-school Library Book." The colorless,
+albeit pious, contents of the books classed under that title are well
+known to those of my generation; even such a child of the Puritans as I
+was could not read them. There were two anchors in that sea of
+despair,--but feeble holds would they seem to-day,--the first volumes of
+_Queechy_ and _The Wide, Wide World_. With the disingenuousness of
+childhood I satisfied the rules of the school and my own conscience by
+carrying home these two books, and no others, on alternate Sundays for
+certainly two years. The only wonder in the matter was that the
+transaction escaped my Mother's eye for so long a time. I read only
+isolated scenes; of these the favorite was the one wherein Fleda carries
+to the woods for the hungry visitor, who was of the English nobility,
+several large and toothsome sections of green Apple pie and cheese. The
+prominence given to that Apple pie in that book and in my two years
+of reading idealized it. On a glorious day last October I drove to New
+Canaan, the town which was the prototype of Queechy. Hungry as ever in
+childhood from the clear autumnal air and the long drive from Lenox, we
+asked for luncheon at what was reported to be a village hostelry. The
+exact counterpart of Miss Cynthia Gall responded rather sourly that she
+wasn't "boarding or baiting" that year. Humble entreaties for provender
+of any kind elicited from her for each of us a slice of cheese and a
+large and truly noble section of Apple pie, the very pie of Fleda's
+tale, which we ate with a bewildered sense as of a previous existence.
+This was intensified as we strolled to the brook under the Queechy Sugar
+Maples, and gathered there the great-grandchildren of Fleda's
+Watercresses, and heard the sound of Hugh's sawmills.
+
+[Illustration: Drying Apples.]
+
+Six hundred years ago English gentlewomen and goodwives were cooking
+Apples just as we cook them now--they even had Apple pie. A delightful
+recipe of the fourteenth century was for "Appeluns for a Lorde, in
+opyntide." Opyntide was springtime; this was, therefore, a spring dish
+fit for a lord.
+
+Apple-moy and Apple-mos, Apple Tansy, and Pommys-morle were delightful
+dishes and very rich food as well. The word pomatum has now no
+association with _pomum_, but originally pomatum was made partly of
+Apples. In an old "Dialog between Soarness and Chirurgi," written by one
+Dr. Bulleyne in the days of Queen Elizabeth, is found this question and
+its answer:--
+
+ "_Soarness._ How make you pomatum?
+
+ "_Chirurgi._ Take the fat of a yearly kyd one pound, temper it with
+ the water of musk-roses by the space of foure dayes, then take five
+ apples, and dresse them, and cut them in pieces, and lard them with
+ cloves, then boyl them altogeather in the same water of roses in
+ one vessel of glasse set within another vessel, let it boyl on the
+ fyre so long tyll it all be white, then wash them with the same
+ water of muske-roses, this done kepe it in a glasse and if you will
+ have it to smell better, then you must put in a little civet or
+ musk, or both, or ambergrice. Gentil women doe use this to make
+ theyr faces fayr and smooth, for it healeth cliftes in the lippes,
+ or in any places of the hands and face."
+
+With the omission of the civet or musk I am sure this would make to-day
+a delightful cream; but there is one condition which the "gentil woman"
+of to-day could scarcely furnish--the infinite patience and leisure
+which accompanied and perfected all such domestic work three centuries
+ago. A pomander was made of "the maste of a sweet Apple tree being
+gathered betwixt two Lady days," mixed with various sweet-scented drugs
+and gums and Rose leaves, and shaped into a ball or bracelet.
+
+The successor of the pomander was the Clove Apple, or "Comfort Apple,"
+an Apple stuck solidly with cloves. In country communities, one was
+given as an expression of sympathy in trouble or sorrow. Visiting a
+country "poorhouse" recently, we were shown a "Comfort-apple" which had
+been sent to one of the inmates by a friend; for even paupers have
+friends.
+
+"Taffaty tarts" were of paste filled with Apples sweetened and seasoned
+with Lemon, Rose-water, and Fennel seed. Apple-sticklin',
+Apple-stucklin, Apple-twelin, Apple-hoglin, are old English provincial
+names of Apple pie; Apple-betty is a New England term. The Apple Slump
+of New England homes was not the "slump-pye" of old England, which was a
+rich mutton pie flavored with wine and jelly, and covered with a rich
+confection of nuts and fruit.
+
+[Illustration: Ancient Apple Picker, Apple Racks, Apple Parers,
+Apple-butter Kettle, Apple-butter Paddle, Apple-butter Stirrer,
+Apple-butter Crocks.]
+
+In Pennsylvania, among the people known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, the
+Apple frolic was universal. Each neighbor brought his or her own Apple
+parer. This people make great use of Apples and cider in their food, and
+have many curious modes of cooking them. Dr. Heilman in his paper on
+"The Old Cider Mill" tells of their delicacy of "cider time" called
+cider soup, made of equal parts of cider and water, boiled and thickened
+with sweet cream and flour; when ready to serve, bits of bread or toast
+are placed in it. "Mole cider" is made of boiling cider thickened to a
+syrup with beaten eggs and milk. But of greatest importance, both for
+home consumption and for the market, is the staple known as Apple
+butter. This is made from sweet cider boiled down to about one-third its
+original quantity. To this is added an equal weight of sliced Apples,
+about a third as much of molasses, and various spices, such as cloves,
+ginger, mace, cinnamon or even pepper, all boiled together for twelve or
+fifteen hours. Often the great kettle is filled with cider in the
+morning, and boiled and stirred constantly all day, then the sliced
+Apples are added at night, and the monotonous stirring continues till
+morning, when the butter can be packed in jars and kegs for winter use.
+This Apple butter is not at all like Apple sauce; it has no granulated
+appearance, but is smooth and solid like cheese and dark red in color.
+Apple butter is stirred by a pole having upon one end a perforated blade
+or paddle set at right angles. Sometimes a bar was laid from rim to rim
+of the caldron, and worked by a crank that turned a similar paddle. A
+collection of ancient utensils used in making Apple butter is shown on
+page 211; these are from the collections of the Bucks County Historical
+Society. Opposite page 214 is shown an ancient open-air fireplace and an
+old couple making Apple butter just as they have done for over half a
+century.
+
+In New England what the "hired man" on the farm called "biled cider
+Apple sass," took the place of Apple butter. Preferably this was made in
+the "summer kitchen," where three kettles, usually of graduated sizes,
+could be set over the fire; the three kettles could be hung from a
+crane, or trammels. All were filled with cider, and as the liquid boiled
+away in the largest kettle it was filled from the second and that from
+the third. The fresh cider was always poured into the third kettle, thus
+the large kettle was never checked in its boiling. This continued till
+the cider was as thick as molasses. Apples (preferably Pound Sweets or
+Pumpkin Sweets) had been chosen with care, pared, cored, and quartered,
+and heated in a small kettle. These were slowly added to the thickened
+cider, in small quantities, in order not to check the boiling. The rule
+was to cook them till so softened that a rye straw could be run into
+them, and yet they must retain their shape. This was truly a critical
+time; the slightest scorched flavor would ruin the whole kettleful. A
+great wooden, long-handled, shovel-like ladle was used to stir the sauce
+fiercely until it was finished in triumph. Often a barrel of this was
+made by our grandmothers, and frozen solid for winter use. The farmer
+and "hired men" ate it clear as a relish with meats; and it was suited
+to appetites and digestions which had been formed by a diet of salted
+meats, fried breads, many pickles, and the drinking of hot cider
+sprinkled with pepper.
+
+Emerson well named the Apple the social fruit of New England. It ever
+has been and is still the grateful promoter and unfailing aid to
+informal social intercourse in the country-side; but the Apple tree is
+something far nobler even than being the sign of cheerful and cordial
+acquaintance; it is the beautiful rural emblem of industrious and
+temperate home life. Hence, let us wassail with a will:--
+
+ "Here's to thee, old Apple tree!
+ Whence thou mayst bud, and whence thou mayst blow,
+ And whence thou mayst bear Apples enow!"
+
+[Illustration: Making Apple Butter.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+GARDENS OF THE POETS
+
+ "The chief use of flowers is to illustrate quotations from the
+ poets."
+
+
+All English poets have ever been ready to sing English flowers until
+jesters have laughed, and to sing garden flowers as well as wild
+flowers. Few have really described a garden, though the orderly
+distribution of flowers might be held to be akin to the restraint of
+rhyme and rhythm in poetry.
+
+[Illustration: Shakespeare Border at Hillside.]
+
+It has been the affectionate tribute and happy diversion of those who
+love both poetry and flowers to note the flowers beloved of various
+poets, and gather them together, either in a book or a garden. The pages
+of Milton cannot be forced, even by his most ardent admirers, to
+indicate any intimate knowledge of flowers. He certainly makes some very
+elegant classical allusions to flowers and fruits, and some amusingly
+vague ones as well. "The Flowers of Spenser," and "A Posy from Chaucer,"
+are the titles of most readable chapters in _A Garden of Simples_, but
+the allusions and quotations from both authors are pleasing and
+interesting, rather than informing as to the real variety and
+description of the flowers of their day. Nearly all the older English
+poets, though writing glibly of woods and vales, of shepherds and
+swains, of buds and blossoms, scarcely allude to a flower in a natural
+way. Herrick was truly a flower lover, and, as the critic said, "many
+flowers grow to illustrate quotations from his works." The flowers named
+of Shakespeare have been written about in varied books, _Shakespeare's
+Garden_, _Shakespeare's Bouquet_, _Flowers from Stratford-on-Avon_, etc.
+These are easily led in fulness of detail, exactness of information, and
+delightful literary quality by that truly perfect book, beloved of all
+garden lovers, _The Plant Lore and Garden Craft of Shakespeare_, by
+Canon Ellacombe. Of it I never weary, and for it I am ever grateful.
+
+Shakespeare Gardens, or Shakespeare Borders, too, are laid out and set
+with every tree, shrub, and flower named in Shakespeare, and these are
+over two hundred in number. A distinguishing mark of the Shakespeare
+Border of Lady Warwick is the peculiar label set alongside each plant.
+This label is of pottery, greenish-brown in tint, shaped like a
+butterfly, bearing on its wings a quotation of a few words and the play
+reference relating to each special plant. Of course these words have
+been fired in and are thus permanent. Pretty as they are in themselves
+they must be disfiguring to the borders--as all labels are in a garden.
+
+In the garden at Hillside, near Albany, New York, grows a green and
+flourishing Shakespeare Border, gathered ten years ago by the mistress
+of the garden. I use the terms green and flourishing with exactness in
+this connection, for a great impression made by this border is of its
+thriving health, and also of the predominance of green leafage of every
+variety, shape, manner of growth, and oddness of tint. In this latter
+respect it is infinitely more beautiful than the ordinary border,
+varying from silvery glaucous green through greens of yellow or brownish
+shade to the blue-black greens of some herbs; and among these green
+leaves are many of sweet or pungent scent, and of medicinal qualities,
+such as are seldom grown to-day save in some such choice and chosen
+spot. There is less bloom in this Shakespeare Border than in our modern
+flower beds, and the flowers are not so large or brilliant as our
+modern favorites; but, quiet as they are, they are said to excel the
+blossoms of the same plants of Shakespeare's own day, which we learn
+from the old herbalists were smaller and less varied in color and of
+simpler tints than those of their descendants. At the first glance this
+Shakespeare Border shines chiefly in the light of the imagination, as
+stirred by the poet's noble words; but do not dwell on this border as a
+whole, as something only to be looked at; read the pages of this garden,
+dwell on each leafy sentence, and you are entranced with its beautiful
+significance. It was not gathered with so much thought, and each plant
+and seed set out and watched and reared like a delicate child, to become
+a show place; it appeals for a more intimate regard; and we find that
+its detail makes its charm.
+
+Such a garden as this appeals warmly to anyone who is sensitive to the
+imaginative element of flower beauty. Many garden makers forget that a
+flower bed is a group of living beings--perhaps of sentient beings--as
+well as a mass of beautiful color. Modern gardens tend far too much
+toward the display of the united effect of growing plants, to a striving
+for universal brilliancy, rather than attention to and love for separate
+flowers. There was refreshment of spirit as well as of the senses in the
+old-time garden of flowers, such as these planted in this Shakespeare
+Border, and it stirred the heart of the poet as could no modern flower
+gardens.
+
+[Illustration: Long Border at Hillside.]
+
+The scattering inflorescence and the tiny size of the blossoms give to
+this Shakespeare Border an unusual aspect of demureness and delicacy,
+and the plants seem to cling with affection and trust to the path of
+their human protector; they look simple and confiding, and seem close
+both to nature and to man. This homelike and modest quality is shown, I
+think, even in the presentation in black and white given on page 216 and
+opposite page 218, though it shows still more in the garden when the
+wide range of tint of foliage is added.
+
+A most appropriate companion of the old flowers in this Shakespeare
+Border is the sun-dial, which is an exact copy of the one at Abbotsford,
+Scotland. It bears the motto [Greek: ERCHETAI GAR NYX] meaning, "For
+the night cometh." It was chosen by Sir Walter Scott, for his sun-dial,
+as a solemn monitor to himself of the hour "when no man can work." It
+was copied from a motto on the dial-plate of the watch of the great Dr.
+Samuel Johnson; and it is curious that in both cases the word [Greek:
+GAR] should be introduced, for it is not in the clause in the New
+Testament from which the motto was taken. It is a beautiful motto and
+one of singular appropriateness for a sun-dial. The pedestal of this
+sun-dial is of simple lines, but it is dignified and pleasing, aside
+from the great interest of association which surrounds it.
+
+[Illustration: The Beauty of Winter Lilacs.]
+
+I had a happy sense, when walking through this garden, that, besides my
+congenial living companionship, I had the company of some noble
+Elizabethan ghosts; and I know that if Shakespeare and Jonson and
+Herrick were to come to Hillside, they would find the garden so familiar
+to them; they would greet the plants like old friends, they would note
+how fine grew the Rosemary this year, how sweet were the Lady's-smocks,
+how fair the Gillyflowers. And Gerarde and Parkinson would ponder, too,
+over all the herbs and simples of their own Physick Gardens, and compare
+notes. Above all I seemed to see, walking soberly by my side, breathing
+in with delight the varied scents of leaf and blossom, that lover and
+writer of flowers and gardens, Lord Bacon--and not in the disguise of
+Shakespeare either. For no stronger proofs can be found of the existence
+of two individualities than are in the works of each of these men, in
+their sentences and pages which relate to gardens and flowers.
+
+This fair garden and Shakespeare Border are loveliest in the cool of the
+day, in the dawn or at early eve; and those who muse may then remember
+another Presence in a garden in the cool of the day. And then I recall
+that gem of English poesy which always makes me pitiful of its author;
+that he could write this, and yet, in his hundreds of pages of English
+verse, make not another memorable line:--
+
+ "A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot;
+ Rose plot,
+ Fringed pool,
+ Ferned grot,
+ The veriest school of Peace;
+ And yet the fool
+ Contends that God is not in gardens.
+ Not in gardens! When the eve is cool!
+ Nay, but I have a sign.
+ 'Tis very sure God walks in mine."
+
+Shakespeare Borders grow very readily and freely in England, save in the
+case of the few tropical flowers and trees named in the pages of the
+great dramatist; but this Shakespeare Border at Hillside needs much
+cherishing. The plants of Heather and Broom and Gorse have to be
+specially coddled by transplanting under cold frames during the long
+winter months in frozen Albany; and thus they find vast contrast to
+their free, unsheltered life in Great Britain.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Mrs. Frank Robinson, Wakefield, Rhode Island.]
+
+Persistent efforts have been made to acclimate both Heather and Gorse in
+America. We have seen how Broom came uninvited and spread unasked on the
+Massachusetts coast; but Gorse and Heather have proved shy creatures. On
+the beautiful island of Naushon the carefully planted Gorse may be found
+spread in widely scattered spots and also on the near-by mainland, but
+it cannot be said to have thrived markedly. The Scotch Heather, too, has
+been frequently planted, and watched and pushed, but it is slow to
+become acclimated. It is not because the winters are too cold, for it is
+found in considerable amount in bitter Newfoundland; perhaps it prefers
+to live under a crown.
+
+Modern authors have seldom given their names to gardens, not even
+Tennyson with his intimate and extended knowledge of garden flowers. A
+Mary Howitt Garden was planned, full of homely old blooms, such as she
+loves to name in her verse; but it would have slight significance save
+to its maker, since no one cares to read Mary Howitt nowadays. In that
+charming book, _Sylvana's Letters to an Unknown Friend_ (which I know
+were written to me), the author, E. V. B., says, "The very ideal of a
+garden, and the only one I know, is found in Shelley's _Sensitive
+Plant_." With quick championing of a beloved poet, I at once thought of
+the radiant garden of flowers in Keats's heart and poems. Then I reread
+the _Sensitive Plant_ in a spirit of utmost fairness and critical
+friendliness, and I am willing to yield the Shelley Garden to Sylvana,
+while I keep, for my own delight, my Keats garden of sunshine, color,
+and warmth.
+
+That Keats had a profound knowledge and love of flowers is shown in his
+letters as well as his poems. Only a few months before his death, when
+stricken with and fighting a fatal disease, he wrote:--
+
+ "How astonishingly does the chance of leaving the world impress a
+ sense of its natural beauties upon me! Like poor Falstaff, though I
+ do not babble, I think of green fields. I muse with greatest
+ affection on every flower I have known from my infancy--their
+ shapes and colors are as new to me as if I had just created them
+ with a superhuman fancy. It is because they are connected with the
+ most thoughtless and the happiest moments of my life."
+
+Near the close of his _Endymion_ he wrote:--
+
+ "Nor much it grieves
+ To die, when summer dies on the cold sward.
+ Why, I have been a butterfly, a lord
+ Of flowers, garlands, love-knots, silly posies,
+ Groves, meadows, melodies, and arbor roses;
+ My kingdom's at its death, and just it is
+ That I should die with it."
+
+In the summer of 1816, under the influence of a happy day at Hampstead,
+he wrote that lovely poem, "I stood tiptoe upon a little hill." After a
+description of the general scene, a special corner of beauty is thus
+told:--
+
+ "A bush of May flowers with the bees about them--
+ Ah, sure no bashful nook could be without them--
+ And let a lush Laburnum oversweep them,
+ And let long grass grow round the roots to keep them
+ Moist, cool, and green; and shade the Violets
+ That they may bind the moss in leafy nets.
+ A Filbert hedge with Wild-brier over trim'd,
+ And clumps of Woodbine taking the soft wind,
+ Upon their summer thrones...."
+
+Then come these wonderful lines, which belittle all other descriptions
+of Sweet Peas:--
+
+ "Here are Sweet Peas, on tiptoe for a flight,
+ With wings of gentle flush o'er delicate white,
+ And taper fingers catching at all things
+ To bind them all about with tiny wings."
+
+Keats states in his letters that his love of flowers was wholly for
+those of the "common garden sort," not for flowers of the greenhouse or
+difficult cultivation, nor do I find in his lines any evidence of
+extended familiarity with English wild flowers. He certainly does not
+know the flowers of woods and fields as does Matthew Arnold.
+
+[Illustration: The Parson's Walk.]
+
+The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table says: "Did you ever hear a poet who
+did not talk flowers? Don't you think a poem which for the sake of being
+original should leave them out, would be like those verses where the
+letter _a_ or _e_, or some other, is omitted? No; they will bloom over
+and over again in poems as in the summer fields, to the end of time,
+always old and always new." The Autocrat himself knew well a poet who
+never talked flowers in his poems, a poet beloved of all other
+poets,--Arthur Hugh Clough,--though he loved and knew all flowers. From
+Matthew Arnold's beautiful tribute to him, are a few of his wonderful
+flower lines, cut out from their fellows:--
+
+ "Through the thick Corn the scarlet Poppies peep,
+ And round green roots and yellowing stalks I see
+ Pale blue Convolvulus in tendrils creep,
+ And air-swept Lindens yield
+ Their scent, and rustle down their perfumed showers
+ Of bloom...,
+
+ * * * * *
+
+ "Soon will the high midsummer pomps come on,
+ Soon will the Musk Carnations break and swell.
+ Soon shall we have gold-dusted Snapdragon,
+ Sweet-william with his homely cottage smell,
+ And Stocks in fragrant blow."
+
+Oh, what a master hand! Where in all English verse are fairer flower
+hues? And where is a more beautiful description of a midsummer evening,
+than Arnold's exquisite lines beginning:--
+
+ "The evening comes; the fields are still;
+ The tinkle of the thirsty rill."
+
+Dr. Holmes was also a master in the description of garden flowers. I
+should know, had I never been told save from his verses, just the kind
+of a Cambridge garden he was reared in, and what flowers grew in it.
+Lowell, too, gives ample evidence of a New England childhood in a
+garden.
+
+The gardens of Shenstone's _Schoolmistress_ and of Thomson's poems come
+to our minds without great warmth of welcome from us; while Clare's
+lines are full of charm:--
+
+ "And where the Marjoram once, and Sage and Rue,
+ And Balm, and Mint, with curl'd leaf Parsley grew,
+ And double Marigolds, and silver Thyme,
+ And Pumpkins 'neath the window climb.
+ And where I often, when a child, for hours
+ Tried through the pales to get the tempting flowers,
+ As Lady's Laces, everlasting Peas,
+ True-love-lies-bleeding, with the Hearts-at-ease
+ And Goldenrods, and Tansy running high,
+ That o'er the pale tops smiled on passers by."
+
+A curious old seventeenth-century poet was the Jesuit, Rene Rapin. The
+copy of his poem entitled _Gardens_ which I have seen, is the one in my
+daughter's collection of garden books; it was "English'd by the
+Ingenious Mr. Gardiner," and published in 1728. Hallam in his
+_Introduction to the Literature of Europe_ gives a capital estimate of
+this long poem of over three thousand lines. I find them pretty dull
+reading, with much monotony of adjectives, and very affected notions for
+plant names. I fancy he manufactured all his tedious plant traditions
+himself.
+
+[Illustration: Garden of Mary Washington.]
+
+A pleasing little book entitled _Dante's Garden_ has collected evidence,
+from his writings, of Dante's love of green, growing things. The title
+is rather strained, since he rarely names individual flowers, and only
+refers vaguely to their emblematic significance. I would have entitled
+the book _Dante's Forest_, since he chiefly refers to trees; and the
+Italian gardens of his days were of trees rather than flowers. There are
+passages in his writings which have led some of his worshippers to
+believe that his childhood was passed in a garden; but these references
+are very indeterminate.
+
+The picture of a deserted garden, with its sad sentiment has charmed the
+fancy of many a poet. Hood, a true flower-lover, wrote this jingle in
+his _Haunted House_:--
+
+ "The Marigold amidst the nettles blew,
+ The Gourd embrac'd the Rose bush in its ramble.
+ The Thistle and the Stock together grew,
+ The Hollyhock and Bramble.
+
+ "The Bearbine with the Lilac interlaced,
+ The sturdy Burdock choked its tender neighbor,
+ The spicy Pink. All tokens were effaced
+ Of human care and labor."
+
+These lines are a great contrast to the dignified versification of The
+Old Garden, by Margaret Deland, a garden around which a great city has
+grown.
+
+ "Around it is the street, a restless arm
+ That clasps the country to the city's heart."
+
+No one could read this poem without knowing that the author is a true
+garden lover, and knowing as well that she spent her childhood in a
+garden.
+
+Another American poet, Edith Thomas, writes exquisitely of old gardens
+and garden flowers.
+
+ "The pensile Lilacs still their favors throw.
+ The Star of Lilies, plenteous long ago,
+ Waits on the summer dusk, and faileth not.
+ The legions of the grass in vain would blot
+ The spicy Box that marks the garden row.
+ Let but the ground some human tendance know,
+ It long remaineth an engentled spot."
+
+Let me for a moment, through the suggestion of her last two lines, write
+of the impress left on nature through flower planting. "The garden long
+remaineth an engentled spot." You cannot for years stamp out the mark of
+a garden; intentional destruction may obliterate the garden borders, but
+neglect never. The delicate flowers die, but some sturdy things spring
+up happily and seem gifted with everlasting life. Fifteen years ago a
+friend bought an old country seat on Long Island; near the site of the
+new house, an old garden was ploughed deep and levelled to a lawn. Every
+year since then the patient gardeners pull up, on this lawn, in
+considerable numbers, Mallows, Campanulas, Star of Bethlehem,
+Bouncing-bets and innumerable Asparagus shoots, and occasionally the
+seedlings of other flowers which have bided their time in the dark
+earth. Traces of the residence of Sir Walter Raleigh in Ireland may
+still be seen in the growth of richly perfumed wall-flowers which he
+brought from the Azores. The Affane Cherry is found where he planted it,
+and some of his Cedars are living. The summer-house of Yew trees
+sheltered him when he smoked in the garden, and in this garden he
+planted Tobacco. Near by is the famous spot where he planted what were
+then called Virginian Potatoes. By that planting they acquired the name
+of Irish Potatoes.
+
+I have spoken of the Prince Nurseries in Flushing; the old nurserymen
+left a more lasting mark than their Nurseries, in the rare trees and
+plants now found on the roads, and in the fields and gardens for many
+miles around Flushing. With the Parsons family, who have been, since
+1838, distributors of unusual plants, especially the splendid garden
+treasures from China and Japan, they have made Flushing a delightful
+nature-study.
+
+In the humblest dooryard, and by the wayside in outlying parts of the
+town, may be seen rare and beautiful old trees: a giant purple Beech is
+in a laborer's yard; fine Cedars, Salisburias, red-flowered
+Horse-chestnuts, Japanese flowering Quinces and Cherries, and even rare
+Japanese Maples are to be found; a few survivors of the Chinese Mulberry
+have a romantic interest as mementoes of a giant bubble of ruin. The
+largest Scotch Laburnum I ever saw, glorious in golden bloom, is behind
+an unkempt house. On the Parsons estate is a weeping Beech of unusual
+size. Its branches trail on the ground in a vast circumference of 222
+feet, forming a great natural arbor. The beautiful vernal light in this
+tree bower may be described in Andrew Marvell's words:--
+
+ "Annihilating all that's made
+ To a green thought in a green shade."
+
+[Illustration: Box and Phlox.]
+
+The photograph of it, shown opposite page 232, gives some scant idea of
+its leafy walls; it has been for years the fit trysting-place of lovers,
+as is shown by the initials carved on the great trunk. Great Judas
+trees, sadly broken yet bravely blooming; decayed hedges of several
+kinds of Lilacs, Syringas, Snowballs, and Yuccas of princely size and
+bearing still linger. Everywhere are remnants of Box hedges. One unkempt
+dooryard of an old Dutch farm-house was glorified with a broad double
+row of yellow Lily at least sixty feet in length. Everywhere is
+Wistaria, on porches, fences, houses, and trees; the abundant Dogwood
+trees are often overgrown with Wistaria. The most exquisite sight of the
+floral year was the largest Dogwood tree I have ever seen, radiant with
+starry white bloom, and hung to the tip of every white-flowered branch
+with the drooping amethystine racemes of Wistaria of equal luxuriance.
+Golden-yellow Laburnum blooms were in one case mingled with both purple
+and white Wistaria. These yellow, purple, and white blooms of similar
+shape were a curious sight, as if a single plant had been grafted. As I
+rode past so many glimpses of loveliness mingled with so much present
+squalor, I could but think of words of the old hymn:--
+
+ "Where every prospect pleases
+ And only man is vile."
+
+Could the hedges, trees, and vines which came from the Prince and
+Parsons Nurseries have been cared for, northeastern Long Island, which
+is part of the city of Greater New York, would still be what it was
+named by the early explorers, "The Pearl of New Netherland."
+
+[Illustration: Within the Weeping Beech.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE CHARM OF COLOR
+
+ "How strange are the freaks of memory,
+ The lessons of life we forget.
+ While a trifle, a trick of color,
+ In the wonderful web is set."
+
+ --JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
+
+
+The quality of charm in color is most subtle; it is like the human
+attribute known as fascination, "whereof," says old Cotton Mather, "men
+have more Experience than Comprehension." Certainly some alliance of
+color with a form suited or wonted to it is necessary to produce a
+gratification of the senses. Thus in the leaves of plants every shade of
+green is pleasing; then why is there no charm in a green flower? The
+green of Mignonette bloom would scarcely be deemed beautiful were it not
+for our association of it with the delicious fragrance. White is the
+absence of color. In flowers a pure chalk-white, and a snow-white (which
+is bluish) is often found; but more frequently the white flower blushes
+a little, or is warmed with yellow, or has green veins.
+
+Where green runs into the petals of a white flower, its beauty hangs by
+a slender thread. If the green lines have any significance, as have the
+faint green checkerings of the Fritillary, which I have described
+elsewhere in this book, they add to its interest; but ordinarily they
+make the petals seem undeveloped. The Snowdrop bears the mark of one of
+the few tints of green which we like in white flowers; its "heart-shaped
+seal of green," sung by Rossetti, has been noted by many other poets.
+Tennyson wrote:--
+
+ "Pure as lines of green that streak the white
+ Of the first Snowdrop's inner leaves."
+
+[Illustration: Spring Snowflake.]
+
+A cousin of the Snowdrop, is the "Spring Snowflake" or Leucojum, called
+also by New England country folk "High Snowdrop." It bears at the end of
+each snowy petal a tiny exact spot of green; and I think it must have
+been the flower sung by Leigh Hunt:--
+
+ "The nice-leaved lesser Lilies,
+ Shading like detected light
+ Their little green-tipt lamps of white."
+
+The illustration on page 234 shows the graceful growth of the flower and
+its exquisitely precise little green-dotted petals, but it has not
+caught its luminous whiteness, which seems almost of phosphorescent
+brightness in each little flower.
+
+The Star of Bethlehem is a plant in which the white and green of the
+leaf is curiously repeated in the flower. Gardeners seldom admit this
+flower now to their gardens, it so quickly crowds out everything else;
+it has become on Long Island nothing but a weed. The high-growing Star
+of Bethlehem is a pretty thing. A bed of it in my sister's garden is
+shown on page 237.
+
+It is curious that when all agree that green flowers have no beauty and
+scant charm, that a green flower should have been one of the best-loved
+flowers of my home garden. But this love does not come from any thought
+of the color or beauty of the flower, but from association. It was my
+mother's favorite, hence it is mine. It was her favorite because she
+loved its clear, pure, spicy fragrance. This ever present and ever
+welcome scent which pervades the entire garden if leaf or flower of the
+loved Ambrosia be crushed, is curious and characteristic, a true
+"ambrosiack odor," to use Ben Jonson's words.
+
+A vivid description of Ambrosia is that of Gerarde in his delightful
+_Herball_.
+
+ "Oke of Jerusalem, or Botrys, hath sundry small stems a foote and a
+ halfe high dividing themselves into many small branches. The leafe
+ very much resembling the leafe of an Oke, which hath caused our
+ English women to call it Oke of Jerusalem. The upper side of the
+ leafe is a deepe greene and somewhat rough and hairy, but
+ underneath it is of a darke reddish or purple colour. The seedie
+ floures grow clustering about the branches like the yong clusters
+ or blowings of the Vine. The roote is small and thriddy. The whole
+ herbe is of a pleasant smell and savour, and the whole plant dieth
+ when the seed is ripe. Oke of Jerusalem is of divers called
+ Ambrosia."
+
+Ambrosia has been loved for many centuries by Englishwomen; it is in the
+first English list of names of plants, which was made in 1548 by one Dr.
+Turner; and in this list it is called "Ambrose." He says of it:--
+
+ "Botrys is called in englishe, Oke of Hierusalem, in duche, trauben
+ kraute, in french pijmen. It groweth in gardines muche in England."
+
+Ambrosia has now died out "in gardines muche in England." I have had
+many letters from English flower lovers telling me they know it not; and
+I have had the pleasure of sending the seeds to several old English and
+Scotch gardens, where I hope it will once more grow and flourish, for I
+am sure it must feel at home.
+
+[Illustration: Star of Bethlehem.]
+
+The seeds of this beloved Ambrosia, which filled my mother's garden in
+every spot in which it could spring, and which overflowed with cheerful
+welcome into the gardens of our neighbors, was given her from the garden
+of a great-aunt in Walpole, New Hampshire. This Walpole garden was a
+famous gathering of old-time favorites, and it had the delightful
+companionship of a wild garden. On a series of terraces with shelving
+banks, which reached down to a stream, the boys of the family planted,
+seventy years ago, a myriad of wild flowers, shrubs, and trees, from the
+neighboring woods. By the side of the garden great Elm trees sheltered
+scores of beautiful gray squirrels; and behind the house and garden an
+orchard led to the wheat fields, which stretched down to the broad
+Connecticut River. All flowers thrived there, both in the Box-bordered
+beds and in the wild garden, perhaps because the morning mists from the
+river helped out the heavy buckets of water from the well during the hot
+summer weeks. Even in winter the wild garden was beautiful from the
+brilliant Bittersweet which hung from every tree.
+
+[Illustration: "The Pearl."]
+
+Here Ambrosia was plentiful, but is plentiful no longer; and Walpole
+garden lovers seek seeds of it from the Worcester garden. I think it
+dies out generally when all the weeding and garden care is done by
+gardeners; they assume that the little plants of such modest bearing
+are weeds, and pull them up, with many other precious seedlings of the
+old garden, in their desire to have ample expanse of naked dirt. One of
+the charms which was permitted to the old garden was its fulness. Nature
+there certainly abhorred a vacant space. The garden soil was full of
+resources; it had a seed for every square inch; it seemed to have a
+reserve store ready to crowd into any space offered by the removal or
+dying down of a plant at any time.
+
+Let me tell of a curious thing I found in an old book, anent our
+subject--green flowers. It shows that we must not accuse our modern
+sensation lovers, either in botany or any other science, of being the
+only ones to add artifice to nature. The green Carnation has been chosen
+to typify the decadence and monstrosity of the end of the nineteenth
+century; but nearly two hundred years ago a London fruit and flower
+grower, named Richard Bradley, wrote a treatise upon field husbandry and
+garden culture, and in it he tells of a green Carnation which "a certayn
+fryar" produced by grafting a Carnation upon a Fennel stalk. The flowers
+were green for several years, then nature overcame decadent art.
+
+There be those who are so enamoured of the color green and of foliage,
+that they care little for flowers of varied tint; even in a garden, like
+the old poet Marvell, they deem,--
+
+ "No white nor red was ever seen
+ So amorous as this lovely green."
+
+Such folk could scarce find content in an American garden; for our
+American gardeners must confess, with Shakespeare's clown: "I am no
+great Nebuchadnezzar, sir, I have not much skill in grass." Our lawns
+are not old enough.
+
+A charming greenery of old English gardens was the bowling-green. We
+once had them in our colonies, as the name of a street in our greatest
+city now proves; and I deem them a garden fashion well-to-be-revived.
+
+The laws of color preference differ with the size of expanses. Our broad
+fields often have pleasing expanses of leafage other than green, and
+flowers that are as all-pervading as foliage. Many flowers of the field
+have their day, when each seems to be queen, a short day, but its rights
+none dispute. Snow of Daisies, yellow of Dandelions, gold of Buttercups,
+purple pinkness of Clover, Innocence, Blue-eyed Grass, Milkweed, none
+reign more absolutely in every inch of the fields than that poverty
+stricken creature, the Sorrel. William Morris warns us that "flowers in
+masses are mighty strong color," and must be used with much caution in a
+garden. But there need be no fear of massed color in a field, as being
+ever gaudy or cloying. An approach to the beauty and satisfaction of
+nature's plentiful field may be artificially obtained as an adjunct to
+the garden in a flower-close sown or set with a solid expanse of bloom
+of some native or widely adopted plant. I have seen a flower-close of
+Daisies, another of Buttercups, one of Larkspur, one of Coreopsis. A new
+field tint, and a splendid one, has been given to us within a few
+years, by the introduction of the vivid red of Italian clover. It is
+eagerly welcomed to our fields, so scant of scarlet. This clover was
+brought to America in the years 1824 _et seq._, and is described in
+contemporary publications in alluring sentences. I have noted the
+introduction of several vegetables, grains, fruits, berries, shrubs, and
+flowers in those years, and attribute this to the influence of the visit
+of Lafayette in 1824. Adored by all, his lightest word was heeded; and
+he was a devoted agriculturist and horticulturist, ever exchanging
+ideas, seeds, and plants with his American fellow-patriots and
+fellow-farmers. I doubt if Italian clover then became widely known; but
+our modern farmers now think well of it, and the flower lover revels in
+it.
+
+The exigencies of rhyme and rhythm force us to endure some very curious
+notions of color in the poets. I think no saying of poet ever gave
+greater check to her lovers than these lines of Emily Dickinson:--
+
+ "Nature rarer uses yellow
+ Than another hue;
+ Saves she all of that for sunsets,
+ Prodigal of blue.
+ Spending scarlet like a woman,
+ Yellow she affords
+ Only scantly and selectly,
+ Like a lover's words."
+
+I read them first with a sense of misapprehension that I had not seen
+aright; but there the words stood out, "Nature rarer uses yellow than
+another hue." The writer was such a jester, such a tricky elf that I
+fancy she wrote them in pure "contrariness," just to see what folks
+would say, how they would dispute over her words. For I never can doubt
+that, with all her recluse life, she knew intuitively that some time her
+lines would be read by folks who would love them.
+
+[Illustration: Pyrethrum.]
+
+The scarcity of red wild flowers is either a cause or an effect; at any
+rate it is said to be connected with the small number of humming-birds,
+who play an important part in the fertilization of many of the red
+flowers. There are no humming-birds in Europe; and the Aquilegia, red
+and yellow here, is blue there, and is then fertilized by the assistance
+of the bumblebee. Without humming-birds the English successfully
+accomplish one glorious sweep of red in the Poppies of the field;
+Parkinson called them "a beautiful and gallant red"--a very happy
+phrase. Ruskin, that master of color and of its description, and above
+all master of the description of Poppies, says:--
+
+ "The Poppy is the most transparent and delicate of all the blossoms
+ of the field. The rest, nearly all of them, depend on the texture
+ of their surface for color. But the Poppy is painted glass; it
+ never glows so brightly as when the sun shines through it. Whenever
+ it is seen, against the light or with the light, it is a flame, and
+ warms the wind like a blown ruby."
+
+There is one quality of the Oriental Poppies which is very palpable to
+me. They have often been called insolent--Browning writes of the
+"Poppy's red affrontery"; to me the Poppy has an angry look. It is
+wonderfully haughty too, and its seed-pod seems like an emblem of its
+rank. This great green seed-pod stands one inch high in the centre of
+the silken scarlet robe, and has an antique crown of purple bands with
+filling of lilac, just like the crown in some ancient kingly portraits,
+when the bands of gold and gems radiating from a 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, Lobelia, 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 products 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 Rhododendrons fill the garden with
+color that on some of the bushes is termed sultana and crimson, but it
+is in fact plain magenta. One of the good points of the Peony is that
+you never saw a magenta one.
+
+This color shows that time as well as place affects our color notions,
+for magenta is believed to be the honored royal purple of the ancients.
+Fifty years ago no one complained of magenta. It was deemed a cheerful
+color, and was set out boldly and complacently by the side of pink or
+scarlet, or wall flower colors. Now I dislike it so that really the
+printed word, seen often as I glance back through this page, makes the
+black and white look cheap. If I could turn all magenta flowers pink or
+purple, I should never think further about garden harmony, all other
+colors would adjust themselves.
+
+It has been the fortune of some communities to be the home of men in
+nature like Thoreau of Concord and Gilbert White of Selborne, men who
+live solely in love of out-door things, birds, flowers, rocks, and
+trees. To all these nature lovers is not given the power of writing down
+readily what they see and know, usually the gift of composition is
+denied them; but often they are just as close and accurate observers as
+the men whose names are known to the world by their writings. Sometimes
+these naturalists boldly turn to nature, their loved mother, and earn
+their living in the woods and fields. Sometimes they have a touch of the
+hermit in them, they prefer nature to man; others are genial, kindly
+men, albeit possessed of a certain reserve. I deem the community blest
+that has such a citizen, for his influence in promoting a love and study
+of nature is ever great. I have known one such ardent naturalist, Arba
+Peirce, ever since my childhood. He lives the greater part of his waking
+hours in the woods and fields, and these waking hours are from sunrise.
+From the earliest bloom of spring to the gay berry of autumn, he knows
+all beautiful things that grow, and where they grow, for hundreds of
+miles around his home.
+
+[Illustration: Terraced Garden of Misses Nichols, Salem, Massachusetts.]
+
+I speak of him in this connection because he has acquired through his
+woodland life a wonderful power of distinguishing flowers at great
+distance with absolute accuracy. Especially do his eyes have the power
+of detecting those rose-lilac tints which are characteristic of our
+rarest, our most delicate wild flowers, and which I always designate to
+myself as Arethusa color. He brought me this June a royal gift--a great
+bunch of wild fringed Orchids, another of Calopogon, and one of
+Arethusa. What a color study these three made! At the time their
+lilac-rose tints seemed to me far lovelier than any pure rose colors. In
+those wild princesses were found every tone of that lilac-rose from the
+faint blush like the clouds of a warm sunset, to a glow on the lip of
+the Arethusa, like the crimson glow of Mullein Pink.
+
+My friend of the meadow and wildwood had gathered that morning a
+glorious harvest, over two thousand stems of Pogonia, from his own
+hidden spot, which he has known for forty years and from whence no other
+hand ever gathers. For a little handful of these flower heads he easily
+obtains a dollar. He has acquired gradually a regular round of
+customers, for whom he gathers a successive harvest of wild flowers from
+Pussy Willows and Hepatica to winter berries. It is not easily earned
+money to stand in heavy rubber boots in marsh mud and water reaching
+nearly to the waist, but after all it is happy work. Jeered at in his
+early life by fools for his wood-roving tastes, he has now the pleasure
+and honor of supplying wild flowers to our public schools, and being the
+authority to whom scholars and teachers refer in vexed questions of
+botany.
+
+I think the various tints allied to purple are the most difficult to
+define and describe of any in the garden. To begin with, all these
+pinky-purple, these arethusa tints are nameless; perhaps orchid color is
+as good a name as any. Many deem purple and violet precisely the same.
+Lavender has much gray in its tint. Miss Jekyll deems mauve and lilac
+the same; to me lilac is much pinker, much more delicate. Is heliotrope
+a pale bluish purple? Some call it a blue faintly tinged with red. Then
+there are the orchid tints, which have more pink than blue. It is a
+curious fact that, with all these allied tints which come from the union
+of blue with red, the color name comes from a flower name. Violet,
+lavender, lilac, heliotrope, orchid, are examples; each is an exact
+tint. Rose and pink are color names from flowers, and flowers of much
+variety of colors, but the tint name is unvarying.
+
+Edward de Goncourt, of all writers on flowers and gardens, seems to have
+been most frankly pleased with the artificial side of the gardener's
+art. He viewed the garden with the eye of a colorist, setting a palette
+of varied greens from the deep tones of the evergreens, the Junipers and
+Cryptomerias through the variegated Hollies, Privets and Spindle trees;
+and he said that an "elegantly branched coquettishly variegated bush"
+seemed to him like a piece of bric-a-brac which should be hunted out and
+praised like some curio hidden on the shelf of a collector.
+
+A lack of color perception seems to have been prevalent of ancient days,
+as it is now in some Oriental countries. The Bible offers evidence of
+this, and it has also been observed that the fragrance of flowers is
+nowhere noted until we reach the Song of Solomon. It is believed that in
+earliest time archaic men had no sense of color; that they knew only
+light and darkness. Mr. Gladstone wrote a most interesting paper on the
+lack of color sense in Homer, whose perception of brilliant light was
+good, especially in the glowing reflections of metals, but who never
+names blue or green even in speaking of the sky, or trees, while his
+reds and purples are hopelessly mixed. Some German scientists have
+maintained that as recently as Homer's day, our ancestors were (to use
+Sir John Lubbock's word) blue-blind, which fills me, as it must all blue
+lovers, with profound pity.
+
+[Illustration: Arbor in a Salem Garden.]
+
+The influence of color has ever been felt by other senses than that of
+sight. In the _Cotton Manuscripts_, written six hundred years ago, the
+relations and effects of color on music and coat-armor were laboriously
+explained: and many later writers have striven to show the effect of
+color on the health, imagination, or fortune. I see no reason for
+sneering at these notions of sense-relation; I am grateful for borrowed
+terms of definition for these beautiful things which are so hard to
+define. When an artist says to me, "There is a color that sings," I know
+what he means; as I do when my friend says of the funeral music in
+_Tristan_ that "it always hurts her eyes." Musicians compose symphonies
+in color, and artists paint pictures in symphonies. Musicians and
+authors acknowledge the domination of color and color terms; a glance at
+a modern book catalogue will prove it. Stephen Crane and other modern
+extremists depend upon color to define and describe sounds, smells,
+tastes, feelings, ideas, vices, virtues, traits, as well as sights.
+Sulphur-yellow is deemed an inspiring color, and light green a clean
+color; every one knows the influence of bright red upon many animals and
+birds; it is said all barnyard fowl are affected by it. If any one can
+see a sunny bed of blue Larkspur in full bloom without being moved
+thereby, he must be color blind and sound deaf as well, for that indeed
+is a sight full of music and noble inspiration, a realization of Keats'
+beautiful thought:--
+
+ "Delicious symphonies, like airy flowers
+ Budded, and swell'd, and full-blown, shed full showers
+ Of light, soft unseen leaves of sound divine."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+THE BLUE FLOWER BORDER
+
+ "Blue thou art, intensely blue!
+ Flower! whence came thy dazzling hue?
+ When I opened first mine eye,
+ Upward glancing to the sky,
+ Straightway from the firmament
+ Was the sapphire brilliance sent."
+
+ --JAMES MONTGOMERY.
+
+
+Questions of color relations in a garden are most opinion-making and
+controversy-provoking. Shall we plant by chance, or by a flower-loving
+instinct for sheltered and suited locations, as was done in all old-time
+gardens, and with most happy and most unaffected results? or shall we
+plant severely by colors--all yellow flowers in a border together? all
+red flowers side by side? all pink flowers near each other? This might
+be satisfactory in small gardens, but I am uncertain whether any
+profound gratification or full flower succession would come from such
+rigid planting in long flower borders.
+
+William Morris warns us that flowers in masses are "mighty strong
+color," and must be used with caution. A still greater cause for
+hesitation would be the ugly jarring of juxtaposing tints of the same
+color. Yellows do little injury to each other; but I cannot believe that
+a mixed border of red flowers would ever be satisfactory or scarcely
+endurable; and few persons would care for beds of all white flowers. But
+when I reach the Blue Border, then I can speak with decision; I know
+whereof I write, I know the variety and beauty of a garden bed of blue
+flowers. In blue you may have much difference in tint and quality
+without losing color effect. The Persian art workers have accomplished
+the combining of varying blues most wonderfully and successfully:
+purplish blues next to green-blues, and sapphire-blues alongside; and
+blues seldom clash in the flower beds.
+
+Blue is my best beloved color; I love it as the bees love it. Every blue
+flower is mine; and I am as pleased as with a tribute of praise to a
+friend to learn that scientists have proved that blue flowers represent
+the most highly developed lines of descent. These learned men believe
+that all flowers were at first yellow, being perhaps only developed
+stamens; then some became white, others red; while the purple and blue
+were the latest and highest forms. The simplest shaped flowers, open to
+be visited by every insect, are still yellow or white, running into red
+or pink. Thus the Rose family have simple open symmetrical flowers; and
+there are no blue Roses--the flower has never risen to the blue stage.
+In the Pea family the simpler flowers are yellow or red; while the
+highly evolved members, such as Lupines, Wistaria, Everlasting Pea, are
+purple or blue, varying to white. Bees are among the highest forms of
+insect life, and the labiate flowers are adapted to their visits; these
+nearly all have purple or blue petals--Thyme, Sage, Mint, Marjoram,
+Basil, Prunella, etc.
+
+Of course the Blue Border runs into tints of pale lilac and purple and
+is thereby the gainer; but I would remove from it the purple Clematis,
+Wistaria, and Passion-flower, all of which a friend has planted to cover
+the wall behind her blue flower bed. Sometimes the line between blue and
+purple is hard to define. Keats invented a word, _purplue_, which he
+used for this indeterminate color.
+
+I would not, in my Blue Border, exclude an occasional group of flowers
+of other colors; I love a border of all colors far too well to do that.
+Here, as everywhere in my garden, should be white flowers, especially
+tall white flowers: white Foxgloves, white Delphinium, white Lupine,
+white Hollyhock, white Bell-flower, nor should I object to a few spires
+at one end of the bed of sulphur-yellow Lupines, or yellow Hollyhocks,
+or a group of Paris Daisies. I have seen a great Oriental Poppy growing
+in wonderful beauty near a mass of pale blue Larkspur, and Shirley
+Poppies are a delight with blues; and any one could arrange the
+pompadour tints of pink and blue in a garden who could in a gown.
+
+[Illustration: Scilla.]
+
+Let me name some of the favorites of the Blue Border. The earliest but
+not the eldest is the pretty spicy Scilla in several varieties, and most
+satisfactory it is in perfection of tint, length of bloom, and great
+hardiness. It would be welcomed as we eagerly greet all the early spring
+blooms, even if it were not the perfect little blossom that is pictured
+on page 254, the very little Scilla that grew in my mother's garden.
+
+The early spring blooming of the beloved Grape Hyacinth gives us an
+overflowing bowl of "blue principle"; the whole plant is imbued and
+fairly exudes blue. Ruskin gave the beautiful and appropriate term
+"blue-flushing" to this plant and others, which at the time of their
+blossoming send out through their veins their blue color into the
+surrounding leaves and the stem; he says they "breathe out" their color,
+and tells of a "saturated purple" tint.
+
+[Illustration: Sweet Alyssum Edging.]
+
+Not content with the confines of the garden border, the Grape Hyacinth
+has "escaped the garden," and become a field flower. The "seeing eye,"
+ever quick to feel a difference in shade or color, which often proves
+very slight upon close examination, viewed on Long Island a splendid sea
+of blue; and it seemed neither the time nor tint for the expected
+Violet. We found it a field of Grape Hyacinth, blue of leaf, of stem, of
+flower. While all flowers are in a sense perfect, some certainly do not
+appear so in shape, among the latter those of irregular sepals. Some
+flowers seem imperfect without any cause save the fancy of the one who
+is regarding them; thus to me the Balsam is an imperfect flower. Other
+flowers impress me delightfully with a sense of perfection. Such is the
+Grape Hyacinth, doubly grateful in this perfection in the time it comes
+in early spring. The Grape Hyacinth is the favorite spring flower of my
+garden--but no! I thought a minute ago the Scilla was! and what place
+has the Violet? the Flower de Luce? I cannot decide, but this I know--it
+is some blue flower.
+
+Ruskin says of the Grape Hyacinth, as he saw it growing in southern
+France, its native home, "It was as if a cluster of grapes and a hive of
+honey had been distilled and pressed together into one small boss of
+celled and beaded blue." I always think of his term "beaded blue" when I
+look at it. There are several varieties, from a deep blue or purple to
+sky-blue, and one is fringed with the most delicate feathery petals.
+Some varieties have a faint perfume, and country folk call the flower
+"Baby's Breath" therefrom.
+
+[Illustration: Bachelor's Buttons in a Salem Garden.]
+
+Purely blue, too, are some of our garden Hyacinths, especially a rather
+meagre single Hyacinth which looks a little chilly; and Gavin Douglas
+wrote in the springtime of 1500, "The Flower de Luce forth spread his
+heavenly blue." It always jars upon my sense of appropriateness to hear
+this old garden favorite called Fleur de Lis. The accepted derivation
+of the word is that given by Grandmaison in his _Heraldic Dictionary_.
+Louis VII. of France, whose name was then written Loys, first gave the
+name to the flower, "Fleur de Loys"; then it became Fleur de Louis, and
+finally, Fleur de Lis. Our flower caught its name from Louis. Tusser in
+his list of flowers for windows and pots gave plainly Flower de Luce;
+and finally Gerarde called the plant Flower de Luce, and he advised its
+use as a domestic remedy in a manner which is in vogue in country homes
+in New England to-day. He said that the root "stamped plaister-wise,
+doth take away the blewnesse or blacknesse of any stroke" that is, a
+black and blue bruise. Another use advised of him is as obsolete as the
+form in which it was rendered. He said it was "good in a loch or licking
+medicine for shortness of breath." Our apothecaries no longer make, nor
+do our physicians prescribe, "licking medicines." The powdered root was
+urged as a complexion beautifier, especially to remove morphew, and as
+orris-root may be found in many of our modern skin lotions.
+
+Ruskin most beautifully describes the Flower de Luce as the flower of
+chivalry--"with a sword for its leaf, and a Lily for its heart." These
+grand clumps of erect old soldiers, with leafy swords of green and
+splendid cuirasses and plumes of gold and bronze and blue, were planted
+a century ago in our grandmothers' garden, and were then Flower de Luce.
+A hundred years those sturdy sentinels have stood guard on either side
+of the garden gates--still Flower de Luce. There are the same clean-cut
+leaf swords, the same exquisite blossoms, far more beautiful than our
+tropical Orchids, though similar in shape; let us not change now their
+historic name, they still are Flower de Luce--the Flower de Louis.
+
+The Violet family, with its Pansies and Ladies' Delights, has honored
+place in our Blue Border, though the rigid color list of a prosaic
+practical dyer finds these Violet allies a debased purple instead of
+blue.
+
+Our wild Violets, the blue ones, have for me a sad lack for a Violet,
+that of perfume. They are not as lovely in the woodlands as their
+earlier coming neighbor, the shy, pure Hepatica. Bryant, calling the
+Hepatica Squirrelcups (a name I never heard given them elsewhere), says
+they form "a graceful company hiding in their bells a soft aerial blue."
+Of course, they vary through blue and pinky purple, but the blue is well
+hidden, and I never think of them save as an almost white flower. Nor
+are the Violets as lovely on the meadow and field slopes, as the mild
+Innocence, the Houstonia, called also Bluets, which is scarcely a
+distinctly blue expanse, but rather "a milky way of minute stars." An
+English botanist denies that it is blue at all. A field covered with
+Innocence always looks to me as if little clouds and puffs of blue-white
+smoke had descended and rested on the grass.
+
+[Illustration: A "Sweet Garden-side" in Salem, Massachusetts.]
+
+I well recall when the Aquilegia, under the name of California
+Columbine, entered my mother's garden, to which its sister, the red and
+yellow Columbine, had been brought from a rocky New England pasture when
+the garden was new. This Aquilegia came to us about the year 1870. I
+presume old catalogues of American florists would give details and dates
+of the journey of the plant from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It chanced
+that this first Aquilegia of my acquaintance was of a distinct light
+blue tint; and it grew apace and thrived and was vastly admired, and
+filled the border with blueness of that singular tint seen of late years
+in its fullest extent and most prominent position in the great masses of
+bloom of the blue Hydrangea, the show plant of such splendid summer
+homes as may be found at Newport. These blue Hydrangeas are ever to me a
+color blot. They accord with no other flower and no foliage. I am
+ever reminded of blue mould, of stale damp. I looked with inexpressible
+aversion on a photograph of Cecil Rhodes' garden at Cape Town--several
+solid acres set with this blue Hydrangea and nothing else, unbroken by
+tree or shrub, and scarce a path, growing as thick as a field sown with
+ensilage corn, and then I thought what would be the color of that mass!
+that crop of Hydrangeas! Yet I am told that Rhodes is a flower-lover and
+flower-thinker. Now this Aquilegia was of similar tint; it was blue, but
+it was not a pleasing blue, and additional plants of pink, lilac, and
+purple tints had to be added before the Aquilegia was really included in
+our list of well-beloveds.
+
+[Illustration: Salpiglossis.]
+
+There are other flowers for the blue border. It is pleasant to plant
+common Flax, if you have ample room; it is a superb blue; to many
+persons the blossom is unfamiliar, and is always of interest. Its lovely
+flowers have been much sung in English verse. The Salpiglossis, shown on
+the opposite page, is in its azure tint a lovely flower, though it is a
+kinsman of the despised Petunia.
+
+How the Campanulaceae enriched the beauty and the blueness of the garden.
+We had our splendid clusters of Canterbury Bells, both blue and white. I
+have told elsewhere of our love for them in childhood. Equally dear to
+us was a hardy old Campanula whose full name I know not, perhaps it is
+the Pyramidalis; it is shown on page 263, the very plant my mother set
+out, still growing and blooming; nothing in the garden is more gladly
+welcomed from year to year. It partakes of the charm shared by every
+bell-shaped flower, a simple form, but an ever pleasing one. We had also
+the _Campanula persicifolia_ and _trachelium_, and one we called
+Bluebells of Scotland, which was not the correct name. It now has died
+out, and no one recalls enough of its exact detail to learn its real
+name. The showiest bell-flower was the _Platycodon grandiflorum_, the
+Chinese or Japanese Bell-flower, shown on page 264. Another name is the
+Balloon-flower, this on account of the characteristic buds shaped like
+an inflated balloon. It is a lovely blue in tint, though this photograph
+was taken from a white-flowered plant in the white border at Indian
+Hill. The Giant Bell-flower is a _fin de siecle_ blossom named
+_Ostrowskia_, with flowers four inches deep and six inches in diameter;
+it has not yet become common in our gardens, where the _Platycodon_
+rules in size among its bell-shaped fellows.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Campanula.]
+
+There are several pretty low-growing blue flowers suitable for edgings,
+among them the tiny stars of the Swan River Daisy (_Brachycome
+iberidifolia_) sold as purple, but as brightly blue as Scilla. The
+dwarf Ageratum is also a long-blossoming soft-tinted blue flower; it
+made a charming edging in my sister's garden last summer; but I should
+never put either of them on the edge of the blue border.
+
+[Illustration: Chinese Bell-flower.]
+
+The dull blue, sparsely set flowers of the various members of the Mint
+family have no beauty in color, nor any noticeable elegance; the Blue
+Sage is the only vivid-hued one, and it is a true ornament to the
+border. Prunella was ever found in old gardens, now it is a wayside
+weed. Thoreau loved the Prunella for its blueness, its various lights,
+and noted that its color deepened toward night. This flower, regarded
+with indifference by nearly every one, and distaste by many, always to
+him suggested coolness and freshness by its presence. The Prunella was
+beloved also by Ruskin, who called it the soft warm-scented Brunelle,
+and told of the fine purple gleam of its hooded blossom: "the two
+uppermost petals joined like an old-fashioned enormous hood or bonnet;
+the lower petal torn deep at the edges into a kind of fringe,"--and he
+said it was a "Brownie flower," a little eerie and elusive in its
+meaning. I do not like it because it has such a disorderly, unkempt
+look, it always seems bedraggled.
+
+The pretty ladder-like leaf of Jacob's Ladder is most delicate and
+pleasing in the garden, and its blue bell-flowers are equally refined.
+This is truly an old-fashioned plant, but well worth universal
+cultivation.
+
+In answer to the question, What is the bluest flower in the garden or
+field? one answered Fringed Gentian; another the Forget-me-not, which
+has much pink in its buds and yellow in its blossoms; another Bee
+Larkspur; and the others _Centaurea cyanus_ or Bachelor's Buttons, a
+local American name for them, which is not even a standard folk name,
+since there are twenty-one English plants called Bachelor's Buttons.
+Ragged Sailor is another American name. Corn-flower, Blue-tops, Blue
+Bonnets, Bluebottles, Loggerheads are old English names. Queerer still
+is the title Break-your-spectacles. Hawdods is the oldest name of all.
+Fitzherbert, in his _Boke of Husbandry_, 1586, thus describes briefly
+the plant:--
+
+ "Hawdod hath a blewe floure, and a few lytle leaves, and hath fyve
+ or syxe branches floured at the top."
+
+In varied shades of blue, purple, lilac, pink, and white, Bachelor's
+Buttons are found in every old garden, growing in a confused tangle of
+"lytle leaves" and vari-colored flowers, very happily and with very good
+effect. The illustration on page 258 shows their growth and value in the
+garden.
+
+In _The Promise of May_ Dora's eyes are said to be as blue as the
+Bluebell, Harebell, Speedwell, Bluebottle, Succory, Forget-me-not, and
+Violets; so we know what flowers Tennyson deemed blue.
+
+Another poet named as the bluest flower, the Monk's-hood, so wonderful
+of color, one of the very rarest of garden tints; graceful of growth,
+blooming till frost, and one of the garden's delights. In a list of
+garden flowers published in Boston, in 1828, it is called Cupid's Car.
+Southey says in _The Doctor_, of Miss Allison's garden: "The Monk's-hood
+of stately growth Betsey called 'Dumbledores Delight,' and was not aware
+that the plant, in whose helmet--rather than cowl-shaped flowers, that
+busy and best-natured of all insects appears to revel more than any
+other, is the deadly Aconite of which she read in poetry." The
+dumbledore was the bumblebee, and this folk name was given, as many
+others have been, from a close observance of plant habits; for the
+fertilization of the Monk's-hood is accomplished only by the aid of the
+bumblebee.
+
+[Illustration: Garden at Tudor Place.]
+
+Many call Chicory or Succory our bluest flower. Thoreau happily termed
+it "a cool blue." It is not often the fortune of a flower to be brought
+to notice and affection because of a poem; we expect the poem to
+celebrate the virtues of flowers already loved. The Succory is an
+example of a plant, known certainly to flower students, yet little
+thought of by careless observers until the beautiful poem of Margaret
+Deland touched all who read it. I think this a gem of modern poesy,
+having in full that great element of a true poem, the most essential
+element indeed of a short poem--the power of suggestion. Who can read it
+without being stirred by its tenderness and sentiment, yet how few are
+the words.
+
+ "Oh, not in ladies' gardens,
+ My peasant posy,
+ Shine thy dear blue eyes;
+ Nor only--nearer to the skies
+ In upland pastures, dim and sweet,
+ But by the dusty road,
+ Where tired feet
+ Toil to and fro,
+ Where flaunting Sin
+ May see thy heavenly hue,
+ Or weary Sorrow look from thee
+ Toward a tenderer blue."
+
+I recall perfectly every flower I saw in pasture, swamp, forest, or lane
+when I was a child; and I know I never saw Chicory save in old gardens.
+It has increased and spread wonderfully along the roadside within twenty
+years. By tradition it was first brought to us from England by Governor
+Bowdoin more than a century ago, to plant as forage.
+
+In our common Larkspur, the old-fashioned garden found its most constant
+and reliable blue banner, its most valuable color giver. Self-sown,
+this Larkspur sprung up freely every year; needing no special cherishing
+or nourishing, it grew apace, and bloomed with a luxuriance and length
+of flowering that cheerfully blued the garden for the whole summer. It
+was a favorite of children in their floral games, and pretty in the
+housewife's vases, but its chief hold on favor was in its democracy and
+endurance. Other flowers drew admirers and lost them; some grew very
+ugly in their decay; certain choice seedlings often had stunted
+development, garden scourges attacked tender beauties; fierce July suns
+dried up the whole border, all save the Larkspur, which neither withered
+nor decayed; and often, unaided, saved the midsummer garden from scanty
+unkemptness and dire disrepute.
+
+The graceful line of Dr. Holmes, "light as a loop of Larkspur," always
+comes to my mind as I look at a bed of Larkspur; and I am glad to show
+here a "loop of Larkspur," growing by the great boulder which he loved
+in the grounds of his country home at Beverly Farms. I liked to fancy
+that Dr. Holmes's expression was written by him from his memory of the
+little wreaths and garlands of pressed Larkspur that have been made so
+universally for over a century by New England children. But that careful
+flower observer, Mrs. Wright, notes that in a profuse growth of the Bee
+Larkspur, the strong flower spikes often are in complete loops before
+full expansion into a straight spire; some are looped thrice. Dr. Holmes
+was a minute observer of floral characteristics, as is shown in his poem
+on the _Coming of Spring_, and doubtless saw this curious growth of the
+Larkspur.
+
+[Illustration: "Light as a Loop of Larkspur."]
+
+Common annual Larkspurs now are planted in every one's garden, and
+deservedly grow in favor yearly. The season of their flowering can be
+prolonged, renewed in fact, by cutting away the withered flower stems.
+They respond well to all caretaking, to liberal fertilizing and
+watering, just as they dwindle miserably with neglect. There are a
+hundred varieties in all; among them the "Rocket-flowered" and
+"Ranunculus flowered" Larkspurs or Delphiniums are ever favorites. A
+friend burst forth in railing at being asked to admire a bed of
+Delphinium. "Why can't she call them the good old-time name of Larkspur,
+and not a stiff name cooked up by the botanists." I answered naught, but
+I remembered that Parkinson in his _Garden of Pleasant Flowers_ gives a
+chapter to Delphinium, with Lark's-heel as a second thought. "Their most
+usual name with us," he states, "is Delphinium." There is meaning in the
+name: the flower is dolphin-like in shape. Of the perennial varieties
+the _Delphinium brunonianum_ has lovely clear blue, musk-scented
+flowers; the Chinese or Branching Larkspur is of varied blue tints and
+tall growth, and blooms from midsummer until frost. And loveliest of
+all, an old garden favorite, the purely blue Bee Larkspur, with a bee in
+the heart of each blossom. In an ancient garden in Deerfield I saw this
+year a splendid group of plants of the old _Delphinium Belladonna_: it
+is a weak-kneed, weak-backed thing; but give it unobtrusive crutches and
+busks and backboards (in their garden equivalents), and its incomparable
+blue will reward your care. There is something singular in the blue of
+Larkspur. Even on a dark night you can see it showing a distinct blue
+in the garden like a blue lambent flame.
+
+ "Larkspur lifting turquoise spires
+ Bluer than the sorcerer's fires."
+
+Mrs. Milne-Home says her old Scotch gardener called the white Delphinium
+Elijah's Chariot--a resounding, stately title. Helmet-flower is another
+name. I think the Larkspur Border, and the Blue Border both gain if a
+few plants of the pure white Delphinium, especially the variety called
+the Emperor, bloom by the blue flowers. In our garden the common blue
+Larkspur loves to blossom by the side of the white Phlox. A bit of the
+border is shown on page 162. In another corner of the garden the pink
+and lilac Larkspur should be grown; for their tints, running into blue,
+are as varied as those of an opal.
+
+I have never seen the wild Larkspur which grows so plentifully in our
+middle Southern states; but I have seen expanses of our common garden
+Larkspur which has run wild. Nor have I seen the glorious fields of
+Wyoming Larkspur, so poisonous to cattle; nor the magnificent Larkspur,
+eight feet high, described so radiantly to us by John Muir, which blues
+those wonders of nature, the hanging meadow gardens of California.
+
+I am inclined to believe that Lobelia is the least pleasing blue flower
+that blossoms. I never see it in any place or juxtaposition that it
+satisfies me. When you take a single flower of it in your hand, its
+single little delicate bloom is really just as pretty as Blue-eyed
+Grass, or Innocence, or Scilla, and the whole plant regarded closely by
+itself isn't at all bad; but whenever and wherever you find it growing
+in a garden, you never want it in _that_ place, and you shift it here
+and there. I am convinced that the Lobelia is simply impossible; it is
+an alien, wrong in some subtle way in tint, in habit of growth, in time
+of blooming. The last time I noted it in any large garden planting, it
+was set around the roots of some standard Rose bushes; and the gardener
+had displayed some thought about it; it was only at the base of white or
+cream-yellow Roses; but it still was objectionable. I think I would
+exterminate Lobelia if I could, banish it and forget it. In the minds of
+many would linger a memory of certain ornate garden vases, each crowded
+with a Pandanus-y plant, a pink Begonia, a scarlet double Geranium, a
+purple Verbena or a crimson Petunia, all gracefully entwined with
+Nasturtiums and Lobelia--while these folks lived, the Lobelia would not
+be forgotten.
+
+You will have some curious experiences with your Blue Border; kindly
+friends, pleased with its beauty or novelty, will send to you plants and
+seeds to add to its variety of form "another bright blue flower." You
+will usually find you have added variety of tint as well, ranging into
+crimson and deep purple, for color blindness is far more general than is
+thought.
+
+The loveliest blue flowers are the wild ones of fields and meadows;
+therefore the poor, says Alphonse Karr, with these and the blue of the
+sky have the best and the most of all blueness. Yet we are constantly
+hearing folks speak of the lack of the color blue among wild flowers,
+which always surprises me; I suppose I see blue because I love blue. In
+pure cobalt tint it is rare; in compensation, when it does abound, it
+makes a permanent imprint on our vision, which never vanishes. Recalling
+in midwinter the expanses of color in summer waysides, I do not see them
+white with Daisies, or yellow with Goldenrod, but they are in my mind's
+vision brightly, beautifully blue. One special scene is the blue of
+Fringed Gentians, on a sunny October day, on a rocky hill road in
+Royalston, Massachusetts, where they sprung up, wide open, a solid mass
+of blue, from stone wall to stone wall, with scarcely a wheel rut
+showing among them. Even thus, growing in as lavish abundance as any
+weed, the Fringed Gentian still preserved in collective expanse, its
+delicate, its distinctly aristocratic bearing.
+
+Bryant asserts of this flower:--
+
+ "Thou waitest late, and com'st alone
+ When woods are bare, and birds are flown."
+
+But by this roadside the woods were far from bare. Many Asters,
+especially the variety I call Michaelmas Daisies, Goldenrod,
+Butter-and-eggs, Turtle Head, and other flowers, were in ample bloom.
+And the same conditions of varied flower companionship existed when I
+saw the Fringed Gentian blooming near Bryant's own home at Cummington.
+
+[Illustration: Viper's Bugloss.]
+
+Another vast field of blue, ever living in my memory, was that of the
+Viper's Bugloss, which I viewed with surprise and delight from the
+platform of a train, returning from the Columbian Exposition; when I
+asked a friendly brakeman what the flower was called, he answered
+"Vilets," as nearly all workingmen confidently name every blue flower;
+and he sprang from the train while the locomotive was swallowing water,
+and brought to me a great armful of blueness. I am not wont to like new
+flowers as well as my childhood's friends, but I found this new friend,
+the Viper's Bugloss, a very welcome and pleasing acquaintance. Curious,
+too, it is, with the red anthers exserted beyond the bright blue
+corolla, giving the field, when the wind blew across it, a new aspect
+and tint, something like a red and blue changeable silk. The Viper's
+Bugloss seems to have the pervasive power of many another blue and
+purple flower, Lupine, Iris, Innocence, Grape Hyacinth, Vervain, Aster,
+Spiked Loosestrife; it has become in many states a tiresome weed. On the
+Esopus Creek (which runs into the Hudson River) and adown the Hudson,
+acre after acre of meadow and field by the waterside are vivid with its
+changeable hues, and the New York farmers' fields are overrun by the
+newcomer.
+
+I have seen the Viper's Bugloss often since that day on the railroad
+train, now that I know it, and think of it. Thoreau noted the fact that
+in a large sense we find only what we look for. And he defined well our
+powers of perception when he said that many an object will not be seen,
+even when it comes within the range of our visual ray, because it does
+not come within the range of our intellectual ray.
+
+Last spring, having to spend a tiresome day riding the length of Long
+Island, I beguiled the hours by taking with me Thoreau's _Summer_ to
+compare his notes of blossomings with those we passed. It was June 5,
+and I read:--
+
+ "The Lupine is now in its glory. It is the more important because
+ it occurs in such extensive patches, even an acre or more
+ together.... It paints a whole hillside with its blue, making such
+ a field, if not a meadow, as Proserpine might have wandered in. Its
+ leaf was made to be covered with dewdrops. I am quite excited by
+ this prospect of blue flowers in clumps, with narrow intervals;
+ such a profusion of the heavenly, the Elysian color, as if these
+ were the Elysian Fields. That is the value of the Lupine. The earth
+ is blued with it.... You may have passed here a fortnight ago and
+ the field was comparatively barren. Now you come, and these
+ glorious redeemers appear to have flashed out here all at once. Who
+ plants the seeds of Lupines in the barren soil? Who watereth the
+ Lupines in the field?"
+
+[Illustration: The Precision of Leaf and Flower of Lupine.]
+
+I looked from a car window, and lo! the Long Island Railroad ran also
+through an Elysian Field of Lupines, nay, we sailed a swift course
+through a summer sea of blueness, and I seem to see it still, with its
+prim precision of outline and growth of both leaf and flower. The Lupine
+is beautiful in the garden border as it is in the landscape, whether the
+blossom be blue, yellow, or white.
+
+Thoreau was the slave of color, but he was the master of its
+description. He was as sensitive as Keats to the charm of blue, and left
+many records of his love, such as the paragraphs above quoted. He noted
+with delight the abundance of "that principle which gives the air its
+azure color, which makes the distant hills and meadows appear blue," the
+"great blue presence" of Monadnock and Wachusett with its "far blue
+eye." He loved Lowell's
+
+ "Sweet atmosphere of hazy blue,
+ So leisurely, so soothing, so forgiving,
+ That sometimes makes New England fit for living."
+
+He revelled in the blue tints of water, of snow, of ice; in "the
+blueness and softness of a mild winter day." The constant blueness of
+the sky at night thrilled him with "an everlasting surprise," as did the
+blue shadows within the woods and the blueness of distant woods. How he
+would have rejoiced in Monet's paintings, how true he would have found
+their tones. He even idealized blueberries, "a very innocent ambrosial
+taste, as if made of ether itself, as they are colored with it."
+
+Thoreau was ever ready in thought of Proserpina gathering flowers. He
+offers to her the Lupine, the Blue-eyed Grass, and the Tufted Vetch,
+"blue, inclining in spots to purple"; it affected him deeply to see such
+an abundance of blueness in the grass. "Celestial color, I see it afar
+in masses on the hillside near the meadow--so much blue."
+
+I usually join with Thoreau in his flower loves; but I cannot understand
+his feeling toward the blue Flag; that, after noting the rich fringed
+recurved parasols over its anthers, and its exquisite petals, that he
+could say it is "a little too showy and gaudy, like some women's
+bonnets." I note that whenever he compares flowers to women it is in no
+flattering humor to either; which is, perhaps, what we expect from a man
+who chose to be a bachelor and a hermit. His love of obscure and small
+flowers might explain his sentiment toward the radiant and dominant blue
+Flag.
+
+The most valued flower of my childhood, outside the garden, was a little
+sister of the Iris--the Blue-eyed Grass. To find it blooming was a
+triumph, for it was not very profuse of growth near my home; to gather
+it a delight; why, I know not, since the tiny blooms promptly closed and
+withered as soon as we held them in our warm little hands. Colonel
+Higginson writes wittily of the Blue-eyed Grass, "It has such an
+annoying way of shutting up its azure orbs the moment you gather it; and
+you reach home with a bare stiff blade which deserves no better name
+than _Sisyrinchium anceps_."
+
+The only time I ever played truant was to run off one June morning to
+find "the starlike gleam amid the grass and dew"; to pick Blue-eyed
+Grass in a field to which I was conducted by another naughty girl. I was
+simple enough to come home at mid-day with my hands full of the stiff
+blades and tightly closed blooms; and at my mother's inquiry as to my
+acquisition of these treasures, I promptly burst into tears. I was then
+told, in impressive phraseology adapted to my youthful comprehension,
+and with the flowers as eloquent proof, that all stolen pleasures were
+ever like my coveted flowers, withered and unsightly as soon as
+gathered--which my mother believed was true.
+
+The blossoms of this little Iris seem to lie on the surface of the grass
+like a froth of blueness; they gaze up at the sky with a sort of
+intimacy as if they were a part of it. Thoreau called it an "air of easy
+sympathy." The slightest clouding or grayness of atmosphere makes them
+turn away and close.
+
+The naming of Proserpina leads me to say this: that to grow in love and
+knowledge of flowers, and above all of blue flowers, you must read
+Ruskin's _Proserpina_. It is a book of botany, of studies of plants, but
+begemmed with beautiful sentences and thoughts and expressions, with
+lessons of pleasantness which you can never forget, of pictures which
+you never cease to see, such sentences and pictures as this:--
+
+ "Rome. My father's Birthday. I found the loveliest blue Asphodel I
+ ever saw in my life in the fields beyond Monte Mario--a spire two
+ feet high, of more than two hundred stars, the stalks of them all
+ deep blue as well as the flowers. Heaven send all honest people the
+ gathering of the like, in the Elysian Fields, some day!"
+
+Oh, the power of written words! when by these few lines I can carry
+forever in my inner vision this spire of starry blueness. To that
+writer, now in the Elysian Fields, an honest teacher if ever one lived,
+I send my thanks for this beautiful vision of blueness.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+PLANT NAMES
+
+ "The fascination of plant names is founded on two instincts,--love
+ of Nature and curiosity about Language."
+
+ --_English Plant Names_, REV. JOHN EARLE, 1880.
+
+
+Verbal magic is the subtle mysterious power of certain words. This power
+may come from association with the senses; thus I have distinct sense of
+stimulation in the word scarlet, and pleasure in the words lucid and
+liquid. The word garden is a never ceasing delight; it seems to me
+Oriental; perhaps I have a transmitted sense from my grandmother Eve of
+the Garden of Eden. I like the words, a Garden of Olives, a Garden of
+Herbs, the Garden of the Gods, a Garden enclosed, Philosophers of the
+Garden, the Garden of the Lord. As I have written on gardens, and
+thought on gardens, and walked in gardens, "the very music of the name
+has gone into my being." How beautiful are Cardinal Newman's words:--
+
+ "By a garden is meant mystically a place of spiritual repose,
+ stillness, peace, refreshment, delight."
+
+There was, in Gerarde's day, no fixed botanical nomenclature of any of
+the parts or attributes of a plant. Without using botanical terms, try
+to describe a plant so as to give an exact notion of it to a person who
+has never seen it, then try to find common words to describe hundreds of
+plants; you will then admire the vocabulary of the old herbalist, his
+"fresh English words," for you will find that it needs the most dextrous
+use of words to convey accurately the figure of a flower. That felicity
+and facility Gerarde had; "a bleak white color"--how clearly you see it!
+The Water Lily had "great round leaves like a buckler." The Cat-tail
+Flags "flower and bear their mace or torch in July and August." One
+plant had "deeply gashed leaves." The Marigold had "fat thick crumpled
+leaves set upon a gross and spongious stalke." Here is the Wake-robin,
+"a long hood in proportion like the ear of a hare, in middle of which
+hood cometh forth a pestle or clapper of a dark murry or pale purple
+color." The leaves of the Corn-marigold are "much hackt and cut into
+divers sections and placed confusedly." Another plant had leaves of "an
+overworne green," and Pansy leaves were "a bleak green." The leaves of
+Tansy are also vividly described as "infinitely jagged and nicked and
+curled with all like unto a plume of feathers."
+
+[Illustration: The Garden's Friend.]
+
+The classification and naming of flowers was much thought and written
+upon from Gerarde's day, until the great work of Linnaeus was finished.
+Some very original schemes were devised. _The Curious and Profitable
+Gardner_, printed in 1730, suggested this plan: That all plants should
+be named to indicate their color, and that the initials of their names
+should be the initials of their respective colors; thus if a plant were
+named William the Conqueror it would indicate that the name was of a
+white flower with crimson lines or shades. "Virtuous Oreada would
+indicate a violet and orange flower; Charming Phyllis or Curious
+Plotinus a crimson and purple blossom." S. was to indicate Black or
+Sable, and what letter was Scarlet to have? The "curious ingenious
+Gentleman" who published this plan urged also the giving of "pompous
+names" as more dignified; and he made the assertion that French and
+Flemish "Flowerists" had adopted his system.
+
+[Illustration: Edging of Striped Lilies in a Salem Garden.]
+
+These were all forerunners of Ruskin, with his poetical notions of plant
+nomenclature, such as this; that feminine forms of names ending in _a_
+(as Prunella, Campanula, Salvia, Kalmia) and _is_ (Iris, Amarylis)
+should be given only to plants "that are pretty and good"; and that real
+names, Lucia, Clarissa, etc., be also given. Masculine names in _us_
+should be given to plants of masculine qualities,--strength, force,
+stubbornness; neuter endings in _um_, given to plants indicative of evil
+or death.
+
+I have a fancy anent many old-time flower names that they are also the
+names of persons. I think of them as persons bearing various traits and
+characteristics. On the other hand, many old English Christian names
+seem so suited for flowers, that they might as well stand for flowers as
+for persons. Here are a few of these quaint old names, Collet, Colin,
+Emmot, Issot, Doucet, Dobinet, Cicely, Audrey, Amice, Hilary, Bryde,
+Morrice, Tyffany, Amery, Nowell, Ellice, Digory, Avery, Audley, Jacomin,
+Gillian, Petronille, Gresel, Joyce, Lettice, Cibell, Avice, Cesselot,
+Parnell, Renelsha. Do they not "smell sweet to the ear"? The names of
+flowers are often given as Christian names. Children have been
+christened by the names Dahlia, Clover, Hyacinth, Asphodel, Verbena,
+Mignonette, Pansy, Heartsease, Daisy, Zinnia, Fraxinella, Poppy,
+Daffodil, Hawthorn.
+
+What power have the old English names of garden flowers, to unlock old
+memories, as have the flowers themselves! Dr. Earle writes, "The
+fascination of plant names is founded on two instincts; love of Nature,
+and curiosity about Language." To these I should add an equally strong
+instinct in many persons--their sensitiveness to associations.
+
+I am never more filled with a sense of the delight of old English
+plant-names than when I read the liquid verse of Spenser:--
+
+ "Bring hether the pincke and purple Cullembine
+ ... with Gellifloures,
+ Bring hether Coronations and Sops-in-wine
+ Worne of paramours.
+ Sow me the ground with Daffadowndillies
+ And Cowslips and Kingcups and loved Lilies,
+ The pretty Pawnce
+ The Chevisaunce
+ Shall match with the fayre Flour Delice."
+
+Why, the names are a pleasure, though you know not what the Sops-in-wine
+or the Chevisaunce were. Gilliflowers were in the verses of every poet.
+One of scant fame, named Plat, thus sings:--
+
+ "Here spring the goodly Gelofors,
+ Some white, some red in showe;
+ Here pretie Pinks with jagged leaves
+ On rugged rootes do growe;
+ The Johns so sweete in showe and smell,
+ Distinct by colours twaine,
+ About the borders of their beds
+ In seemlie sight remaine."
+
+If there ever existed any difference between Sweet-johns and
+Sweet-williams, it is forgotten now. They have not shared a revival of
+popularity with other old-time favorites. They were one of the "garland
+flowers" of Gerarde's day, and were "esteemed for beauty, to deck up the
+bosoms of the beautiful, and for garlands and crowns of pleasure." In
+the gardens of Hampton Court in the days of King Henry VIII., were
+Sweet-williams, for the plants had been bought by the bushel.
+Sweet-williams are little sung by the poets, and I never knew any one
+to call the Sweet-william her favorite flower, save one person. Old
+residents of Worcester will recall the tiny cottage that stood on the
+corner of Chestnut and Pleasant streets, since the remote years when the
+latter-named street was a post-road. It was occupied during my childhood
+by friends of my mother--a century-old mother, and her ancient unmarried
+daughter. Behind the house stretched one of the most cheerful gardens I
+have ever seen; ever, in my memory, bathed in glowing sunlight and
+color. Of its glories I recall specially the long spires of vivid Bee
+Larkspur, the varied Poppies of wonderful growth, and the rioting
+Sweet-williams. The latter flowers had some sentimental association to
+the older lady, who always asserted with emphasis to all visitors that
+they were her favorite flower. They overran the entire garden, crowding
+the grass plot where the washed garments were hung out to dry, even
+growing in the chinks of the stone steps and between the flat stone
+flagging of the little back yard, where stood the old well with its
+moss-covered bucket. They spread under the high board fence and appeared
+outside on Chestnut Street; and they extended under the dense Lilac
+bushes and Cedars and down the steep grass bank and narrow steps to
+Pleasant Street. The seed was carefully gathered, especially of one
+glowing crimson beauty, the color of the Mullein Pink, and a gift of it
+was highly esteemed by other garden owners. Old herbals say the
+Sweet-williams are "worthy the Respect of the Greatest Ladies who are
+Lovers of Flowers." They certainly had the respect and love of these
+two old ladies, who were truly Lovers of Flowers.
+
+[Illustration: Garden Seat at Avonwood Court.]
+
+I recall an objection made to Sweet-williams, by some one years ago,
+that they were of no use or value save in the garden; that they could
+never be combined in bouquets, nor did they arrange well in vases. It is
+a place of honor, some of us believe, to be a garden flower as well as a
+vase flower. This garden was the only one I knew when a child which
+contained plants of Love-lies-bleeding--it had even then been deemed
+old-fashioned and out of date. And it also held a few Sunflowers, which
+had not then had a revival of attention, and seemed as obsolete as the
+Love-lies-bleeding. The last-named flower I always disliked, a
+shapeless, gawky creature, described in florists' catalogues and like
+publications as "an effective plant easily attaining to a splendid form
+bearing many plume-tufts of rich lustrous crimson." It is the "immortal
+amarant" chosen by Milton to crown the celestial beings in _Paradise
+Lost_. Poor angels! they have had many trying vagaries of attire
+assigned to them.
+
+I can contribute to plant lore one fantastic notion in regard to
+Love-lies-bleeding--though I can find no one who can confirm this memory
+of my childhood. I recall distinctly expressions of surprise and regret
+that these two old people in Worcester should retain the
+Love-lies-bleeding in their garden, because "the house would surely be
+struck with lightning." Perhaps this fancy contributed to the exile of
+the flower from gardens.
+
+[Illustration: Terraced Garden of the Misses Nichols, Salem,
+Massachusetts.]
+
+There be those who write, and I suppose they believe, that a love of
+Nature and perception of her beauties and a knowledge of flowers, are
+the dower of those who are country born and bred; by which is meant
+reared upon a farm. I have not found this true. Farm children have
+little love for Nature and are surprisingly ignorant about wild flowers,
+save a very few varieties. The child who is garden bred has a happier
+start in life, a greater love and knowledge of Nature. It is a principle
+of Froebel that one must limit a child's view in order to coordinate his
+perceptions. That is precisely what is done in a child's regard of
+Nature by his life in a garden; his view is limited and he learns to
+know garden flowers and birds and insects thoroughly, when the vast and
+bewildering variety of field and forest would have remained
+unappreciated by him.
+
+It is a distressing condition of the education of farmers, that they
+know so little about the country. The man knows about his crops and his
+wife about the flowers, herbs, and vegetables of her garden; but no
+countrymen know the names of wild flowers--and few countrywomen, save of
+medicinal herbs. I asked one farmer the name of a brilliant autumnal
+flower whose intense purple was then unfamiliar to me--the Devil's-bit.
+He answered, "Them's Woilets." Violet is the only word in which the
+initial V is ever changed to W by native New Englanders. Every pink or
+crimson flower is a Pink. Spring blossoms are "Mayflowers." A frequent
+answer is, "Those ain't flowers, they're weeds." They are more knowing
+as to trees, though shaky about the evergreen trees, having little idea
+of varieties and inclined to call many Spruce. They know little about
+the reasons for names of localities, or of any historical traditions
+save those of the Revolution. One exclaims in despair, "No one in the
+country knows anything about the country."
+
+This is no recent indifference and ignorance; Susan Cooper wrote in her
+_Rural Hours_ in 1848:--
+
+ "When we first made acquaintance with the flowers of the
+ neighborhood we asked grown persons--learned perhaps in many
+ matters--the common names of plants they must have seen all their
+ lives, and we found they were no wiser than the children or
+ ourselves. It is really surprising how little country people know
+ on such subjects. Farmers and their wives can tell you nothing on
+ these matters. The men are at fault even among the trees on their
+ own farms, if they are at all out of the common way; and as for
+ smaller native plants, they know less about them than Buck or
+ Brindle, their own oxen."
+
+[Illustration: Kitchen Dooryard at Wilbour Farm, Kingston, Rhode
+Island.]
+
+In that delightful book, _The Rescue of an Old Place_, the author has a
+chapter on the love of flowers in America. It was written anent the
+everpresent statements seen in metropolitan print that Americans do not
+love flowers because they are used among the rich and fashionable in
+large cities for extravagant display rather than for enjoyment; and that
+we accept botanical names for our indigenous plants instead of calling
+them by homely ones such as familiar flowers are known by in older
+lands.
+
+Two more foolish claims could scarcely be made. In the first place, the
+doings of fashionable folk in large cities are fortunately far from
+being a national index or habit. Secondly, in ancient lands the people
+named the flowers long before there were botanists, here the botanists
+found the flowers and named them for the people. Moreover, country folk
+in New England and even in the far West call flowers by pretty
+folk-names, if they call them at all, just as in Old England.
+
+The fussing over the use of the scientific Latin names for plants
+apparently will never cease; many of these Latin names are very
+pleasant, have become so from constant usage, and scarcely seem Latin;
+thus Clematis, Tiarella, Rhodora, Arethusa, Campanula, Potentilla,
+Hepatica. When I know the folk-names of flowers I always speak thus of
+them--and _to them_; but I am grateful too for the scientific
+classification and naming, as a means of accurate distinction. For any
+flower student quickly learns that the same English folk-name is given
+in different localities to very different plants. For instance, the name
+Whiteweed is applied to ten different plants; there are in England ten
+or twelve Cuckoo-flowers, and twenty-one Bachelor's Buttons. Such names
+as Mayflower, Wild Pink, Wild Lily, Eyebright, Toad-flax, Ragged Robin,
+None-so-pretty, Lady's-fingers, Four-o'clocks, Redweed, Buttercups,
+Butterflower, Cat's-tail, Rocket, Blue-Caps, Creeping-jenny, Bird's-eye,
+Bluebells, apply to half a dozen plants.
+
+The old folk-names are not definite, but they are delightful; they tell
+of mythology and medicine, of superstitions and traditions; they show
+trains of relationship, and associations; in fact, they appeal more to
+the philologist and antiquarian than to the botanist. Among all the
+languages which contribute to the variety and picturesqueness of English
+plant names, Dr. Prior deems Maple the only one surviving from the
+Celtic language. Gromwell and Wormwood may possibly be added.
+
+[Illustration: "A running ribbon of perfumed snow which the sun is
+melting rapidly."]
+
+There are some Anglo-Saxon words; among them Hawthorn and Groundsel.
+French, Dutch, and Danish names are many, Arabic and Persian are more.
+Many plant names are dedicatory; they embody the names of the saints and
+a few the names of the Deity. Our Lady's Flowers are many and
+interesting; my daughter wrote a series of articles for the _New York
+Evening Post_ on Our Lady's Flowers, and the list swelled to a
+surprising number. The devil and witches have their shares of flowers,
+as have the fairies.
+
+I have always regretted deeply that our botanists neglected an
+opportunity of great enrichment in plant nomenclature when they ignored
+the Indian names of our native plants, shrubs, and trees. The first
+names given these plants were not always planned by botanists; they were
+more often invented in loving memory of English plants, or sometimes
+from a fancied resemblance to those plants. They did give the
+wonderfully descriptive name of Moccasin-flower to that creature of the
+wild-woods; and a far more appropriate title it is than Lady's-slipper,
+but it is not as well known. I have never found the Lady's-slipper as
+beautiful a flower as do nearly all my friends, as did my father and
+mother, and I was pleased at Ruskin's sharp comment that such a slipper
+was only fit for very gouty old toes.
+
+Pappoose-root utilizes another Indian word. Very few Indian plant names
+were adopted by the white men, fewer still have been adopted by the
+scientists. The _Catalpa speciosa_ (Catalpa); the _Zea mays_ (Maize);
+and _Yucca filamentosa_ (Yucca), are the only ones I know. Chinkapin,
+Cohosh, Hackmatack, Kinnikinnik, Tamarack, Persimmon, Tupelo, Squash,
+Puccoon, Pipsissewa, Musquash, Pecan, the Scuppernong and Catawba
+grapes, are our only well-known Indian plant names that survive. Of
+these Maize, the distinctive product of the United States, will ever
+link us with the vanishing Indian. It will be noticed that only Puccoon,
+Cohosh, Pipsissewa, Hackmatack, and Yucca are names of flowering plants;
+of these Yucca is the only one generally known. I am glad our stately
+native trees, Tupelo, Hickory, Catalpa, bear Indian names.
+
+A curious example of persistence, when so much else has perished, is
+found in the word "Kiskatomas," the shellbark nut. This Algonquin word
+was heard everywhere in the state of New York sixty years ago, and is
+not yet obsolete in families of Dutch descent who still care for the nut
+itself.
+
+We could very well have preserved many Indian names, among them
+Hiawatha's
+
+ "Beauty of the springtime,
+ The Miskodeed in blossom,"
+
+I think Miskodeed a better name than Claytonia or Spring Beauty. The
+Onondaga Indians had a suggestive name for the Marsh Marigold,
+"It-opens-the-swamps," which seems to show you the yellow stars "shining
+in swamps and hollows gray." The name Cowslip has been transferred to it
+in some localities in New England, which is not strange when we find
+that the flower has fifty-six English folk-names; among them are
+Drunkards, Crazy Bet, Meadow-bright, Publicans and Sinners, Soldiers'
+Buttons, Gowans, Kingcups, and Buttercups. Our Italian street venders
+call them Buttercups. In erudite Boston, in sight of Boston Common, the
+beautiful Fringed Gentian is not only called, but labelled, French
+Gentian. To hear a lovely bunch of the Arethusa called Swamp Pink is not
+so strange. The Sabbatia grows in its greatest profusion in the vicinity
+of Plymouth, Massachusetts, and is called locally, "The Rose of
+Plymouth." It is sold during its season of bloom in the streets of that
+town and is used to dress the churches. Its name was given to honor an
+early botanist, Tiberatus Sabbatia, but in Plymouth there is an almost
+universal belief that it was named because the Pilgrims of 1620 first
+saw the flower on the Sabbath day. It thus is regarded as a religious
+emblem, and strong objection is made to mingling other flowers with it
+in church decoration. This legend was invented about thirty years ago by
+a man whose name is still remembered as well as his work.
+
+[Illustration: Fountain Garden at Sylvester Manor.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+TUSSY-MUSSIES
+
+ "There be some flowers make a delicious Tussie-Mussie or Nosegay
+ both for Sight and Smell."
+
+ --JOHN PARKINSON, _A Garden of all Sorts of Pleasant Flowers_, 1629.
+
+
+No following can be more productive of a study and love of word
+derivations and allied word meanings than gardening. An interest in
+flowers and in our English tongue go hand in hand. The old mediaeval word
+at the head of this chapter has a full explanation by Nares as "A
+nosegay, a tuzzie-muzzie, a sweet posie." The old English form,
+_tussy-mose_ was allied with _tosty_, a bouquet, _tuss_ and _tusk_, a
+wisp, as of hay, _tussock_, and _tutty_, a nosegay. Thomas Campion
+wrote:--
+
+ "Joan can call by name her cows,
+ And deck her windows with green boughs;
+ She can wreathes and tuttyes make,
+ And trim with plums a bridal cake."
+
+Tussy-mussy was not a colloquial word; it was found in serious, even in
+religious, text. A tussy-mussy was the most beloved of nosegays, and was
+often made of flowers mingled with sweet-scented leaves.
+
+My favorite tussy-mussy, if made of flowers, would be of Wood Violet,
+Cabbage Rose, and Clove Pink. These are all beautiful flowers, but many
+of our most delightful fragrances do not come from flowers of gay dress;
+even these three are not showy flowers; flowers of bold color and growth
+are not apt to be sweet-scented; and all flower perfumes of great
+distinction, all that are unique, are from blossoms of modest color and
+bearing. The Calycanthus, called Virginia Allspice, Sweet Shrub, or
+Strawberry bush, has what I term a perfume of distinction, and its
+flowers are neither fine in shape, color, nor quality.
+
+I have often tried to define to myself the scent of the Calycanthus
+blooms; they have an aromatic fragrance somewhat like the ripest
+Pineapples of the tropics, but still richer; how I love to carry them in
+my hand, crushed and warm, occasionally holding them tight over my mouth
+and nose to fill myself with their perfume. The leaves have a similar,
+but somewhat varied and sharper, scent, and the woody stems another; the
+latter I like to nibble. This flower has an element of mystery in
+it--that indescribable quality felt by children, and remembered by
+prosaic grown folk. Perhaps its curious dark reddish brown tint may have
+added part of the queerness, since the "Mourning Bride," similar in
+color, has a like mysterious association. I cannot explain these
+qualities to any one not a garden-bred child; and as given in the
+chapter entitled The Mystery of Flowers, they will appear to many,
+fanciful and unreal--but I have a fraternity who will understand, and
+who will know that it was this same undefinable quality that made a
+branch of Strawberry bush, or a handful of its stemless blooms, a gift
+significant of interest and intimacy; we would not willingly give
+Calycanthus blossoms to a child we did not like, or to a stranger.
+
+[Illustration: Hawthorn Arch at Holly House, Peace Dale, Rhode Island.
+Home of Rowland G. Hazard, Esq.]
+
+A rare perfume floats from the modest yellow Flowering Currant. I do not
+see this sweet and sightly shrub in many modern gardens, and it is our
+loss. The crowding bees are goodly and cheerful, and the flowers are
+pleasant, but the perfume is of the sort you can truly say you love it;
+its aroma is like some of the liqueurs of the old monks.
+
+The greatest pleasure in flower perfumes comes to us through the first
+flowers of spring. How we breathe in their sweetness! Our native wild
+flowers give us the most delicate odors. The Mayflower is, I believe,
+the only wild flower for which all country folk of New England have a
+sincere affection; it is not only a beautiful, an enchanting flower, but
+it is so fresh, so balmy of bloom. It has the delicacy of texture and
+form characteristic of many of our native spring blooms, Hepatica,
+Anemone, Spring Beauty, Polygala.
+
+The Arethusa was one of the special favorites of my father and mother,
+who delighted in its exquisite fragrance. Hawthorne said of it: "One of
+the delicatest, gracefullest, and in every manner sweetest of the whole
+race of flowers. For a fortnight past I have found it in the swampy
+meadows, growing up to its chin in heaps of wet moss. Its hue is a
+delicate pink, of various depths of shade, and somewhat in the form of a
+Grecian helmet."
+
+It pleases me to fancy that Hawthorne was like the Arethusa, that it was
+a fit symbol of the nature of our greatest New England genius. Perfect
+in grace and beauty, full of sentiment, classic and elegant of shape, it
+has a shrinking heart; the sepals and petals rise over it and shield it,
+and the whole flower is shy and retiring, hiding in marshes and quaking
+bogs.
+
+It is one of our flowers which we ever regard singly, as an individual,
+a rare and fine spirit; we never think of it as growing in an expanse or
+even in groups. This lovely flower has, as Landor said of the flower of
+the vine, "a scent so delicate that it requires a sigh to inhale it."
+
+The faintest flower scents are the best. You find yourself longing for
+just a little more, and you bury your face in the flowers and try to
+draw out a stronger breath of balm. Apple blossoms, certain Violets, and
+Pansies have this pale perfume.
+
+In the front yard of my childhood's home grew a Larch, an exquisitely
+graceful tree, one now little planted in Northern climates. I recall
+with special delight the faint fragrance of its early shoots. The next
+tree was a splendid pink Hawthorn. What a day of mourning it was when it
+had to be cut down, for trees had been planted so closely that many must
+be sacrificed as years went on and all grew in stature.
+
+There are some smells that are strangely pleasing to the country lover
+which are neither from fragrant flower nor leaf; one is the scent of the
+upturned earth, most heartily appreciated in early spring. The smell of
+a ploughed field is perhaps the best of all earthy scents, though what
+Bliss Carman calls "the racy smell of the forest loam" is always good.
+Another is the burning of weeds of garden rakings,
+
+ "The spicy smoke
+ Of withered weeds that burn where gardens be."
+
+A garden "weed-smother" always makes me think of my home garden, and my
+father, who used to stand by this burning weed-heap, raking in the
+withered leaves. Many such scents are pleasing chiefly through the power
+of association.
+
+[Illustration: Thyme-covered Graves.]
+
+The sense of smell in its psychological relations is most subtle:--
+
+ "The subtle power in perfume found,
+ Nor priest nor sibyl vainly learned;
+ On Grecian shrine or Aztec mound
+ No censer idly burned.
+
+ "And Nature holds in wood and field
+ Her thousand sunlit censers still;
+ To spells of flower and shrub we yield
+ Against or with our will."
+
+Dr. Holmes notes that memory, imagination, sentiment, are most readily
+touched through the sense of smell. He tells of the associations borne
+to him by the scent of Marigold, of Life-everlasting, of an herb
+closet.
+
+Notwithstanding all these tributes to sweet scents and to the sense of
+smell, it is not deemed, save in poetry, wholly meet to dwell much on
+smells, even pleasant ones. To all who here sniff a little disdainfully
+at a whole chapter given to flower scents, let me repeat the Oriental
+proverb:--
+
+ "To raise Flowers is a Common Thing,
+ God alone gives them Fragrance."
+
+Balmier far, and more stimulating and satisfying than the perfumes of
+most blossoms, is the scent of aromatic or balsamic leaves, of herbs, of
+green growing things. Sweetbrier, says Thoreau, is thus "thrice crowned:
+in fragrant leaf, tinted flower, and glossy fruit." Every spring we
+long, as Whittier wrote--
+
+ "To come to Bayberry scented slopes,
+ And fragrant Fern and Groundmat vine,
+ Breathe airs blown o'er holt and copse,
+ Sweet with black Birch and Pine."
+
+All these scents of holt and copse are dear to New Englanders.
+
+I have tried to explain the reason for the charm to me of growing Thyme.
+It is not its beautiful perfume, its clear vivid green, its tiny fresh
+flowers, or the element of historic interest. Alphonse Karr gives
+another reason, a sentiment of gratitude. He says:--
+
+ "Thyme takes upon itself to embellish the parts of the earth which
+ other plants disdain. If there is an arid, stony, dry soil, burnt
+ up by the sun, it is there Thyme spreads its charming green beds,
+ perfumed, close, thick, elastic, scattered over with little balls
+ of blossom, pink in color, and of a delightful freshness."
+
+Thyme was, in older days, spelt Thime and Time. This made the poet call
+it "pun-provoking Thyme." I have an ancient recipe from an old herbal
+for "Water of Time to ease the Passions of the Heart." This remedy is
+efficacious to-day, whether you spell it time or thyme.
+
+There are shown on page 301 some lonely graves in the old Moravian
+burying-ground in Bethlehem, overgrown with the pleasant perfumed Thyme.
+And as we stand by their side we think with a half smile--a tender
+one--of the never-failing pun of the old herbalists.
+
+Spenser called Thyme "bee-alluring," "honey-laden." It was the symbol of
+sweetness; and the Thyme that grew on the sunny slopes of Mt. Hymettus
+gave to the bees the sweetest and most famed of all honey. The plant
+furnished physic as well as perfume and puns and honey. Pliny named
+eighteen sovereign remedies made from Thyme. These cured everything from
+the "bite of poysonful spidars" to "the Apoplex." There were so many
+recipes in the English _Compleat Chirurgeon_, and similar medical books,
+that you would fancy venomous spiders were as thick as gnats in England.
+These spider cure-alls are however simply a proof that the recipes were
+taken from dose-books of Pliny and various Roman physicians, with whom
+spider bites were more common and more painful than in England.
+
+_The Haven of Health_, written in 1366, with a special view to the
+curing of "Students," says that Wild Thyme has a great power to drive
+away heaviness of mind, "to purge melancholly and splenetick humours."
+And the author recommends to "sup the leaves with eggs." The leaves were
+used everywhere "to be put in puddings and such like meates, so that in
+divers places Thime was called Pudding-grass." Pudding in early days was
+the stuffing of meat and poultry, while concoctions of eggs, milk,
+flour, sugar, etc., like our modern puddings, were called whitpot.
+
+Many traditions hang around Thyme. It was used widely in incantations
+and charms. It was even one of the herbs through whose magic power you
+could see fairies. Here is a "Choice Proven Secret made Known" from the
+Ashmolean Mss.
+
+ How to see Fayries
+
+ "Rx. A pint of Sallet-Oyle and put it into a
+ vial-glasse but first wash it with Rose-water and Marygolde-water
+ the Flowers to be gathered toward the East. Wash it until teh Oyle
+ come white. Then put it in the glasse, _ut supra_: Then put thereto
+ the budds of Holyhocke, the flowers of Marygolde, the flowers or
+ toppers of Wild Thyme, the budds of young Hazle: and the time must
+ be gathered neare the side of a Hill where Fayries used to be: and
+ take the grasse off a Fayrie throne. Then all these put into the
+ Oyle into the Glasse, and sette it to dissolve three dayes in the
+ Sunne and then keep for thy use _ut supra_."
+
+[Illustration: "White Umbrellas of Elder."]
+
+"I know a bank whereon the Wild Thyme blows"--it is not in old England,
+but on Long Island; the dense clusters of tiny aromatic flowers form a
+thick cushioned carpet under our feet. Lord Bacon says in his essay on
+Gardens:--
+
+ "Those which perfume the air most delightfully, not passed by as
+ the rest, but being trodden upon and crushed are three: that is,
+ Burnet, Wild Thyme, and Water-Mints. Therefore you are to set whole
+ alleys of them, to have the pleasure when you walk or tread."
+
+Here we have an alley of Thyme, set by nature, for us to tread upon and
+enjoy, though Thyme always seems to me so classic a plant, that it is
+far too fine to walk upon; one ought rather to sleep and dream upon it.
+
+Great bushes of Elder, another flower of witchcraft, grow and blossom
+near my Thyme bank. Old Thomas Browne, as long ago as 1685 called the
+Elder bloom "white umbrellas"--which has puzzled me much, since we are
+told to assign the use and knowledge of umbrellas in England to a much
+later date; perhaps he really wrote umbellas. Now it is a well-known
+fact--sworn to in scores of old herbals, that any one who stands on Wild
+Thyme, by the side of an Elder bush, on Midsummer Eve, will "see great
+experiences"; his eyes will be opened, his wits quickened, his vision
+clarified; and some have even seen fairies, pixies--Shakespeare's
+elves--sporting over the Thyme at their feet.
+
+I shall not tell whom I saw walking on my Wild Thyme bank last Midsummer
+Eve. I did not need the Elder bush to open my eyes. I watched the twain
+strolling back and forth in the half-light, and I heard snatches of talk
+as they walked toward me, and I lost the responses as they turned from
+me. At last, in a louder voice:--
+
+ HE. "What is this jolly smell all around here? Just like a
+ mint-julep! Some kind of a flower?"
+
+ SHE. "It's Thyme, Wild Thyme; it has run into the edge of the lawn
+ from the field, and is just ruining the grass."
+
+ HE (_stooping to pick it_). "Why, so it is. I thought it came from
+ that big white flower over there by the hedge."
+
+ SHE. "No, that is Elder."
+
+ HE (_after a pause_). "I had to learn a lot of old Arnold's poetry
+ at school once, or in college, and there was some just like
+ to-night:--
+
+ "'The evening comes--the fields are still,
+ The tinkle of the thirsty rill,
+ Unheard all day, ascends again.
+ Deserted is the half-mown plain,
+ And from the Thyme upon the height,
+ And from the Elder-blossom white,
+ And pale Dog Roses in the hedge,
+ And from the Mint-plant in the sedge,
+ In puffs of balm the night air blows
+ The perfume which the day foregoes--
+ And on the pure horizon far
+ See pulsing with the first-born star
+ The liquid light above the hill.
+ The evening comes--the fields are still.'"
+
+Then came the silence and half-stiffness which is ever apt to follow any
+long quotation, especially any rare recitation of verse by those who are
+notoriously indifferent to the charms of rhyme and rhythm, and are of
+another sex than the listener. It seems to indicate an unusual condition
+of emotion, to be a sort of barometer of sentiment, and the warning of
+threatening weather was not unheeded by her; hence her response was
+somewhat nervous in utterance, and instinctively perverse and
+contradictory.
+
+ SHE. "That line, 'The liquid light above the hill,' is very lovely,
+ but I can't see that it's any of it at all like to-night."
+
+ HE (_stoutly and resentfully_). "Oh, no! not at all! There's the
+ field, all still, and here's Thyme, and Elder, and there are wild
+ Roses!--and see! the moon is coming up--so there's your liquid
+ light."
+
+ SHE. "Well! Yes, perhaps it is; at any rate it is a lovely night.
+ You've read _Lavengro_? No? Certainly you must have heard of it.
+ The gipsy in it says: 'Life is sweet, brother. There's day and
+ night, brother, both sweet things; sun, moon, and stars, brother,
+ all sweet things; there is likewise a wind on the heath.'"
+
+ HE (_dubiously_). "That's rather queer poetry, if it is poetry--and
+ you must know I do not like to hear you call me brother."
+
+Whereupon I discreetly betrayed my near presence on the piazza, to prove
+that the field, though still, was not deserted. And soon the twain said
+they would walk to the club house to view the golf prizes; and they left
+the Wild Thyme and Elder blossoms white, and turned their backs on the
+moon, and fell to golf and other eminently unromantic topics, far safer
+for Midsummer Eve than poesy and other sweet things.
+
+[Illustration: Lower Garden at Sylvester Manor.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+JOAN SILVER-PIN
+
+ "Being of many variable colours, and of great beautie, although of
+ evill smell, our gentlewomen doe call them Jone Silver-pin."
+
+ --JOHN GERARDE, _Herball_, 1596.
+
+
+Garden Poppies were the Joan Silver-pin of Gerarde, stigmatized also by
+Parkinson as "Jone Silver-pinne, _subauditur_; faire without and foule
+within." In Elizabeth's day Poppies met universal distrust and aversion,
+as being the source of the dreaded opium. Spenser called the flower
+"dead-sleeping" Poppy; Morris "the black heart, amorous Poppy"--which
+might refer to the black spots in the flower's heart.
+
+Clare, in his _Shepherd's Calendar_ also asperses them:--
+
+ "Corn-poppies, that in crimson dwell,
+ Called Head-aches from their sickly smell."
+
+Forby adds this testimony: "Any one by smelling of it for a very short
+time may convince himself of the propriety of the name." Some fancied
+that the dazzle of color caused headaches--that vivid scarlet, so fine
+a word as well as color that it is annoying to hear the poets change it
+to crimson.
+
+[Illustration: "Black Heart, Amorous Poppies."]
+
+This regard of and aversion to the Poppy lingered among elderly folks
+till our own day; and I well recall the horror of a visitor of antique
+years in our mother's garden during our childhood, when we were found
+cheerfully eating Poppy seeds. She viewed us with openly expressed
+apprehension that we would fall into a stupor; and quite terrified us
+and our relatives, in spite of our assertions that we "always ate them,"
+which indeed we always did and do to this day; and very pleasant of
+taste they are, and of absolutely no effect, and not at all of evil
+smell to our present fancy, either in blossom or seed, though distinctly
+medicinal in odor.
+
+Returned missionaries were frequent and honored visitors in our town and
+our house in those days; and one of these good men reassured us and
+reinstated in favor our uncanny feast by telling us that in the East,
+Poppy seeds were eaten everywhere, and were frequently baked with
+wheaten flour into cakes. A dislike of the scent of Field Poppies is
+often found among English folk. The author of _A World in a Garden_
+speaks in disgust of "the pungent and sickly odor of the flaring
+Poppies--they positively nauseate me"; but then he disliked their color
+too.
+
+There is something very fine about a Poppy, in the extraordinary
+combination of boldness of color and great size with its slender
+delicacy of stem, the grace of the set of the beautiful buds, the fine
+turn of the flower as it opens, and the wonderful airiness of poise of
+so heavy a flower. The silkiness of tissue of the petals, and their
+semi-transparency in some colors, and the delicate fringes of some
+varieties, are great charms.
+
+ "Each crumpled crepe-like leaf is soft as silk;
+ Long, long ago the children saw them there,
+ Scarlet and rose, with fringes white as milk,
+ And called them 'shawls for fairies' dainty wear';
+ They were not finer, those laid safe away
+ In that low attic, neath the brown, warm eaves."
+
+And when the flowers have shed, oh, so lightly! their silken petals,
+there is still another beauty, a seed vessel of such classic shape that
+it wears a crown.
+
+I have always rejoiced in the tributes paid to the Poppy by Ruskin and
+Mrs. Thaxter. She deemed them the most satisfactory flower among the
+annuals "for wondrous variety, certain picturesque qualities, for color
+and form, and a subtle air of mystery."
+
+There is a line of Poppy colors which is most entrancing; the gray,
+smoke color, lavender, mauve, and lilac Poppies, edged often and freaked
+with tints of red, are rarely beautiful things. There are fine white
+Poppies, some fringed, some single, some double--the Bride is the
+appropriate name of the fairest. And the pinks of Poppies, that
+wonderful red-pink, and a shell-pink that is almost salmon, and the
+sunset pinks of our modern Shirley Poppies, with quality like finest
+silken gauze! The story of the Shirley Poppies is one of magic, that a
+flower-loving clergyman who in 1882 sowed the seed of one specially
+beautiful Poppy which had no black in it, and then sowed those of its
+fine successors, produced thus a variety which has supplied the world
+with beauty. Rev. Mr. Wilks, their raiser, gives these simply worded
+rules anent his Shirley Poppies:--
+
+ "1, They are single; 2, always have a white base; 3, with yellow or
+ white stamens, anthers, or pollen; 4, and never have the smallest
+ particle of black about them."
+
+The thought of these successful and beautiful Poppies is very
+stimulating to flower raisers of moderate means, with no profound
+knowledge of flowers; it shows what can be done by enthusiasm and
+application and patience. It gives something of the same comfort found
+in Keats's fine lines to the singing thrush:--
+
+ "Oh! fret not after knowledge.
+ I have none, _and yet the evening listens_."
+
+Notwithstanding all this distinction and beauty, these fine things of
+the garden were dubbed Joan Silver-pin. I wonder who Joan Silver-pin
+was! I have searched faithfully for her, but have not been able to get
+on the right scent. Was she of real life, or fiction? I have looked
+through the lists of characters of contemporary plays, and read a few
+old jest books and some short tales of that desperately colorless sort,
+wherein you read page after page of the printed words with as little
+absorption of signification as if they were Choctaw. But never have I
+seen Joan Silver-pin's name; it was a bit of Elizabethan slang, I
+suspect,--a cant term once well known by every one, now existing solely
+through this chance reference of the old herbalists.
+
+[Illustration: Valerian.]
+
+No garden can aspire to be named An Old-fashioned Garden unless it
+contains that beautiful plant the Garden Valerian, known throughout New
+England to-day as Garden Heliotrope; as Setwall it grew in every old
+garden, as it was in every pharmacopoeia. It was termed
+"drink-quickening Setuale" by Spenser, from the universal use of its
+flowers to flavor various enticing drinks. Its lovely blossoms are
+pinkish in bud and open to pure white; its curiously penetrating
+vanilla-like fragrance is disliked by many who are not cats. I find it
+rather pleasing of scent when growing in the garden, and not at all like
+the extremely nasty-smelling medicine which is made from it, and which
+has been used for centuries for "histerrick fits," and is still
+constantly prescribed to-day for that unsympathized-with malady. Dr.
+Holmes calls it, "Valerian, calmer of hysteric squirms." It is a
+stately plant when in tall flower in June; my sister had great clumps of
+bloom like the ones shown above, but alas! the cats caught them before
+the photographer did. The cats did not have to watch the wind and sun
+and rain, to pick out plates and pack plate-holders, and gather
+ray-fillers and cloth and lens, and adjust the tripod, and fix the
+camera and focus, and think, and focus, and think, and then wait--till
+the wind ceased blowing. So when they found it, they broke down every
+slender stalk and rolled in it till the ground was tamped down as hard
+as if one of our lazy road-menders had been at it. Valerian has in
+England as an appropriate folk name, "Cats'-fancy." The pretty little
+annual, Nemophila, makes also a favorite rolling-place for our cat;
+while all who love cats have given them Catnip and seen the singular
+intoxication it brings. The sight of a cat in this strange ecstasy over
+a bunch of Catnip always gives me a half-sense of fear; she becomes such
+a truly wild creature, such a miniature tiger.
+
+In _The Art of Gardening_, by J. W., Gent., 1683, the author says of
+Marigolds: "There are divers sorts besides the common as the African
+Marigold, a Fair bigge Yellow Flower, but of a very Naughty Smell." I
+cannot refrain, ere I tell more of the Marigold's naughtiness, to copy a
+note written in this book by a Massachusetts bride whose new husband
+owned and studied the book two hundred years ago; for it gives a little
+glimpse of old-time life. In her exact little handwriting are these
+words:--
+
+ "Planted in Potts, 1720: An Almond Stone, an English Wallnut,
+ Cittron Seeds, Pistachica nutts, Red Damsons, Leamon seeds, Oring
+ seeds and Daits."
+
+Poor Anne! she died before she had time to become any one's grandmother.
+I hope her successor in matrimony, our forbear, cherished her little
+seedlings and rejoiced in the Lemon and Almond trees, though Anne
+herself was so speedily forgotten. She is, however, avenged by Time; for
+she is remembered better than the wife who took her place, through her
+simple flower-loving words.
+
+I am surprised at this aspersion on the Marigold as to its smell, for
+all the traditions of this flower show it to have been a great favorite
+in kitchen gardens; and I have found that elderly folk are very apt to
+like its scent. My father loved the flower and the fragrance, and liked
+to have a bowl of Marigolds stand beside him on his library table. It
+was constantly carried to church as a "Sabbath-day posy," and its petals
+used as flavoring in soups and stews. Charles Lamb said it poisoned
+them. Canon Ellacombe writes that it has been banished in England to the
+gardens of cottages and old farm-houses; it had a waning popularity in
+America, but was never wholly despised.
+
+How Edward Fitzgerald loved the African Marigold! "Its grand color is so
+comfortable to us Spanish-like Paddies," he writes to Fanny Kemble in
+letters punctuated with little references to his garden flowers: letters
+so cheerful, too, with capitals; "I love the old way of Capitals for
+Names," he says--and so do I; letters bearing two surprises, namely, the
+infrequent references to Omar Khayyam; and the fact that Nasturtiums,
+not Roses, were his favorite flower.
+
+The question of the agreeableness of a flower scent is a matter of
+public opinion as well as personal choice. Environment and education
+influence us. In olden times every one liked certain scents deemed
+odious to-day. Parkinson's praise of Sweet Sultans was, "They are of so
+exceeding sweet a scent as it surpasses the best civet that is." Have
+you ever smelt civet? You will need no words to tell you that the civet
+is a little cousin of the skunk. Cowper could not talk with civet in the
+room; most of us could not even breathe. The old herbalists call Privet
+sweet-scented. I don't know that it is strange to find a generation who
+loved civet and musk thinking Privet pleasant-scented. Nearly all our
+modern botanists have copied the words of their predecessors; but I
+scarcely know what to say or to think when I find so exact an observer
+as John Burroughs calling Privet "faintly sweet-scented." I find it
+rankly ill-scented.
+
+The men of Elizabethan days were much more learned in perfumes and
+fonder of them than are most folk to-day. Authors and poets dwelt
+frankly upon them without seeming at all vulgar. Of course herbalists,
+from their choice of subject, were free to write of them at length, and
+they did so with evident delight. Nowadays the French realists are the
+only writers who boldly reckon with the sense of smell. It isn't deemed
+exactly respectable to dwell too much on smells, even pleasant ones; so
+this chapter certainly must be brief.
+
+I suppose nine-tenths of all who love flower scents would give Violets
+as their favorite fragrance; yet how quickly, in the hothouse Violets,
+can the scent become nauseous. I recall one formal luncheon whereat the
+many tables were mightily massed with violets; and though all looked as
+fresh as daybreak to the sight, some must have been gathered for a day
+or more, and the stale odor throughout the room was unbearable. But it
+is scarcely fair to decry a flower because of its scent in decay.
+Shakespeare wrote:--
+
+ "Lilies festered smell far worse than weeds."
+
+Many of our Compositae are vile after standing in water in vases; Ox-eye
+Daisies, Rudbeckia, Zinnia, Sunflower, and even the wholesome Marigold.
+Delicate as is the scent of the Pansy, the smell of a bed of ancient
+Pansy plants is bad beyond words. The scent of the flowers of
+fruit-bearing trees is usually delightful; but I cannot like the scent
+of Pear blossoms.
+
+I dislike much the rank smell of common yellow Daffodils and of many of
+that family. I can scarcely tolerate them even when freshly picked, upon
+a dinner table. Some of the Jonquils are as sickening within doors as
+the Tuberose, though in both cases it is only because the scent is
+confined that it is cloying. In the open air, at a slight distance, they
+smell as well as many Lilies, and the Poet's Narcissus is deemed by many
+delightful.
+
+[Illustration: Old "War Office."]
+
+I have ever found the scent of Lilacs somewhat imperfect, not well
+rounded, not wholly satisfying; but one of my friends can never find in
+a bunch of our spring Lilacs any odor save that of illuminating gas. I
+do wish he had not told me this! Now when I stand beside my Lilac bush I
+feel like looking around anxiously to see where the gas is escaping.
+Linnaeus thought the perfume of Mignonette the purest ambrosia. Another
+thinks that Mignonette has a doggy smell, as have several flowers; this
+is not wholly to their disparagement. Our cocker spaniel is sweeter than
+some flowers, but he is not a Mignonette. There be those who love most
+of all the scent of Heliotrope, which is to me a close, almost musty
+scent. I have even known of one or two who disliked the scent of Roses,
+and the Rose itself has been abhorred. Marie de' Medici would not even
+look at a painting or carving of a Rose. The Chevalier de Guise had a
+loathing for Roses. Lady Heneage, one of the maids of honor to Queen
+Elizabeth, was made very ill by the presence or scent of Roses. This
+illness was not akin to "Rose cold," which is the baneful companion of
+so many Americans, and which can conquer its victims in the most sudden
+and complete manner.
+
+Even my affection for Roses, and my intense love of their fragrance,
+shown in its most ineffable sweetness in the old pink Cabbage Rose, will
+not cause me to be silent as to the scent of some of the Rose sisters.
+Some of the Tea Roses, so lovely of texture, so delicate of hue, are
+sickening; one has a suggestion of ether which is most offensive. "A
+Rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but not if its name (and
+its being) was the Persian Yellow. This beautiful double Rose of rich
+yellow was introduced to our gardens about 1830. It is infrequent now,
+though I find it in florists' lists; and I suspect I know why. Of late
+years I have not seen it, but I have a remembrance of its uprootal from
+our garden. Mrs. Wright confirms my memory by calling it "a horrible
+thing--the Skunk Cabbage of the garden." It smells as if foul insects
+were hidden within it, a disgusting smell. I wonder whether poor Marie
+de' Medici hadn't had a whiff of it. A Persian Rose! it cannot be
+possible that Omar Khayyam ever smelt it, or any of the Rose singers of
+Persia, else their praises would have turned to loathing as they fled
+from its presence. There are two or three yellow Roses which are not
+pleasing, but are not abhorrent as is the Persian Yellow.
+
+One evening last May I walked down the garden path, then by the shadowy
+fence-side toward the barn. I was not wandering in the garden for sweet
+moonlight, for there was none; nor for love of flowers, nor in
+admiration of any of nature's works, for it was very cold; we even spoke
+of frost, as we ever do apprehensively on a chilly night in spring. The
+kitten was lost. She was in the shrubbery at the garden end, for I could
+hear her plaintive yowling; and I thus traced her. I gathered her up,
+purring and clawing, when I heard by my side a cross rustling of leaves
+and another complaining voice. It was the Crown-imperial, unmindful or
+unwitting of my presence, and muttering peevishly: "Here I am, out of
+fashion, and therefore out of the world! torn away from the honored
+border by the front door path, and even set away from the broad garden
+beds, and thrust with sunflowers and other plants of no social position
+whatever down here behind the barn, where, she dares to say, we 'can all
+smell to heaven together.'
+
+"What airs, forsooth! these twentieth century children put on! Smell to
+heaven, indeed! I wish her grandfather could have heard her! He didn't
+make such a fuss about smells when I was young, nor did any one else; no
+one's nose was so over-nice. Every spring when I came up, glorious in my
+dress of scarlet and green, and hung with my jewels of pearls, they were
+all glad to see me and to smell me, too; and well they might be, for
+there was a rotten-appley, old-potatoey smell in the cellar which
+pervaded the whole house when doors were closed. And when the frost came
+up from the ground the old sink drain at the kitchen door rendered up
+to the spring sunshine all the combined vapors of all the dish-water of
+all the winter. The barn and hen-house and cow-house reeked in the
+sunlight, but the pigpen easily conquered them all. There was an ancient
+cesspool far too near the kitchen door, underground and not to be seen,
+but present, nevertheless. A hogshead of rain-water stood at the cellar
+door, and one at the end of the barn--to water the flowers with--they
+fancied rotten rain-water made flowers grow! A foul dye-tub was ever
+reeking in every kitchen chimney corner, a culminating horror in
+stenches; and vessels of ancient soap grease festered in the outer shed,
+the grease collected through the winter and waiting for the spring
+soap-making. The vapor of sour milk, ever present, was of little
+moment--when there was so much else so much worse. There wasn't a
+bath-tub in the grandfather's house, nor in any other house in town, nor
+any too much bathing in winter, either, I am sure, in icy well-water in
+icier sleeping rooms. The windows were carefully closed all winter long,
+but the open fireplaces managed to save the life of the inmates, though
+the walls and rafters were hung with millions of germs which every one
+knows are all the wickeder when they don't smell, because you take no
+care, fancying they are not there. But the grandfather knew naught of
+germs--and was happy. The trees shaded the house so that the roof was
+always damp. Oh, how those germs grew and multiplied in the grateful
+shade of those lovely trees, and how mould and rust rejoiced. Well might
+people turn from all these sights and scents to me. The grandfather and
+his wife, when they were young, as when they were in middle age, and
+when they were old, walked every early spring day at set of sun, slowly
+down the front path, looking at every flower, every bud; pulling a tiny
+weed, gathering a choice flower, breaking a withered sprig; and they
+ever lingered long and happily by my side. And he always said, 'Wife!
+isn't this Crown-imperial a glorious plant? so stately, so perfect in
+form, such an expression of life, and such a personification of spring!'
+'Yes, father,' she would answer quickly, 'but don't pick it.' Why, I
+should have resented even that word had she referred to my perfume. She
+meant that the garden border could not spare me. The children never
+could pick me, even the naughtiest ones did not dare to; but they could
+pull all the little upstart Ladies' Delights and Violets they wished.
+And yet, with all this family homage which should make me a family
+totem, here I am, stuck down by the barn--I, who sprung from the blood
+of a king, the great Gustavus Adolphus--and was sung by a poet two
+centuries ago in the famous _Garland of Julia_. The old Jesuit poet
+Rapin said of me, 'No flower aspires in pomp and state so high.'
+
+"Read this page from that master-herbalist, John Gerarde, telling of the
+rare beauties within my golden cup.
+
+"A very intelligent and respectable old gentleman named Parkinson, who
+knew far more about flowers than flighty folk do nowadays, loved me well
+and wrote of me, 'The Crown-imperial, for its stately beautifulnesse
+deserveth the first place in this our garden of delight to be here
+entreated of before all other Lilies.' He had good sense. It was not I
+who was stigmatized by him as Joan Silver-pin. He spoke very plainly and
+very sensibly of my perfume; there was no nonsense in his notions, he
+told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: 'The whole
+plant and every part thereof, as well as rootes as leaves and floures
+doe smell somewhat strong, as it were the savour of a foxe, so that if
+any doe but near it, he can but smell it, yet is not unwholesome.'
+
+"How different all is to-day in literature, as well as in flower
+culture. Now there are low, coarse attempts at wit that fairly wilt a
+sensitive nature like mine. There is one miserable Man who comes to this
+garden, and who _thinks_ he is a Poet; I will not repeat his wretched
+rhymes. But only yesterday, when he stood looking superciliously down
+upon us, he said sneeringly, 'Yes, spring is here, balmy spring; we know
+her presence without seeing her face or hearing her voice; for the Skunk
+Cabbage is unfurled in the swamps, and the Crown-imperial is blooming in
+the garden.' Think of his presuming to set me alongside that low Skunk
+Cabbage--me with my 'stately beautifulness.'
+
+[Illustration: Crown Imperial. A Page from Gerarde's _Herball_.]
+
+"Little do people nowadays know about scents anyway, when their
+botanists and naturalists write that the Privet bloom is 'pleasingly
+fragrant,' and one dame set last summer a dish of Privet on her dining
+table before many guests. Privet! with its ancient and fishlike smell!
+And another tells of the fragrant delight of flowering Buckwheat--may
+the breezes blow such fragrance far from me! But why dwell on perfumes;
+flowers were made to look at, not to smell; sprays of Sweet Balm or
+Basil leaves outsweeten every flower, and make no pretence or thought of
+beauty; render to each its own virtues, and try not to engross the charm
+of another.
+
+"I was indeed the queen of the garden, and here I am exiled behind the
+barn. Life is not worth living. I won't come up again. She will walk
+through the garden next May and say, 'How dull and shabby the garden
+looks this year! the spring is backward, everything has run to leaves,
+nothing is in bloom, we must buy more fertilizer, we must get a new
+gardener, we must get more plants and slips and seeds and bulbs, it is
+fearfully discouraging, I never saw anything so gone off!' then perhaps
+she will remember, and regret the friend of her grandparents, the
+Crown-imperial--whom she thrust from her Garden of Delight."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+CHILDHOOD IN A GARDEN
+
+ "I see the garden thicket's shade
+ Where all the summer long we played,
+ And gardens set and houses made,
+ Our early work and late."
+
+ --MARY HOWITT.
+
+
+How we thank God for the noble traits of our ancestors; and our hearts
+fill with gratitude for the tenderness, the patience, the loving
+kindness of our parents; I have an infinite deal for which to be
+sincerely grateful; but for nothing am I now more happy than that there
+were given to me a flower-loving father and mother. To that
+flower-loving father and mother I offer in tenderest memory equal
+gratitude for a childhood spent in a garden.
+
+Winter as well as summer gave us many happy garden hours. Sometimes a
+sudden thaw of heavy snow and an equally quick frost formed a miniature
+pond for sheltered skating at the lower end of the garden. A frozen
+crust of snow (which our winters nowadays so seldom afford) gave other
+joys. And the delights of making a snow man, or a snow fort, even of
+rolling great globes of snow, were infinite and varied. More subtle was
+the charm of shaping certain _things_ from dried twigs and evergreen
+sprigs, and pouring water over them to freeze into a beautiful
+resemblance of the original form. These might be the ornate initials or
+name of a dear girl friend, or a tiny tower or pagoda. I once had a real
+winter garden in miniature set in twigs of cedar and spruce, and frozen
+into a fairy garden.
+
+In summertime the old-fashioned garden was a paradise for a child; the
+long warm days saw the fresh telling of child to child, by that
+curiously subtle system of transmission which exists everywhere among
+happy children, of quaint flower customs known to centuries of
+English-speaking children, and also some newer customs developed by the
+fitness of local flowers for such games and plays.
+
+The Countess Potocka says the intense enjoyment of nature is a sixth
+sense. We are not born with this good gift, nor do we often acquire it
+in later life; it comes through our rearing. The fulness of delight in a
+garden is the bequest of a childhood spent in a garden. No study or
+possession of flowers in mature years can afford gratification equal to
+that conferred by childish associations with them; by the sudden
+recollection of flower lore, the memory of child friendships, the
+recalling of games or toys made of flowers: you cannot explain it; it
+seems a concentration, an extract of all the sunshine and all the beauty
+of those happy summers of our lives when the whole day and every day was
+spent among flowers. The sober teachings of science in later years can
+never make up the loss to children debarred of this inheritance, who
+have grown up knowing not when "the summer comes with bee and flower."
+
+[Illustration: Milkweed Seed.]
+
+A garden childhood gives more sources of delight to the senses in after
+life than come from beautiful color and fine fragrance. Have you
+pleasure in the contact of a flower? Do you like its touch as well as
+its perfume? Do you love to feel a Lilac spray brush your cheek in the
+cool of the evening? Do you like to bury your face in a bunch of Roses?
+How frail and papery is the Larkspur! And how silky is the Poppy! A
+Locust bloom is a fringe of sweetness; and how very doubtful is the
+touch of the Lily--an unpleasant thick sleekness. The Clove Carnation is
+the best of all. It feels just as it smells. These and scores more give
+me pleasure through their touch, the result of constant handling of
+flowers when I was a child.
+
+There were harmful flowers in the old garden--among them the
+Monk's-hood; we never touched it, except warily. Doubtless we were
+warned, but we knew it by instinct and did not need to be told. I always
+used to see in modest homes great tubs each with a flourishing Oleander
+tree. I have set out scores of little slips of Oleander, just as I
+planted Orange seeds. I seldom see Oleanders now; I wonder whether the
+plant has been banished on account of its poisonous properties. I heard
+of but one fatal case of Oleander poisoning--and that was doubtful. A
+little child, the sister of one of my playmates, died suddenly in great
+distress. Several months after her death the mother was told that the
+leaves of the Oleander were poisonous, when she recalled that the child
+had eaten them on the day of her death.
+
+Oleander blossoms were lovely in shape and color. Edward Fitzgerald
+writes to Fanny Kemble: "Don't you love the Oleander? So clean in its
+Leaves and Stem, as so beautiful in its Flower; loving to stand in water
+which it drinks up fast. I have written all my best Mss. with a Pen that
+has been held with its nib in water for more than a fortnight--Charles
+Keene's recipe for keeping Pens in condition--Oleander-like." This,
+written in 1882, must, even at that recent date, refer to quill pens.
+
+The lines of Mary Howitt's, quoted at the beginning of this chapter,
+ring to me so true; there is in them no mock sentiment, it is the real
+thing,--"the garden thicket's shade," little "cubby houses" under the
+close-growing stems of Lilac and Syringa, with an old thick shawl
+outspread on the damp earth for a carpet. Oh, how hot and scant the air
+was in the green light of those close "garden-thickets," those "Lilac
+ambushes," which were really not half so pleasant as the cooler seats on
+the grass under the trees, but which we clung to with a warmth equal to
+their temperature.
+
+[Illustration: The Children's Garden.]
+
+Let us peer into these garden thickets at these happy little girls,
+fantastic in their garden dress. Their hair is hung thick with Dandelion
+curls, made from pale green opal-tinted stems that have grown long under
+the shrubbery and Box borders. Around their necks are childish wampum,
+strings of Dandelion beads or Daisy chains. More delicate wreaths for
+the neck or hair were made from the blossoms of the Four-o'clock or
+the petals of Phlox or Lilacs, threaded with pretty alternation of
+color. Fuchsias were hung at the ears for eardrops, green leaves were
+pinned with leaf stems into little caps and bonnets and aprons,
+Foxgloves made dainty children's gloves. Truly the garden-bred child
+went in gay attire.
+
+That exquisite thing, the seed of Milkweed (shown on page 328),
+furnished abundant playthings. The plant was sternly exterminated in our
+garden, but sallies into a neighboring field provided supplies for fairy
+cradles with tiny pillows of silvery silk.
+
+One of the early impulses of infancy is to put everything in the mouth;
+this impulse makes the creeping days of some children a period of
+constant watchfulness and terror to their apprehensive guardians. When
+the children are older and can walk in the garden or edge of the woods,
+a fresh anxiety arises; for a certain savagery in their make-up makes
+them regard every growing thing, not as an object to look at or even to
+play with, but to eat. It is a relief to the mother when the child grows
+beyond the savage, and falls under the dominion of tradition and
+folk-lore, communicated to him by other children by that subtle power of
+enlightenment common to children, which seems more like instinct than
+instruction. The child still eats, but he makes distinctions, and seldom
+touches harmful leaves or seeds or berries. He has an astonishing range:
+roots, twigs, leaves, bark, tendrils, fruit, berries, flowers, buds,
+seeds, all alike serve for food. Young shoots of Sweetbrier and
+Blackberry are nibbled as well as the branches of young Birch. Grape
+tendrils, too, have an acid zest, as do Sorrel leaves. Wild Rose hips
+and the drupes of dwarf Cornel are chewed. The leaf buds of Spruce and
+Linden are also tasted. I hear that some children in some places eat the
+young fronds of Cinnamon Fern, but I never saw it done. Seeds of
+Pumpkins and Sunflowers were edible, as well as Hollyhock cheeses. There
+was one Slippery Elm tree which we know in our town, and we took ample
+toll of it. Cherry gum and Plum gum are chewed, as well as the gum of
+Spruce trees. There was a boy who used sometimes to intrude on our
+girl's paradise, since he was the son of a neighbor, and he said he ate
+raw Turnips, and something he called Pig-nuts--I wonder what they were.
+
+Those childish customs linger long in our minds, or rather in our
+subconsciousness. I never walk through an old garden without wishing to
+nibble and browse on the leaves and stems which I ate as a child,
+without sucking a drop of honey from certain flowers. I do it not with
+intent, but I waken to realization with the petal of Trumpet Honeysuckle
+in my hand and its drop of ambrosia on my lips.
+
+[Illustration: Foxgloves in a Narragansett Garden.]
+
+Children care far less for scent and perfection in a flower than they do
+for color, and, above all, for desirability and adaptability of form,
+this desirability being afforded by the fitness of the flower for the
+traditional games and plays. The favorite flowers of my childhood were
+three noble creatures, Hollyhocks, Canterbury Bells, and Foxgloves, all
+three were scentless. I cannot think of a child's summer in a garden
+without these three old favorites of history and folk-lore. Of course we
+enjoyed the earlier flower blooms and played happily with them ere our
+dearest treasures came to us; but never had we full variety, zest, and
+satisfaction till this trio were in midsummer bloom. There was a little
+gawky, crudely-shaped wooden doll of German manufacture sold in
+Worcester which I never saw elsewhere; they were kept for sale by old
+Waxler, the German basket maker, a most respected citizen, whose name I
+now learn was not Waxler but Weichsler. These dolls came in three
+sizes, the five-cent size was a midsummer favorite, because on its
+featureless head the blossoms of the Canterbury Bells fitted like a high
+azure cap. I can see rows of these wooden creatures sitting, thus
+crowned, stiffly around the trunk of the old Seckel Pear tree at a
+doll's tea-party.
+
+By the constant trampling of our childish feet the earth at the end of
+the garden path was hard and smooth under the shadow of the Lilac trees
+near our garden fence; and this hard path, remote from wanderers in the
+garden, made a splendid plateau to use for flower balls. Once we fitted
+it up as a palace; circular walls of Balsam flowers set closely together
+shaped the ball-room. The dancers were blue and white Canterbury Bells.
+Quadrilles were placed of little twigs, or strong flower stalks set
+firmly upright in the hard trodden earth, and on each of these a flower
+bell was hung so that the pretty reflexion of the scalloped edges of the
+corolla just touched the ground as the hooped petticoats swayed lightly
+in the wind.
+
+[Illustration: Hollyhocks in Garden of Kimball Homestead, Portsmouth,
+New Hampshire.]
+
+We used to catch bumblebees in the Canterbury Bells, and hear them buzz
+and bump and tear their way out to liberty. We held the edges of the
+flower tightly pinched together, and were never stung. Besides its
+adaptability as a toy for children, the Canterbury Bell was beloved for
+its beauty in the garden. An appropriate folk name for it is
+Fair-in-sight. Healthy clumps grow tall and stately, towering up as high
+as childish heads; and the firm stalks are hung so closely in bloom.
+Nowadays people plant expanses of Canterbury Bells; one at the
+beautiful garden at White Birches, Elmhurst, Illinois, is shown on page
+111. I do not like this as well as the planting in our home garden when
+they are set in a mixed border, as shown opposite page 416. Our tastes
+in the flower world are largely influenced by what we were wonted to in
+childhood, not only in the selection of flowers, but in their placing in
+our gardens. The Canterbury Bell has historical interest through its
+being named for the bells borne by pilgrims to the shrine at Canterbury.
+I have been delighted to see plants of these sturdy garden favorites
+offered for sale of late years in New York streets in springtime, by
+street venders, who now show a tendency to throw aside Callas, Lilies,
+Tuberoses, and flowers of such ilk, and substitute shrubs and seedlings
+of hardy growth and satisfactory flowering. But it filled me with
+regret, to hear the pretty historic name--Canterbury Bells--changed in
+so short a residence in the city, by these Italian and German tongues to
+Gingerbread Bells--a sad debasement. Native New Englanders have seldom
+forgotten or altered an old flower name, and very rarely transferred it
+to another plant, even in two centuries of everyday usage. But I am glad
+to know that the flower will bloom in the flower pot or soap box in the
+dingy window of the city poor, or in the square foot of earth of the
+city squatter, even if it be called Gingerbread Bells.
+
+I think we may safely affirm that the Hollyhock is the most popular, and
+most widely known, of all old-fashioned flowers. It is loved for its
+beauty, its associations, its adaptiveness. It is such a decorative
+flower, and looks of so much distinction in so many places. It is
+invaluable to the landscape gardener and to the architect; and might be
+named the wallflower, since it looks so well growing by every wall. I
+like it there, or by a fence-side, or in a corner, better than in the
+middle of flower beds. How many garden pictures have Hollyhocks? Sir
+Joshua Reynolds even used them as accessories of his portraits. They
+usually grow so well and bloom so freely. I have seen them in
+Connecticut growing wild--garden strays, standing up by ruined stone
+walls in a pasture with as much grace of grouping, as good form, as if
+they had been planted by our most skilful gardeners or architects. Many
+illustrations of them are given in this book; I need scarcely refer to
+them; opposite page 334 is shown a part of the four hundred stalks of
+rich bloom in a Portsmouth garden. There is a pretty semidouble
+Hollyhock with a single row of broad outer petals and a smaller double
+rosette for the centre; but the single flowers are far more effective. I
+like well the old single crimson flower, but the yellow ones are, I
+believe, the loveliest; a row of the yellow and white ones against an
+old brick wall is perfection. I can never repay to the Hollyhock the
+debt of gratitude I owe for the happy hours it furnished to me in my
+childhood. Its reflexed petals could be tied into such lovely
+silken-garbed dolls; its "cheeses" were one of the staple food supplies
+of our dolls' larder. I am sure in my childhood I would have warmly
+chosen the Hollyhock as my favorite flower.
+
+The sixty-two folk names of the Foxglove give ample proof of its
+closeness to humanity; it is a familiar flower, a home flower. Of these
+many names I never heard but two in New England, and those but once; an
+old Irish gardener called the flowers Fairy Thimbles, and an English
+servant, Pops--this from the well-known habit of popping the petals on
+the palm of the hand. We used to build little columns of these Foxgloves
+by thrusting one within another, alternating purple and white; and we
+wore them for gloves, and placed them as foolscaps on the heads of tiny
+dolls. The beauty of the Foxglove in the garden is unquestioned; the
+spires of white bloom are, as Cotton Mather said of a pious and painful
+Puritan preacher, "a shining and white light in a golden candlestick
+improved for the sweet felicity of Mankind and to the honour of our
+Maker."
+
+Opposite page 340 is a glimpse of a Box-edged garden in Worcester, whose
+blossoming has been a delight to me every summer of my entire life. In
+my childhood this home was that of flower-loving neighbors who had an
+established and constant system of exchange with my mother and other
+neighbors of flowers, plants, seeds, slips, and bulbs. The garden was
+serene with an atmosphere of worthy old age; you wondered how any man so
+old could so constantly plant, weed, prune, and hoe until you saw how he
+loved his flowers, and how his wife loved them. The Roses, Peonies, and
+Flower de Luce in this garden are sixty years old, and the Box also; the
+shrubs are almost trees. Nothing seems to be transplanted, yet all
+flourish; I suppose some plants must be pulled up, sometimes, else the
+garden would be a thicket. The varying grading of city streets has left
+this garden in a little valley sheltered from winds and open to the
+sun's rays. Here bloom Crocuses, Snowdrops, Grape Hyacinths, and
+sometimes Tulips, before any neighbor has a blossom and scarce a leaf.
+On a Sunday noon in April there are always flower lovers hanging over
+the low fences, and gazing at the welcome early blooms. Here if ever,
+
+ "Winter, slumbering in the open air,
+ Wears on his smiling face a dream of spring."
+
+A close cloud of Box-scent hangs over this garden, even in midwinter;
+sometimes the Box edgings grow until no one can walk between; then
+drastic measures have to be taken, and the rows look ragged for a time.
+
+[Illustration: An Autumn Path in a Worcester Garden.]
+
+I think much of my love of Box comes from happy associations with this
+garden. I used to like to go there with my mother when she went on what
+the Japanese would call "garden-viewing" visits, for at the lower end of
+the garden was a small orchard of the finest playhouse Apple trees I
+ever climbed (and I have had much experience), and some large trees
+bearing little globular early Pears; and there were rows of bushes of
+golden "Honeyblob" Gooseberries. The Apple trees are there still, but
+the Gooseberry bushes are gone. I looked for them this summer eagerly,
+but in vain; I presume the berries would have been sour had I found
+them.
+
+[Illustration: Hollyhocks at Tudor Place.]
+
+In many old New England gardens the close juxtaposition and even
+intermingling of vegetables and fruits with the flowers gave a sense of
+homely simplicity and usefulness which did not detract from the garden's
+interest, and added much to the child's pleasure. At the lower end of
+the long flower border in our garden, grew "Mourning Brides," white,
+pale lavender, and purple brown in tint. They opened under the shadow of
+a row of Gooseberry bushes. I seldom see Gooseberry bushes nowadays in
+any gardens, whether on farms or in nurseries; they seem to be an
+antiquated fruit.
+
+I have in my memory many other customs of childhood in the garden; some
+of them I have told in my book _Child Life in Colonial Days_, and there
+are scores more which I have not recounted, but most of them were
+peculiar to my own fanciful childhood, and I will not recount them here.
+
+One of the most exquisite of Mrs. Browning's poems is _The Lost Bower_;
+it is endeared to me because it expresses so fully a childish
+bereavement of my own, for I have a lost garden. Somewhere, in my
+childhood, I saw this beautiful garden, filled with radiant blossoms,
+rich with fruit and berries, set with beehives, rabbit hutches, and a
+dove cote, and enclosed about with hedges; and through it ran a purling
+brook--a thing I ever longed for in my home garden. All one happy summer
+afternoon I played in it, and gathered from its beds and borders at
+will--and I have never seen it since. When I was still a child I used to
+ask to return to it, but no one seemed to understand; and when I was
+grown I asked where it was, describing it in every detail, and the only
+answer was that it was a dream, I had never seen and played in such a
+garden. This lost garden has become to me an emblem, as was the lost
+bower to Mrs. Browning, of the losses of life; but I did not lose all;
+while memory lasts I shall ever possess the happiness of my childhood
+passed in our home garden.
+
+[Illustration: An Old Worcester Garden.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+MEETIN' SEED AND SABBATH DAY POSIES
+
+ "I touched a thought, I know
+ Has tantalized me many times.
+ Help me to hold it! First it left
+ The yellowing Fennel run to seed."
+
+ --ROBERT BROWNING.
+
+
+My "thought" is the association of certain flowers with Sunday; the fact
+that special flowers and leaves and seeds, Fennel, Dill, and
+Southernwood, were held to be fitting and meet to carry to the Sunday
+service. "Help me to hold it"--to record those simple customs of the
+country-side ere they are forgotten.
+
+In the herb garden grew three free-growing plants, all three called
+indifferently in country tongue, "meetin' seed." They were Fennel, Dill,
+and Caraway, and similar in growth and seed. Caraway is shown on page
+342. Their name was given because, in summer days of years gone by,
+nearly every woman and child carried to "meeting" on Sundays, bunches of
+the ripe seeds of one or all of these three plants, to nibble throughout
+the long prayers and sermon.
+
+It is fancied that these herbs were anti-soporific, but I find no record
+of such power. On the contrary, Galen says Dill "procureth sleep,
+wherefore garlands of Dill are worn at feasts." A far more probable
+reason for its presence at church was the quality assigned to it by
+Pliny and other herbalists down to Gerarde, that of staying the "yeox or
+hicket or hicquet," otherwise the hiccough. If we can judge by the
+manifold remedies offered to allay this affliction, it was certainly
+very prevalent in ancient times. Cotton Mather wrote a bulky medical
+treatise entitled _The Angel of Bethesda_. It was never printed; the
+manuscript is owned by the American Antiquarian Society. The character
+of this medico-religious book may be judged by this opening sentence of
+his chapter on the hiccough:--
+
+ "The Hiccough or the Hicox rather, for it's a Teutonic word that
+ signifies to sob, appears a Lively Emblem of the battle between the
+ Flesh and the Spirit in the Life of Piety. The Conflict in the
+ Pious Mind gives all the Trouble and same uneasiness as Hickox.
+ Death puts an end to the Conflict."
+
+[Illustration: Caraway.]
+
+Parson Mather gives Tansy and Caraway as remedies for the hiccough, but
+far better still--spiders, prepared in various odious ways; I prefer
+Dill.
+
+Peter Parley said that "a sprig of Fennel was the theological
+smelling-bottle of the tender sex, and not unfrequently of the men, who
+from long sitting in the sanctuary, after a week of labor in the field,
+found themselves tempted to sleep, would sometimes borrow a sprig of
+Fennel, to exorcise the fiend that threatened their spiritual welfare."
+
+Old-fashioned folk kept up a constant nibbling in church, not only of
+these three seeds, but of bits of Cinnamon or Lovage root, or, more
+commonly still, the roots of Sweet Flag. Many children went to
+brooksides and the banks of ponds to gather these roots. This pleasure
+was denied to us, but we had a Flag root purveyor, our milkman's
+daughter. This milkman, who lived on a lonely farm, used often to take
+with him on his daily rounds his little daughter. She sat with him on
+the front seat of his queer cart in summer and his queerer pung in
+winter, an odd little figure, with a face of gypsylike beauty which
+could scarcely be seen in the depths of the Shaker sunbonnet or pumpkin
+hood. If my mother chanced to see her, she gave the child an orange, or
+a few figs, or some little cakes, or almonds and raisins; in return the
+child would throw out to us violently roots of Sweet Flag, Wild Ginger,
+Snakeroot, Sassafras, and Apples or Pears, which she carried in a deep
+detached pocket at her side. She never spoke, and the milkman confided
+to my mother that he "took her around because she was so wild," by
+which he meant timid. We were firmly convinced that the child could not
+walk nor speak, and had no ears; and we were much surprised when she
+walked down the aisle of our church one Sunday as actively as any child
+could, displaying very natural ears. Her father had bought a home in the
+town that she might go to school. He was rewarded by her development
+into one of those scholars of phenomenal brilliancy, such as are
+occasionally produced from New England farmers' families. She also
+became a beauty of most unusual type. At her father's death she "went
+West." I have always expected to read of her as of marked life in some
+way, but I never have. Of course her family name may have been changed
+by marriage; but her Christian name, Appoline, was so unusual I could
+certainly trace her. If my wild and beautiful little milk girl reads
+these lines, I hope she will forgive me, for she certainly was queer.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial of Jonathan Fairbanks.]
+
+When her residence was in town, Appoline did not cease her gifts of
+country treasures. She brought on spring Sundays a very delightful
+addition to our Sabbath day nibblings and browsings, the most delicious
+mouthful of all the treasures of New England woods, what we called
+Pippins, the first tender leaves of the aromatic Checkerberry. In the
+autumn the spicy berries of the same plant filled many a paper
+cornucopia which was secretly conveyed to us.
+
+It was also a universal custom among the elder folk to carry a Sunday
+posy; the stems were discreetly enwrapped with the folded handkerchief
+which also concealed the sprig of Fennel. Dean Hole tells us that a
+sprig of Southernwood was always seen in the Sunday smocks of English
+farm folk. Mary Howitt, in her poem, _The Poor Man's Garden_, has this
+verse:--
+
+ "And here on Sabbath mornings
+ The goodman comes to get
+ His Sunday nosegay--Moss Rose bud,
+ White Pink, and Mignonette."
+
+This shows to me that the church posy was just as common in England as
+in America; in domestic and social customs we can never disassociate
+ourselves from England; our ways, our deeds, are all English.
+
+Thoreau noted with pleasure when, at the last of June, the young men of
+Concord "walked slowly and soberly to church, in their best clothes,
+each with a Pond Lily in his hand or bosom, with as long a stem as he
+could get." And he adds thereto almost the only decorous and
+conventional picture he gives of himself, that he used in early life to
+go thus to church, smelling a Pond Lily, "its odor contrasting with and
+atoning for that of the sermon." He associated this universal bearing of
+the Lily with a very natural act, that of the first spring swim and
+bath, and pictured with delight the quiet Sabbath stillness and the pure
+opening flowers. He said the flower had become typical to him equally of
+a Sunday morning swim and of church-going. He adds that the young women
+carried on this floral Sunday, as a companion flower, their first Rose.
+
+[Illustration: Bronze Sun-dial on Dutch Reformed Church. West End
+Avenue, New York.]
+
+This Sabbath bearing of the early Water Lilies may have been a local
+custom; a few miles from Walden Pond and Concord an old kinsman of mine
+throughout his long life (which closed twenty years ago) carried Water
+Lilies on summer Sundays to church; and starting with neighborly intent
+a short time before the usual hour of church service, he placed a
+single beautiful Lily in the pew of each of his old friends. All knew
+who was the flower bearer, and gentle smiles and nods of thanks would
+radiate across the old church to him. These lilies were gathered for him
+freshly each Sabbath morning by the young men of his family, who, as
+Thoreau tells, all took their morning bath in the pond throughout the
+summer.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial on Boulder, Swiftwater, Pennsylvania.]
+
+There were conventions in these Sunday posies. I never heard of carrying
+sprays of Lemon Verbena or Rose Geranium, or any of the strong-scented
+herbs of the Mint family; but throughout eastern Massachusetts,
+especially in Concord and Wayland, a favorite posy was a spray of the
+refreshing, soft-textured leaves from what country folk called the
+Tongue plant--which was none other than Costmary, also called Beaver
+tongue, and Patagonian mint. As there has been recently much interest
+and discussion anent this Tongue plant, I here give its botanical name
+_Chrysanthemum balsamita_, var. _tanacetoides_. A far more popular
+Sunday posy than any blossom was a sprig of Southernwood, known also
+everywhere as Lad's-love, and occasionally as Old Man and
+Kiss-me-quick-and-go. It was also termed Meeting plant from this
+universal Sunday use.
+
+A restless little child was once handed during the church services in
+summer a bunch of Caraway seeds, and a goodly sprig of Southernwood. The
+little girl's mother listened earnestly to the long sermon, and was
+horrified at its close to find that her child had eaten the entire bunch
+of Caraway, stems and seeds, and all the bitter Southernwood. She was
+hurried out of church to the village doctor's, and spent a very unhappy
+hour or two as the result of her Nebuchadnezzar-like gorging.
+
+Like many New Englanders, I dearly love the scent of Southernwood:--
+
+ "I'll give to him
+ Who gathers me, more sweetness than he knows
+ Without me--more than any Lily could,
+ I, that am flowerless, being Southernwood."
+
+Southernwood bears a balmier breath than is ever borne by many blossoms,
+for it is sweet with the fragrance of memory. The scent that has been
+loved for centuries, the leaves that have been pressed to the hearts of
+fair maids, as they questioned of love, are indeed endeared.
+
+[Illustration: Buckthorn Arch in an Old Salem Garden.]
+
+Southernwood was a plant of vast powers. It was named in the fourteenth
+century as potent to cure talking in sleep, and other "vanityes of
+the heade." An old Salem sea captain had this recipe for baldness: "Take
+a quantitye of Suthernwoode and put it upon kindled coale to burn and
+being made into a powder mix it with oyl of radiches, and anoynt a bald
+head and you shall see great experiences." The lying old _Dispensatory_
+of Culpepper gave a rule to mix the ashes of Southernwood with "Old
+Sallet Oyl" which "helpeth those that are hair-fallen and bald."
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Emery Place, Brightwood, District of
+Columbia.]
+
+Far pleasanter were the uses of the plant as a love charm. Pliny did not
+disdain to counsel putting Southernwood under the pillow to make one
+dream of a lover. A sprig of Southernwood in an unmarried girl's shoe
+would bring to her the sight of her husband-to-be before night.
+
+Sixty years ago two young country folk of New England were married. The
+twain built them a house and established their home. Since a sprig of
+Southernwood had played a romantic part in their courtship, each planted
+a bush at the side of the broad doorstone; and the husband, William,
+often thrust a bit of this Lad's-love from the flourishing bushes in the
+buttonhole of his woollen shirt, for he fancied the fresh scent of the
+leaves.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Traveller's Rest.]
+
+The twain had no children, and perhaps therefrom grew and increased in
+Hetty a fairly passionate love of exact order and neatness in her
+home--a trait which is not so common in New England housewives as many
+fancy, and which does not always find equal growth and encouragement in
+New England husbands. William chafed under the frequent and bitter
+reproofs for the muddy shoes, dusty garments, hanging straws and seeds
+which he brought into his wife's orderly paradise, and the jarring
+culminated one night over such a trifle, a green sprig of Lad's-love
+which he had dropped and trodden into the freshly washed floor of the
+kitchen, where it left a green stain on the spotless boards.
+
+The quarrel flamed high, and was followed by an ominous calm which was
+not broken at breakfast. It would be impossible to express in words
+Hetty's emotions when she crossed her threshold to set her shining milk
+tins in the morning sunlight, and saw on one side of the doorstone a
+yawning hole where had grown for ten years William's bunch of
+Lad's-love. He had driven to the next village to sell some grain, so she
+could search unseen for the vanished emblem of domestic felicity, and
+soon she found it, in the ditch by the public road, already withered in
+the hot sun.
+
+When her husband went at nightfall to feed and water his cattle, he
+found the other bush of Lad's-love, which had been planted with such
+affectionate sentiment, trodden in the mire of the pigpen, under the
+feet of the swine.
+
+They lived together for thirty years after this crowning indignity. The
+grass grew green over the empty holes by the doorside, but he never
+forgave her, and they never spoke to each other save in direst
+necessity, and then in fewest words. Yet they were not wicked folk. She
+cared for his father and mother in the last years of their life with a
+devotion that was fairly pathetic when it was seen that the old man was
+untidy to a degree, and absolutely oblivious of all her orderly ways and
+wishes. At their death he sent for and "homed," as the expression ran, a
+brother of hers who was almost blind, and paid the expenses of her
+nephew through college--but he died unforgiving; the sight of that
+beloved Southernwood--in the pigpen--forever killed his affection.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+SUN-DIALS
+
+ "'Tis an old dial, dark with many a stain,
+ In summer crowned with drifting orchard bloom,
+ Tricked in the autumn with the yellow rain,
+ And white in winter like a marble tomb.
+
+ "And round about its gray, time-eaten brow
+ Lean letters speak--a worn and shattered row:--
+ 'I am a Shade; A Shadowe too arte thou;
+ I mark the Time; saye, Gossip, dost thou soe?'"
+
+ --AUSTIN DOBSON.
+
+
+A century or more ago, in the heart of nearly all English gardens, and
+in the gardens of our American colonies as well, there might be seen a
+pedestal of varying material, shape, and pretension, surmounted by the
+most interesting furnishing in "dead-works" of the garden, a sun-dial.
+In public squares, on the walls of public buildings, on bridges, and by
+the side of the way, other and simpler dials were found. On the walls of
+country houses and churches vertical sun-dials were displayed; every
+English town held them by scores. In Scotland, and to some extent in
+England, these sun-dials still are found; in fine old gardens the most
+richly carved dials are standing; but in America they have become so
+rare that many people have never seen one. In many of the formal gardens
+planned by our skilled architects, sun-dials are now springing afresh
+like mushroom growth of a single night, and some are objects of the
+greatest beauty and interest.
+
+[Illustration: Two Old Cronies, the Sun-dial and Bee Skepe.]
+
+If the claims of antiquity and historical association have aught to
+charm us, every sun-dial must be assured of our interest. The most
+primitive mode of knowing of the midday hour was by a "noon mark," a
+groove cut or line drawn on door or window sill which indicated the
+meridian hour through a shadow thrown on this noon mark. A good guess as
+to the hours near noon could be made by noting the distance of the
+shadow from the noon mark. I chanced to be near an old noon mark this
+summer as the sun warned that noon approached; I noted that the marking
+shadow crossed the line at twenty minutes before noon by our
+watches--which, I suppose, was near enough to satisfy our "early to
+rise" ancestors. Meridian lines were often traced with exactness on the
+floors of churches in Continental Europe.
+
+An advance step in accuracy and elegance was made when a simple metal
+sun-dial was affixed to the window sill instead of cutting the rude noon
+mark. Soon the sun-dial was set on a simple pedestal near the kitchen
+window, so that the active worker within might glance at the dial face
+without ceasing in her task. Such a sun-dial is shown on page 354, as it
+stands under the "buttery" window cosily hobnobbing with its old crony
+of many years, the bee skepe. One could wish to be a bee, and live in
+that snug home under the Syringa bush.
+
+Portable sun-dials succeeded fixed dials; they have been known as long
+as the Christian era; shepherds' dials were the "Kalendars" or
+"Cylindres" about which treatises were written as early as the
+thirteenth century. They were small cylinders of wood or ivory, having
+at the top a kind of stopper with a hinged gnomon; they are still used
+in the Pyrenees. Pretty little "ring-dials" of brass, gold, or silver,
+are constructed on the same principle. The exquisitely wrought portable
+dial shown on this page is a very fine piece of workmanship, and must
+have been costly. It is dated 1764, and is eleven inches in diameter. It
+is a perfect example of the advanced type of dial made in Italy, which
+had a simpler form as early certainly as A.D. 300. The compass was added
+in the thirteenth century. The compass-needle is missing on this dial,
+its only blemish. The Italians excelled in dial-making; among their
+interesting forms were the cross-shaped dials evidently a reliquary.
+
+[Illustration: Portable Sun-dial.]
+
+Portable dials were used instead of watches. There is at the Washington
+headquarters at Morristown a delicately wrought oval silver case, with
+compass and sun-dial, which was carried by one of the French officers
+who came here with Lafayette; George Washington owned and carried one.
+
+The colonists came here from a land set with dials, whether they sailed
+from Holland or England. Charles I had a vast fancy for dials, and had
+them placed everywhere; the finest and most curious was the splendid
+master dial placed in his private gardens at Whitehall; this had five
+dials set in the upper part, four in the four corners, and a great
+horizontal concave dial; among these were scattered equinoctial dials,
+vertical dials, declining dials, polar dials, plane dials, cylindrical
+dials, triangular dials; each was inscribed with explanatory verses in
+Latin. Equally beautiful and intricate were the dials of Charles II, the
+most marvellous being the vast pyramid dial bearing 271 different dial
+faces.
+
+Those who wish to learn of English sun-dials should read Mrs. Gatty's
+_Book of Sun-dials_, a massive and fascinating volume. No such extended
+record could be made of American sun-dials; but it pleases me that I
+know of over two hundred sun-dials in America, chiefly old ones; that I
+have photographs of many of them; that I have copies of many hundred
+dial mottoes, and also a very fair collection of the old dial faces, of
+various metals and sizes.
+
+I know of no public collection of sun-dials in America save that in the
+Smithsonian Institution, and that is not a large one. Several of our
+Historical Societies own single sun-dials. In the Essex Institute is the
+sun-dial of Governor Endicott; another, shown on page 344, was once the
+property of my far-away grandfather, Jonathan Fairbanks; it is in the
+Dedham Historical Society.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Garden of Frederick J. Kingsbury, Esq.]
+
+All forms of sun-dials are interesting. A simple but accurate one was
+set on Robins Island by the late Samuel Bowne Duryea, Esq., of Brooklyn.
+Taking the flagpole of the club house as a stylus, he laid the lines and
+figures of the dial-face with small dark stones on a ground of
+light-hued stones, all set firmly in the earth at the base of the pole.
+Thus was formed, with the simplest materials, by one who ever strove to
+give pleasure and stimulate knowledge in all around him, an object which
+not only told the time o' the day, but afforded gratification, elicited
+investigation, and awakened sentiment in all who beheld it.
+
+A similar use of a vertical pole as a primitive gnomon for a sun-dial
+seems to have been common to many uncivilized peoples. In upper Egypt
+the natives set up a palm rod in open ground, and arrange a circle of
+stones or pegs around it, calling it an _alka_, and thus mark the hours.
+The ploughman leaves his buffalo standing in the furrow while he learns
+the progress of time from this simple dial--and we recall the words of
+Job, "As a servant earnestly desireth a shadow."
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Morristown, New Jersey.]
+
+The Labrador Indians, when on the hunt or the march, set an upright
+stick or spear in the snow, and draw the line of the shadow thus cast.
+They then stalk on their way; and the women, heavily laden with
+provisions, shelter, and fuel, come slowly along two or three hours
+later, note the distance between the present shadow and the line drawn
+by their lords, and know at once whether they must gather up the stick
+or spear and hurry along, or can rest for a short time on their weary
+march. This is a primitive but exact chronometer.
+
+There are serious objections to quoting from Charles Lamb: you are never
+willing to end the transcription--you long to add just one phrase, one
+clause more. Then, too, the purity of the pearl which you choose seems
+to render duller than their wont the leaden sentences with which you
+enclose it as a setting. Still, who could write of sun-dials without
+choosing to transcribe these words of Lamb's?
+
+ "What a dead thing is a clock, with its ponderous embowelments of
+ lead or brass, its pert or solemn dulness of communication,
+ compared with the simple altar-like structure and silent
+ heart-language of the old dial! It stood as the garden god of
+ Christian gardens. Why is it almost everywhere banished? If its
+ business use be suspended by more elaborate inventions, its moral
+ uses, its beauty, might have pleaded for its continuance. It spoke
+ of moderate labors, of pleasures not protracted after sunset, of
+ temperance and good hours. It was the primitive clock, the horologe
+ of the first world. Adam could scarce have missed it in Paradise.
+ The 'shepherd carved it out quaintly in the sun,' and turning
+ philosopher by the very occupation, provided it with mottoes more
+ touching than tombstones."
+
+[Illustration: Yes, Toby! It's Three O'clock.]
+
+Sun-dial mottoes still can be gathered by hundreds; and they are one
+record of a force in the development of our literate people. For it was
+long after we had printing ere we had any general class of folk, who, if
+they could read, read anything save the Bible. To many the knowledge of
+reading came from the deciphering of what has been happily termed the
+Literature of the Bookless. This literature was placed that he who ran
+might read; and its opening chapters were in the form of inscriptions
+and legends and mottoes which were placed, not only on buildings and
+walls, and pillars and bridges, but on household furniture and table
+utensils.
+
+The inscribing of mottoes on sun-dials appears to have sprung up with
+dial-making; and where could a strict moral lesson, a suggestive or
+inspiring thought, be better placed? Even the most heedless or
+indifferent passer-by, or the unwilling reader could not fail to see the
+instructive words when he cast his glance to learn the time.
+
+The mottoes were frequently in Latin, a few in Greek or Hebrew; but the
+old English mottoes seem the most appealing.
+
+ ABUSE ME NOT I DO NO ILL
+ I STAND TO SERVE THEE WITH GOOD WILL
+ AS CAREFUL THEN BE SURE THOU BE
+ TO SERVE THY GOD AS I SERVE THEE.
+
+ A CLOCK THE TIME MAY WRONGLY TELL
+ I NEVER IF THE SUN SHINE WELL.
+
+ AS A SHADOW SUCH IS LIFE.
+
+ I COUNT NONE BUT SUNNY HOURS.
+
+ BE THE DAY WEARY, BE THE DAY LONG
+ SOON IT SHALL RING TO EVEN SONG.
+
+Scriptural verses have ever been favorites, especially passages from the
+Psalms: "Man is like a thing of nought, his time passeth away like a
+shadow." "My time is in Thy hand." "Put not off from day to day." "Oh,
+remember how short my time is." Some of the Latin mottoes are very
+beautiful.
+
+[Illustration: Face of Dial at Sag Harbor, Long Island.]
+
+Poets have written special verses for sun-dials. These noble lines are
+by Walter Savage Landor:--
+
+ IN HIS OWN IMAGE THE CREATOR MADE,
+ HIS OWN PURE SUNBEAM QUICKENED THEE, O MAN!
+ THOU BREATHING DIAL! SINCE THE DAY BEGAN
+ THE PRESENT HOUR WAS EVER MARKED WITH SHADE.
+
+The motto, _Horas non numero nisi serenas_, in various forms and
+languages, has ever been a favorite. From an old album I have received
+this poem written by Professor S. F. B. Morse; there is a note with it
+in Professor Morse's handwriting, saying he saw the motto on a sun-dial
+at Worms:--
+
+ TO A. G. E.
+
+ _Horas non numero nisi serenas._
+
+ The sun when it shines in a clear cloudless sky
+ Marks the time on my disk in figures of light;
+ If clouds gather o'er me, unheeded they fly,
+ I note not the hours except they be bright.
+
+ So when I review all the scenes that have past
+ Between me and thee, be they dark, be they light,
+ I forget what was dark, the light I hold fast;
+ I note not the hours except they be bright.
+
+ SAMUEL F. B. MORSE,
+ Washington, March, 1845.
+
+The sun-dial seems too classic an object, and too serious a teacher, to
+bear a jesting motto. This sober pun was often seen:--
+
+ LIFE'S BUT A SHADOWE
+ MAN'S BUT DUST
+ THIS DYALL SAYES
+ DY ALL WE MUST.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Garden of Grace Church Rectory, New York.]
+
+The sun-dial does not lure to "idle dalliance." Nine-tenths of the
+sun-dial mottoes tersely warn you not to linger, to haste away, that
+time is fleeting, and your hours are numbered, and therefore to "be
+about your business." In a single moment and at a single glance the
+sun-dial has said its lesson, has told its absolute message, and there
+is no reason for you to gaze at it longer. Its very position, too, in
+the unshaded rays of the sun, does not invite you to long companionship,
+as do the shady lengths of a pergola, or a green orchard seat. Still, I
+would ever have a garden seat near a sun-dial, especially when it is a
+work of art to be studied, and with mottoes to be remembered. For even
+in hurrying America the sun-dial seems--like a guide-post--a half-human
+thing, for which we can feel an almost personal interest.
+
+[Illustration: Fugio Bank-note.]
+
+The figure of a sun-dial played an interesting part in the early history
+of the United States. In the first set of notes issued for currency by
+the American Congress was one for the value of one third of a dollar.
+One side has the chain of links bearing the names of the thirteen
+states, enclosing a sunburst bearing the words, _American Congress, We
+are One_. The reverse side is shown on this page. It bears a print of a
+sun-dial, with the motto, _Fugio, Mind Your Business_. The so-called
+"Franklin cent" has a similar design of a sun-dial with the same motto,
+and there was a beautiful "Fugio dollar" cast in silver, bronze, and
+pewter. Though this design and motto were evidently Franklin's taste,
+the motto in its use on a sun-dial was not original with Franklin, nor
+with any one else in the Congress, for it had been seen on dials on many
+English churches and houses. In the form, "Begone about Your Business,"
+it was on a house in the Inner Temple; this is the tradition of the
+origin of this motto. The dialler sent for a motto to place under the
+dial, as he had been instructed by the Benchers; when the man arrived at
+the Library, he found but one surly old gentleman poring over a musty
+book. To him he said, "Please, sir, the gentlemen told me to call this
+hour for a motto for the sun-dial." "Begone about your business," was
+the testy answer. So the man painted the words under the dial; and the
+chance words seemed so appropriate to the Benchers that they were never
+removed. It is told of Dean Cotton of Bangor that he had a cross old
+gardener who always warded off unwelcome visitors to the deanery by
+saying to every one who approached, "Go about your business!" After the
+gardener's death the dean had this motto engraved around the sun-dial in
+the garden, "Goa bou tyo urb us in ess, 1838." Thus the gardener's growl
+became his epitaph. Another form was, "Be about Your Business," and it
+is a suggestive fact that it was on a dial on the General Post-office in
+London in 1756. Franklin's interest in and knowledge of postal matters,
+his long residence in London, and service under the crown as American
+postmaster general, must have familiarized him with this dial, and I am
+convinced it furnished to him the notion for the design on the first
+bank-note and coins of the new nation.
+
+An interesting bit of history allied to America is given to us in the
+finding of a sun-dial which gives to American students of heraldic
+antiquities another dated shield of the Washington "stars and stripes."
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at "Washington House," Little Brington,
+England.]
+
+In Little Brington, Northamptonshire, stands a house known as "The
+Washington House," which gave shelter to the Washingtons of Sulgrave
+after the fall of their fortunes. Within a stone's throw of the house
+has recently been found a sun-dial having the Washington arms (argent)
+two bars, and in chief three mullets (gules) carved upon it, with the
+date 1617. The existence of this stone has been known for forty years;
+but it has never been closely examined and noted till recently. It is a
+circular slab of sandstone three inches thick and sixteen inches in
+diameter. The gnomon is lacking. The lines, figures, and shield are
+incised, and the letters R. W. can be dimly seen. These were probably
+the initials of Robert Washington, great uncle of the two emigrants to
+Virginia.
+
+[Illustration: Dial-face from Mount Vernon.]
+
+Through the kindness of Mr. A. L. Y. Morley, a faithful antiquary of
+Great Barrington, I have the pleasure of giving, on page 367, a
+representation of this interesting dial. It is shown leaning against
+the "pump-stand" in the yard of the "Washington House"; and the pump
+seems as ancient as the dial.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia.]
+
+In this book are three other sun-dials associated with George
+Washington. At Mount Vernon there stands at the front of the entrance
+door a modern sun-dial. The fine old metal dial-face, about ten inches
+in diameter, which in Washington's day was placed on the same site, is
+now the property of Mr. William F. Havemeyer, Jr., of New York. It was
+given to him by Mr. Custis; a picture of it is shown on page 368. This
+dial-face is a splendid relic; one closely associated with Washington's
+everyday life, and full of suggestion and sentiment to every thoughtful
+beholder. The sun-dial which stood in the old Fredericksburg garden of
+Mary Washington, the mother of George Washington, still stands in
+Fredericksburg, in the grounds of Mr. Doswell. A photograph of it is
+reproduced on page 369. The fourth historic dial is on page 371. It is
+the one at Kenmore, the home built by Fielding Lewis for his bride,
+Betty Washington, the sister of George Washington, on ground adjoining
+her mother's home. A part of the garden which connected these two
+Washington homes is shown on page 228. These three American sun-dials
+afford an interesting proof of the universal presence of sun-dials in
+Virginian homes of wealth, and they also show the kind of dial-face
+which was generally used. Another ancient dial (page 350) at Travellers'
+Rest, a near-by Virginian country seat, is similar in shape to these
+three, and differs but little in mounting.
+
+In Pennsylvania and Virginia sun-dials have lingered in use in front of
+court-houses, on churches, and in a few old garden dials. In New England
+I scarcely know an old garden dial still standing in its original place
+on its original pedestal. Four old ones of brass or pewter are shown in
+the illustration on page 379. These once stood in New England gardens or
+on the window sills of old houses; one was taken from a sunny window
+ledge to give to me.
+
+Perhaps the attention paid the doings of the American Philosophical
+Society, and the number of scientists living near Philadelphia, may
+account for the many sun-dials set up in the vicinity of the town.
+Godfrey, the maker of Godfrey's Quadrant, was one of those scientific
+investigators, and must have been a famous "dialler."
+
+[Illustration: Kenmore, the Home of Betty Washington Lewis.]
+
+On page 373 is shown an ancient sun-dial in the garden of Charles F.
+Jenkins, Esq., in Germantown, Pennsylvania. This sun-dial originally
+belonged to Nathan Spencer, who lived in Germantown prior to and during
+the Revolutionary War. Hepzibah Spencer, his daughter, married, and took
+the sun-dial to Byberry. Her daughter carried the sun-dial to Gwynedd
+when her name was changed to Jenkins; and their grandson, the present
+owner, rescued it from the chicken house with the gnomon missing, which
+was afterward found. Its inscription, "Time waits for No Man," is an old
+punning device on the word gnomon.
+
+At one time dialling was taught by many a country schoolmaster, and
+excellent and accurate sun-dials were made and set up by country
+workmen, usually masons of slight education. In Scotland the making of
+sun-dials has never died out. In America many pewter sun-dials were cast
+in moulds of steatite or other material. A few dial-makers still remain;
+one in lower New York makes very interesting-looking sun-dials of brass,
+which, properly discolored and stained, find a ready sale in uptown
+shops. I doubt if these are ever made for any special geographical
+point, but there is in a small Pennsylvania town an old Quaker who makes
+carefully calculated and accurate sun-dials, computed by logarithms for
+special places. I should like to see him "sit like a shepherd carving
+out dials, quaintly point by point." I have a very pretty circular brass
+dial of his making, about eight inches in diameter. He writes me that
+"the dial sent thee is a good students' dial, fit to set outside the
+window for a young man to use and study by in college," which would
+indicate to me that my Quaker dialler knows another type of collegian
+from those of my acquaintance, who would find the time set by a sun-dial
+rather slow.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial in Garden of Charles F. Jenkins, Esq.,
+Germantown, Pennsylvania.]
+
+There have been those who truly loved sun-dials. Sir William Temple
+ordered that after his death his heart should be buried under the
+sun-dial in his garden--where his heart had been in life. 'Tis not
+unusual to see a sun-dial over the gate to a burial ground, and a noble
+emblem it is in that place; one at Mount Auburn Cemetery, near Boston,
+bears a pleasing motto written originally by John G. Whittier for his
+friend, Dr. Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, and inscribed on a beautiful
+silver sun-dial now owned by Dr. Vincent Y. Bowditch of Boston,
+Massachusetts. A facsimile of this dial was also placed before the Manor
+House on the island of Naushon by Mr. John M. Forbes in memory of Dr.
+Bowditch. The lines run thus:--
+
+ WITH WARNING HAND I MARK TIME'S RAPID FLIGHT
+ FROM LIFE'S GLAD MORNING TO ITS SOLEMN NIGHT.
+ YET, THROUGH THE DEAR GOD'S LOVE I ALSO SHOW
+ THERE'S LIGHT ABOVE ME, BY THE SHADE BELOW.
+
+A sun-dial is to me, in many places, a far more inspiring memorial than
+a monument or tablet. Let me give as an example the fine sun-dial,
+designed by W. Gedney Beatty, Esq., and shown on page 359, which was
+erected on the grounds of the Memorial Hospital at Morristown, New
+Jersey, by the Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, to
+mark the spot where Washington partook of the Communion.
+
+What dignified and appropriate church appointments sun-dials are. A
+simple and impressive bronze vertical dial on the wall of the Dutch
+Reformed Church on West End Avenue, New York, is shown on page 346. The
+sun-dial standing before the rectory of Grace Church on Broadway, New
+York, is on page 364.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Ophir Farm, White Plains, New York,
+Country-seat of Hon. Whitelaw Reid.]
+
+There is ever much question as to a suitable pedestal for garden
+sun-dials: it must not stand so high that the dial-face cannot be looked
+down upon by grown persons; it must not be so light as to seem rickety,
+nor so heavy as to be clumsy. A very good rule is to err on the side of
+simplicity in sun-dials for ordinary gardens. What I regard as a very
+satisfactory pedestal and mounting in every particular may be seen in
+the illustration facing page 80, showing the sun-dial in the garden of
+Charles E. Mather, Esq., at Avonwood Court, Haverford, Pennsylvania.
+Sometimes the pillars of old balustrades, old fence posts, and even
+parts of old tombs and monuments, have been used as pedestals for
+sun-dials. How pleasantly Sylvana in her _Letters to an Unknown Friend_,
+tells us and shows to us her cheerful sun-dial mounted on the four
+corners of an old tombstone with this fine motto cut into the upper
+step, _Lux et umbra vicissim sed semper amor_. I mean to search the
+stone-cutters' waste heap this summer and see whether I cannot rob the
+grave to mark the hours of my life. Charles Dickens had at Gadshill a
+sun-dial set on one of the pillars of the balustrade of Old Rochester
+Bridge. From Italy and Greece marble pillars have been sent from ancient
+ruins to be set up as dial pedestals.
+
+If possible, the pedestal as well as the dial-face of a handsome
+sun-dial should have some significance through association, suggestion,
+or history. At Ophir Farm, White Plains, New York, the country-seat of
+Hon. Whitelaw Reid, may be seen a sun-dial full of exquisite
+significance. It is shown on page 375. The signs of the Zodiac in finely
+designed bronze are set on the symmetrical marble pedestal, and seem
+wonderfully harmonious and appropriate. This sun-dial is a literal
+exemplification of the words of Emerson:--
+
+ "A calendar
+ Exact to days, exact to hours,
+ Counted on the spacious dial
+ Yon broidered Zodiac girds."
+
+The dial-face is upheld by a carefully modelled tortoise in bronze,
+which is an equally suggestive emblem, connected with the tradition,
+folk-lore, and religious beliefs of both primitive and cultured peoples;
+it is specially full of meaning in this place. The whole sun-dial shows
+much thought and aesthetic perception in the designer and owner, and
+cannot fail to prove gratifying to all observers having either
+sensibility or judgment.
+
+Occasionally a very unusual and beautiful sun-dial standard may be seen,
+like the one in the Rose garden at Yaddo, Saratoga, New York, a copy of
+rarely beautiful Pompeian carvings. A representation of this is shown on
+page 86. Copies of simpler antique carvings make excellent sun-dial
+pedestals; a safe rule to follow is to have a reproduction made of some
+well-proportioned English or Scotch pedestal. The latter are well suited
+to small gardens. I have drawings of several Scotch sun-dials and
+pedestals which would be charming in American gardens. In the gardens at
+Hillside, by the side of the Shakespeare Border is a sun-dial (page 378)
+which is an exact reproduction of the one in the garden at Abbotsford,
+the home of Sir Walter Scott. This pedestal is suited to its
+surroundings, is well proportioned; and has historic interest. It forms
+an excellent example of Charles Lamb's "garden-altar."
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial at Hillside, Menand's, near Albany, New York.]
+
+On a lawn or in any suitable spot the dial-face can be mounted on a
+boulder; one is here shown. I prefer a pedestal. For gardens of limited
+size, much simplicity of design is more pleasing and more fitting than
+any elaborate carving. In an Italian garden, or in any formal garden
+whose work in stone or marble is costly and artistic, the sun-dial
+pedestal should be the climax in richness of carving of all the garden
+furnishing. I like the pedestal set on a little platform, so two or
+three steps may be taken up to it from the garden level; but after all,
+no rules can be given for the dial's setting. It may be planted with
+vines, or stand unornamented; it may be set low, and be looked down
+upon, or it may be raised high up on a side wall; but wherever it is, it
+must not be for a single minute in shadow; no trees or overhanging
+shrubs should be near it; it is a child of the sun, and lives only in
+the sun's full rays.
+
+[Illustration: Old Brass and Pewter Dial-faces.]
+
+In the lovely old garden at the home of Frederick J. Kingsbury, Esq., at
+Waterbury, Conn., is a sun-dial bearing the motto, "_Horas non numero
+nisi serenas_," and the dates 1739-1751,--the dates of the building of
+the old and new houses on land that has been in the immediate family
+since 1739. Around this dial is a crescent-shaped bed of Zinnias, and
+very satisfactory do they prove. This garden has fine Box edgings; one
+is shown on page 173, a Box walk, set in 1851 with ancient Box brought
+from the garden of Mr. Kingsbury's great-great-grandfather.
+
+The gnomon of a sun-dial is usually a simple plate of metal in the
+general shape of a right-angled triangle, cut often in some pierced
+design, and occasionally inscribed with a motto, name, or date.
+Sometimes the dial-maker placed on the gnomon various Masonic
+symbols--the compass, square, and triangle, or the coat of arms of the
+dial owner.
+
+One old English dial fitting we have never copied in America. It was the
+taste of the days of the Stuart kings, days of constant jesting and
+amusement and practical jokes. Concealed water jets were placed which
+wet the clothing of the unwary one who lingered to consult the
+dial-face.
+
+The significance of the sun-dial, as well as its classicism, was sure to
+be felt by artists. In the paintings of Holbein, of Albert Duerer, dials
+may be seen, not idly painted, but with symbolic meaning. The mystic
+import of a sun-dial is shown in full effect in that perfect picture,
+_Beata Beatrix_, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I have chosen to show here
+(facing page 380) the _Beata Beatrix_ owned by Charles L. Hutchinson,
+Esq., of Chicago, as being less photographed and known than the one of
+the British Gallery, from which it varies slightly and also because it
+has the beautiful predella. In this picture, in the words of its
+poet-painter:--
+
+ "Love's Hour stands.
+ Its eyes invisible
+ Watch till the dial's thin brown shade
+ Be born--yea, till the journeying line be laid
+ Upon the point."
+
+[Illustration: Beata Beatrix.]
+
+Andrew Marvell wrote two centuries ago of the floral sun-dials which
+were the height of the gardening mode of his day:--
+
+ "How well the skilful gardener drew
+ Of flowers and herbs this dial new.
+ When from above the milder sun
+ Does through a fragrant zodiac run;
+ And as it works the industrious bee
+ Computes its time as well as we!
+ How could such sweet and wholesome hours
+ Be reckoned but with herbs and flowers!"
+
+These were sometimes set of diverse flowers, sometimes of Mallows. Two
+of growing Box are described and displayed in the chapter on Box
+edgings.
+
+[Illustration: The Faithful Gardener.]
+
+Linnaeus made a list of forty-six flowers which constituted what he
+termed the Horologe or Watch of Flora, and he gave what he called their
+exact hours of rising and setting. He divided them into three classes:
+Meteoric, Tropical, and Equinoctial flowers. Among those which he named
+are:--
+
+ ===========================================================
+ | OPENING HOUR. | CLOSING HOUR.
+ -----------------------------------------------------------
+ Dandelion | 5-6 A.M. | 8-9 P.M.
+ Mouse-ear Hawkweed | 8 A.M. | 2 P.M.
+ Sow Thistle | 5 A.M. | 11-12 P.M.
+ Yellow Goat-beard | 3-5 A.M. | 9-10 (?)
+ White Water Lily | 7 A.M. | 7 P.M.
+ Day Lily | 5 A.M. | 7-8 P.M.
+ Convolvulus | 5-6 A.M. |
+ Mallow | 9-10 A.M. |
+ Pimpernel | 7-8 A.M. |
+ Portulaca | 9-10 A.M. |
+ Pink (_Dianthus prolifer_) | 8 A.M. | 1 P.M.
+ Succory | 4-5 A.M. |
+ Calendula | 7 A.M. | 3-4 P.M.
+ ===========================================================
+
+Of course these hours would vary in this country. And I must say very
+frankly that I think we should always be behind time if we trusted to
+Flora's Horologe. This floral clock of Linnaeus was calculated for
+Upsala, Sweden; De Candolle gave another for Paris, and one has been
+arranged for our Eastern states.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+GARDEN FURNISHINGS
+
+ "Furnished with whatever may make the place agreeable, melancholy,
+ and country-like."
+
+ --_Forest Trees_, JOHN EVELYN, 1670.
+
+
+Quaint old books of garden designers show us that much more was
+contained in a garden two centuries ago, than now; it had many more
+adjuncts, more furnishings; a very full list of them has been given by
+Batty Langley in his _New Principles of Gardening_, etc., 1728. Some
+seem amusing--as haystacks and woodpiles, which he terms "rural
+enrichments." Of water adornments there were to be purling streams,
+basins, canals, fountains, cascades, cold baths. There were to be
+aviaries, hare warrens, pheasant grounds, partridge grounds, dove-cotes,
+beehives, deer paddocks, sheep walks, cow pastures, and "manazeries"
+(menageries?); physic gardens, orchards, bowling-greens, hop gardens,
+orangeries, melon grounds, vineyards, parterres, fruit yards, nurseries,
+sun-dials, obelisks, statues, cabinets, etc., decorated the garden
+walks. There were to be land gradings of mounts, winding valleys, dales,
+terraces, slopes, borders, open plains, labyrinths, wildernesses,
+"serpentine meanders," "rude-coppices," precipices, amphitheatres. His
+"serpentine meanders" had large opening spaces at proper distances, in
+one of which might be placed a small fruit garden, a "cone of
+evergreens," or a "Paradice-Stocks,"--about which latter mysterious
+garden adornment I think we must be content to remain in ignorance,
+since he certainly has given us ample variety to choose from without it.
+
+Other "landscapists" placed in their gardens old ruins, misshapen rocks,
+and even dead trees, in order to look "natural."
+
+In 1608 Henry Ballard brought out _The Gardener's Labyrinth_--a pretty
+good book, shut away from the most of us by being printed in black
+letter. He says:--
+
+ "The framing of sundry herbs delectable, with waies and allies
+ artfully devised is an upright herbar."
+
+Herbars, or arbors, were of two kinds: an upright arbor, which was
+merely a covered lean-to attached to a fence or wall; and a winding or
+"arch-arbor" standing alone. He names "archherbs," which are simply
+climbing vines to set "winding in arch-manner on withie poles." "Walker
+and sitters there-under" are thereby comfortably protected from the heat
+of the sun. These upright arbors were in high favor; Ballard says they
+offered "fragrant savours, delectable sights, and sharpening of the
+memory."
+
+[Illustration: A Garden Lyre at Waterford, Virginia.]
+
+Tree arbors were in use in Elizabethan times, platforms built in the
+branches of large trees. Parkinson called one that would hold fifty men,
+"the goodliest spectacle that ever his eyes beheld." A distinction was
+made between arbors and bowers. The arbor might be round or square, and
+was domed over the top; while the long arched way was a bower. In our
+Southern states that special use of the word bower is still universal,
+especially in the term Rose bowers. A quaint and universal furnishing of
+old Southern gardens were the trellises known as garden lyres. Two are
+shown in this chapter, from Waterford, Virginia; one bearing little
+foliage and another embowered in vines, in order to show what a really
+good vine support they were. Garden lyres and Rose bowers are rotting on
+the ground in old Virginia gardens, and I fear they will never be
+replaced.
+
+The word pergola was seldom heard here a century ago, save as used by
+the few who had travelled in Italy; but pergolas were to be found in
+many an old American garden. An ancient oval pergola still stands at
+Arlington, that beautiful spot which was once the home of the Virginia
+Lees, and is now the home of the honored dead of our Civil War. This old
+pergola has remained unharmed through fierce conflict, and is wreathed
+each spring with the verdure of vines of many kinds. It is twenty feet
+wide between the pillars, and forms an oval one hundred feet long and
+seventy wide, and when in full greenery is a lovely thing. It was
+called--indeed it is still termed in the South--a "green gallery," a
+word and thing of mediaeval days.
+
+[Illustration: A Virginia Lyre with Vines.]
+
+There are many pretty trellises and vine supports and arbors which can
+be made of light poles and rails, but I do not like to hear the
+pretentious name, pergola, applied to them. A pergola must not be a
+mean, light-built affair. It should be of good proportions and
+substantial materials. It need not be made with brick or marble pillars;
+natural tree trunks of good size serve as well. It should look as if it
+had been built with care and stability, and that the vines had been
+planted and trained by skilled gardeners. A pergola may have a
+dilapidated Present and be endurable; but it should show evidences of a
+substantial Past.
+
+Little sisters of the pergola are the _charmilles_, or bosquets, arches
+of growing trees, whose interlaced boughs have no supports of wood as
+have the pergolas. When these arches are carefully trained and pruned,
+and the ground underneath is laid with turf or gravel, they form a
+delightful shady walk.
+
+Charming covered ways can be easily made by polling and training Plum or
+Willow trees. Arches are far too rare in American gardens. The few we
+have are generally old ones. In Mrs. Pierson's garden in Salem the
+splendid arch of Buckthorn is a hundred and twenty five years old.
+Similar ones are at Indian Hill. Cedar was an old choice for hedges and
+arches. It easily winter-kills at the base, and that is ample reason for
+its rejection and disuse.
+
+The many garden seats of the old English garden were perhaps its chief
+feature in distinction from American garden furnishings to-day. In a
+letter written from Kenilworth in 1575 the writer told of garden seats
+where he sat in the heat of summer, "feeling the pleasant whisking
+wynde." I have walked through many a large modern garden in the summer
+heat, and longed in vain for a shaded seat from which to regard for a
+few moments the garden treasures and feel the whisking wind, and would
+gladly have made use of the temporary presence of a wheelbarrow.
+
+[Illustration: Old Iron Gate at Westover-on-James.]
+
+Seats of marble and stone are in many of our modern formal gardens; a
+pretty one is in the garden at Avonwood Court.
+
+Grottoes, arbors, and summer-houses were all of importance in those
+days, when in our latitude and climate men had not thought to build
+piazzas surrounding the house and shadowing all the ground floor rooms.
+We are beginning to think anew of the value of sunlight in the parlors
+and dining rooms of our summer homes, which for the past thirty or forty
+years have been so darkened by our wide piazzas. Now we have fewer
+piazzas and more peristyles, and soon we shall have summer-houses and
+garden houses also.
+
+There are preserved in the South, in spite of war and earthquake, a
+number of fine examples of old wrought-iron garden gates. King William
+of England introduced these artistic gates into England, and they were
+the height of garden fashion. Among them were the beautiful gates still
+at Hampton Court, and those of Bulwich, Northamptonshire. They were
+called _clair-voyees_ on account of the uninterrupted view they
+permitted to those without and within the walls. These were often
+painted blue; but in America they were more sober of tint, though
+portions were gilded. One of the old gates at Westover-on-James is here
+shown, and on page 390 the rich wrought-iron work in the courtyard at
+the home of Colonel Colt in Bristol, Rhode Island. This is as fine as
+the house, and that is a splendid example of the best work of the first
+years of the nineteenth century.
+
+Fountains were seen usually in handsome gardens in the South; simple
+water jets falling in a handsome basin of marble or stone. Statuary of
+marble or lead was never common in old American gardens, though
+pretentious gardens had examples. To-day, in our carefully thought-out
+gardens, the garden statuary is a thing of beauty and often of meaning,
+as the figure shown on page 84. Usually our statues are of marble,
+sometimes a Japanese bronze is seen.
+
+[Illustration: Iron-work in Court of Colt Mansion, Bristol, Rhode
+Island.]
+
+In the old black letter _Gardener's Labyrinth_, a very full description
+is given of old modes of watering a garden. There was a primitive and
+very limited system of irrigation, the water being raised by
+"well-swipes"; there were very handy puncheons, or tubs on wheels, which
+could be trundled down the garden walk. There was also a formidable
+"Great Squirt of Tin," which was said to take "mighty strength" to
+handle, and which looked like a small cannon; with it was an ingenious
+bent tube of tin by which the water could be thrown in "great droppes"
+like a fountain. The author says of ordinary means of garden watering:--
+
+ "The common Watring Pot with us hath a narrow Neck, a Big Belly,
+ Somewhat large Bottome, and full of little holes with a proper hole
+ forced in the head to take in the water; which filled full and the
+ Thumbe laid on the hole to keep in the aire may in such wise be
+ carried in handsome Manner."
+
+Garden tools have changed but little since Tudor days; spade and rake
+were like ours to-day, so were dibble and mattock. Even grafting and
+pruning tools, shown in books of husbandry, were surprisingly like our
+own. Scythes were much heavier and clumsier. An old fellow is here shown
+sharpening in the ancient manner a scythe about three hundred years old.
+
+The art of grafting, known since early days, formed an important part of
+the gardener's craft. Large share of ancient garden treatises is devoted
+to minute instructions therein. To this day in New England towns a good
+grafter is a local autocrat.
+
+[Illustration: Summer-house at Ravensworth.]
+
+Beehives were once found in every garden; bee-skepes they were called
+when made of straw. Picturesque and homely were the old straw beehives,
+and still are they used in England; the old one shown in the chapter on
+sun-dials can scarcely be mated in America. They served as a
+conventional emblem of industry. They were made of welts or ropes of
+twisted straw, as were the heavy winnowing skepes once used for
+winnowing grain. In Maine, in a few out-of-the-way communities, ancient
+men still winnow grain with these skepes. I saw a man last autumn, a
+giant in stature, standing in a dull light on the crown of a hill
+winnowing wheat in one of these great skepes with an indescribably
+free and noble gesture. He was a classic, a relic of Homer's age, no
+longer a farmer, but a husbandman. Bees and honey were of much value in
+ancient days. Honey was the chief ingredient in many wholesome and
+pleasing drinks--mead, metheglin, bragget (or braket), morat,
+erboule--all very delightful in their ingredients, redolent of meadows
+and hedge-rows; thus Cowslip mead was made of Cowslip "pips," honey,
+Lemon juice, and "a handful of Sweetbrier." "Athol porridge," demure of
+name, was as potent as pleasing--potent as good honey, good cream, and
+good whiskey could make it.
+
+[Illustration: Sharpening the Old Dutch Scythe.]
+
+Rows of typical Southern beehives are shown in the two succeeding
+illustrations. From their home by the side of a White Rose and under an
+old Sweet Apple tree these Waterford bees did not wish to swarm out in a
+hurry to find a new home. These beehives are not very ancient in shape,
+but when I see a row of them set thus under the trees, or in a
+hive-shelter, they seem to tell of olden days. The very bees flying in
+and out seem steady-going, respectable old fellows. Such hives have a
+cosy look, with rows of Hollyhocks behind them, and hundreds of spires
+of Larkspur for these old bees to bury their heads in.
+
+[Illustration: Beehives at Waterford, Virginia.]
+
+The sadly picturesque old superstition of "telling the bees" of a death
+in a family and hanging a bit of black cloth on the hives as a
+mourning-weed still is observed in some country communities. Whittier's
+poem on the subject is wonderfully "countrified" in atmosphere, using
+the word chore-girl, so seldom heard even in familiar speech to-day and
+never found in verse elsewhere than in this rustic poem. I saw one
+summer in Narragansett, on Stony Lane, not far from the old
+Six-Principle Church, a row of beehives hung with strips of black cloth;
+the house mistress was dead--the friend of bird and beast and bee--who
+had reared the guardian of the garden told of on page 396 _et seq._
+
+[Illustration: Beehives under the Trees.]
+
+A pretty and appropriate garden furnishing was the dove-cote. The
+possession of a dove-cote in England, and the rearing of pigeons, was
+free only to lords of the manor and noblemen. When the colonists came to
+America, many of them had never been permitted to keep pigeons. In
+Scotland persistent attempts at pigeon-raising by folks of humble
+station might be punished with death. The settlers must have revelled in
+the freedom of the new land, as well as in the plenty of pigeons, both
+wild and domestic. In old England the dove-cote was often built close to
+the kitchen door, that squab and pigeon might be near the hand of the
+cook. Dove-cotes in America were often simple boxes or houses raised on
+stout posts. Occasionally might be seen a fine brick dove-cote like the
+one still standing at Shirley-on-the-James, in Virginia, which is shaped
+without and within like several famous old dove-cotes in England, among
+them the one at Athelhampton Hall, Dorchester, England. The English
+dove-cote has within a revolving ladder hung from a central post while
+the Virginian squab catcher uses an ordinary ladder. The shelves for the
+birds to rest upon and the square recesses for the nests made by the
+ingenious placing of the bricks are alike in both cotes.
+
+[Illustration: Spring House at Johnson Homestead, Germantown,
+Pennsylvania.]
+
+A beautiful and fitting tenant of old formal gardens was the peacock,
+"with his aungelis federys bryghte." On large English estates peacocks
+were universally kept. A fine peacock, with full-spread tail, makes many
+a gay flower bed pale before his panoply of iridescence and color. The
+peahen is a demurely pretty creature. Peacocks are not altogether
+grateful to garden owners; on the old Narragansett farm whose garden is
+shown on page 35, they were always kept, and it was one of the prides
+and pleasures of formal hospitality to offer a roasted peacock to
+visitors. But, save when roasted, the vain creatures would not keep
+silence, and when they squawked the glory of their plumage was
+forgotten. They had an odious habit, too, of wandering off to distant
+groves on the farm, usually selecting the nights of bitterest cold, and
+roosting in some very high tree, in some very inaccessible spot. They
+could not be left in this ill-considered sleeping-place, else they would
+all freeze to death; and words fail to tell the labor in lowering
+twilight and temperature of discovering their retreat, the dislodging,
+capturing, and imprisoning them.
+
+[Illustration: Dove-cote at Shirley-on-James.]
+
+In Narragansett there is a charming old farm garden, which I often visit
+to note and admire its old-time blossoms. This garden has a guardian,
+who haunts the garden walks as did the terrace peacock of old England;
+no watch-dog ever was so faithful, and none half so acute. When I visit
+the garden I always ask "Where is Job?" I am answered that he is in the
+field with the cattle. Sometimes this is true, but at other times Job
+has left the field and is attending to his assumed duties. As he is not
+encouraged, he has learned great slyness and dissimulation. Immovable,
+and in silence, Job is concealed behind a Syringa hedge or in a Lilac
+ambush, and as you stroll peacefully and unwittingly down the paths,
+sniffing the honeyed sweetness of the dense edging of Sweet Alyssum, all
+is as balmy as the blossoms. But stoop for an instant, to gather some
+leaves of Sweet Basil or Sweet Brier, or to collect a dozen seed-pods of
+that specially delicate Sweet Pea, and lo! the enemy is upon you,
+like a fierce whirlwind. He looks mild and demure enough in his kitchen
+yard retreat, whereto, upon piercing outcry for help, the farmer and his
+two sons have haled him, and where the camera has caught him. But far
+from meek is his aspect when you are dodging him around the great Tree
+Peony, or flying frantically before him down the side path to the garden
+gate. This fierce wild beast was once that mildest of creatures--a pet
+lamb; the constant companion of the farm-wife, as she weeded and watered
+her loved garden. Her husband says, "He seems to think folks are
+stealing her flowers, if they stop to look." The wife and mother of
+these three great men has gone from her garden forever; but a tenderness
+for all that she loved makes them not only care for her flowers, but
+keeps this rampant guardian of the garden at the kitchen door, just as
+she kept him when he was a little lamb. I knew this New England farmer's
+wife, a noble woman, of infinite tenderness, strength, and endurance; a
+lover of trees and flowers and all living things, and I marvel not that
+they keep her memory green.
+
+[Illustration: The Peacock in His Pride.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+GARDEN BOUNDARIES
+
+ "A garden fair ... with Wandis long and small
+ Railed about, and so with trees set
+ Was all the place; and Hawthorne hedges knet,
+ That lyf was none walking there forbye
+ That might within scarce any wight espy."
+
+ --_Kings Qubair_, KING JAMES I OF SCOTLAND.
+
+
+One who reads what I have written in these pages of a garden enclosed,
+will scarcely doubt that to me every garden must have boundaries,
+definite and high. Three old farm boundaries were of necessity garden
+boundaries in early days--our stone walls, rail fences, and hedge-rows.
+The first two seem typically American; the third is an English hedge
+fashion. Throughout New England the great boulders were blasted to clear
+the rocky fields; and these, with the smaller loose stones, were
+gathered into vast stone walls. We still see these walls around fields
+and as the boundaries of kitchen gardens and farm flower gardens, and
+delightful walls they are, resourceful of beauty to the inventive
+gardener. I know one lovely garden in old Narragansett, on a farm which
+is now the country-seat of folk of great wealth, where the old stone
+walls are the pride of the place; and the carefully kept garden seems
+set in a beautiful frame of soft gray stones and flowering vines. These
+walls would be more beautiful still if our climate would let us have the
+wall gardens of old England, but everything here becomes too dry in
+summer for wall gardens to flourish.
+
+[Illustration: The Guardian of the Garden.]
+
+Rhode Island farmers for two centuries have cleared and sheltered the
+scanty soil of their state by blasting the ledges, and gathering the
+great stones of ledge and field into splendid stone walls. Their beauty
+is a gift to the farmer's descendants in reward for his hours of bitter
+and wearying toil. One of these fine stone walls, six feet in height,
+has stood secure and unbroken through a century of upheavals of winter
+frosts--which it was too broad and firmly built to heed. It stretches
+from the Post Road in old Narragansett, through field and meadow, and by
+the side of the oak grove, to the very edge of the bay. To the waterside
+one afternoon in June there strolled, a few years ago, a beautiful young
+girl and a somewhat conscious but determined young man. They seated
+themselves on the stone wall under the flickering shadow of a great
+Locust tree, then in full bloom. The air was sweet with the honeyed
+fragrance of the lovely pendent clusters of bloom, and bird and bee and
+butterfly hovered around,--it was paradise. The beauty and fitness of
+the scene so stimulated the young man's fancy to thoughts and words of
+love that he soon burst forth to his companion in an impassioned avowal
+of his desire to make her his wife. He had often pictured to himself
+that some time he would say to her these words, and he had seen also in
+his hopes the looks of tender affection with which she would reply. What
+was his amazement to behold that, instead of blushes and tender glances,
+his words of love were met by an apparently frenzied stare of horror and
+disgust, that seemed to pierce through him, as his beloved one sprung at
+one bound from her seat by his side on the high stone wall, and ran away
+at full speed, screaming out, "Oh, kill him! kill him!"
+
+Now that was certainly more than disconcerting to the warmest of lovers,
+and with a half-formed dread that the suddenness of his proposal of love
+had turned her brain, he ran after her, albeit somewhat coolly, and soon
+learned the reason for her extraordinary behavior. Emulous of the
+tempting serpent of old, a great black snake, Mr. _Bascanion
+constrictor_, had said complaisantly to himself: "Now here are a fair
+young Adam and Eve who have entered uninvited my Garden of Eden, and the
+man fancies it is not good for him to be alone, but I will have a word
+to say about that. I will come to her with honied words." So he thrust
+himself up between the stones of the wall, and advanced persuasively
+upon them, behind the man's back. But a Yankee Eve of the year 1890 A.D.
+is not that simple creature, the Eve of the year ---- B.C.; and even the
+Father of Evil would have to be great of guile to succeed in his wiles
+with her.
+
+A farm servant was promptly despatched to watch for the ill-mannered and
+intrusive snake who--as is the fashion of a snake--had grown to be as
+big as a boa-constrictor after he vanished; and at the end of the week
+once more the heel of man had bruised the serpent's head, and the third
+party in this love episode lay dead in his six feet of ugliness, a
+silent witness to the truth of the story.
+
+Throughout Narragansett, Locust trees have a fashion of fringing the
+stone walls with close young growth, and shading them with occasional
+taller trees.
+
+[Illustration: Terrace Wall at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+These form an ideal garden boundary. The stone walls also gather a
+beautiful growth of Clematis, Brier, wild Peas, and Grapes; but they
+form a clinging-place for that devil's brood, Poison Ivy, which is so
+persistent in growth and so difficult to exterminate.
+
+The old worm fence was distinctly American; it had a zigzag series of
+chestnut rails, with stakes of twisted cedar saplings which were
+sometimes "chunked" by moss-covered boulders just peeping from the
+earth. This worm fence secured to the nature lover and to wild life a
+strip of land eight or ten feet wide, whereon plant, bird, beast,
+reptile, and insect flourished and reproduced. It has been, within a few
+years, a gardening fashion to preserve these old "Virginia" fences on
+country places of considerable elegance. Planted with Clematis,
+Honeysuckle, Trumpet vine, Wistaria, and the free-growing new Japanese
+Roses, they are wonderfully effective.
+
+[Illustration: Rail Fence Corner.]
+
+On Long Island, east of Riverhead, where there are few stones to form
+stone walls, are curious and picturesque hedge-rows, which are a most
+interesting and characteristic feature of the landscape, and they are
+beautiful also, as I have seen them once or twice, at the end of an old
+garden. These hedge-rows were thus formed: when a field was cleared, a
+row of young saplings of varied growth, chiefly Oak, Elder, and Ash, was
+left to form the hedge. These young trees were cut and bent over
+parallel to the ground, and sometimes interlaced together with dry
+branches and vines. Each year these trees were lopped, and new sprouts
+and branches permitted to grow only in the line of the hedge. Soon a
+tangle of briers and wild vines overgrew and netted them all into a
+close, impenetrable, luxuriant mass. They were, to use Wordsworth's
+phrase, "scarcely hedge-rows, but lines of sportive woods run wild." In
+this close green wall birds build their nests, and in their shelter
+burrow wild hares, and there open Violets and other firstlings of the
+spring. The twisted tree trunks in these old hedges are sometimes three
+or four feet in diameter one way, and but a foot or more the other; they
+were a shiftless field-border, as they took up so much land, but they
+were sheep-proof. The custom of making a dividing line by a row of bent
+and polled trees still remains, even where the close, tangled hedge-row
+has disappeared with the flocks of sheep.
+
+[Illustration: Topiary Work at Levens Hall.]
+
+These hedge-rows were an English fashion seen in Hertfordshire and
+Suffolk. On commons and reclaimed land they took the place of the
+quickset hedges seen around richer farm lands. The bending and
+interlacing was called plashing; the polling, shrouding. English farmers
+and gardeners paid infinite attention to their hedges, both as a
+protection to their fields and as a means of firewood.
+
+There is something very pleasant in the thought that these English
+gentlemen who settled eastern Long Island, the Gardiners, Sylvesters,
+Coxes, and others, retained on their farm lands in the new world the
+customs of their English homes, pleasanter still to know that their
+descendants for centuries kept up these homely farm fashions. The old
+hedge-rows on Long Island are an historical record, a landmark--long may
+they linger. On some of the finest estates on the island they have been
+carefully preserved, to form the lower boundary of a garden, where,
+laid out with a shaded, grassy walk dividing it from the flower beds,
+they form the loveliest of garden limits. Planted skilfully with great
+Art to look like great Nature, with edging of Elder and Wild Rose, with
+native vines and an occasional congenial garden ally, they are truly
+unique.
+
+[Illustration: Oval Pergola at Arlington.]
+
+Yew was used for the most famous English hedges; and as neither Yew nor
+Holly thrive here--though both will grow--I fancy that is why we have
+ever had in comparison so few hedges, and have really no very ancient
+ones, though in old letters and account books we read of the planting of
+hedges on fine estates. George Washington tried it, so did Adams, and
+Jefferson, and Quincy. Osage Orange, Barberry, and Privet were in
+nurserymen's lists, but it has not been till within twenty or thirty
+years that Privet has become so popular. In Southern gardens, Cypress
+made close, good garden hedges; and Cedar hedges fifty or sixty years
+old are seen. Lilac hedges were unsatisfactory, save in isolated cases,
+as the one at Indian Hill. The Japan Quinces, and other of the Japanese
+shrubs, were tried in hedges in the mid-century, with doubtful success
+as hedges, though they form lovely rows of flowering shrubs. Snowballs
+and Snowberries, Flowering Currant, Altheas, and Locust, all have been
+used for hedge-planting, so we certainly have tried faithfully enough to
+have hedges in America. Locust hedges are most graceful, they cannot be
+clipped closely. I saw one lovely creation of Locust, set with an
+occasional Rose Acacia--and the Locust thus supported the brittle
+Acacia. If it were successful, it would be, when in bloom, a dream of
+beauty. Hemlock hedges are ever fine, as are hemlock trees everywhere,
+but will not bear too close clipping. Other evergreens, among them the
+varied Spruces, have been set in hedges, but have not proved
+satisfactory enough to be much used.
+
+[Illustration: French Homestead with old Stone Terrace, Kingston, Rhode
+Island.]
+
+Buckthorn was a century ago much used for hedges and arches. When Josiah
+Quincy, President of Harvard College, was in Congress in 1809, he
+obtained from an English gardener, in Georgetown, Buckthorn plants for
+hedges in his Massachusetts home, which hedges were an object of great
+beauty for many years.
+
+The traveller Kalm found Privet hedges in Pennsylvania in 1760. In
+Scotland Privet is called Primprint. Primet and Primprivet were other
+old names. Box was called Primpe. These were all derivative of prim,
+meaning precise. Our Privet hedges, new as they are, are of great beauty
+and satisfaction, and soon will rival the English Yew hedges.
+
+I have never yet seen the garden in which there was not some boundary or
+line which could be filled to advantage by a hedge. In garden great or
+garden small, the hedge should ever have a place. Often a featureless
+garden, blooming well, yet somehow unattractive, has been completely
+transformed by the planting of hedges. They seem, too, to give such an
+orderly aspect to the garden. In level countries hedges are specially
+valuable. I cannot understand why some denounce clipped hedges and trees
+as against nature. A clipped hedge is just as natural as the cut grass
+of a lawn, and is closely akin to it. Others think hedges "too set"; to
+me their finality is their charm.
+
+Hedges need to be well kept to be pleasing. Chaucer in his day in
+praising a "hegge" said that:--
+
+ "Every branche and leaf must grow by mesure
+ Pleine as a bord, of an height by and by."
+
+In England, hedge-clipping has ever been a gardening art.
+
+[Illustration: Italian Garden at Wellesley, Massachusetts.]
+
+In the old English garden the topiarist was an important functionary.
+Besides his clipping shears he had to have what old-time cooks called
+_judgment_ or _faculty_. In English gardens many specimens of topiary
+work still exist, maintained usually as relics of the past rather than
+as a modern notion of the beautiful. The old gardens at Levens Hall,
+page 404, contain some of the most remarkable examples.
+
+In a few old gardens in America, especially in Southern towns, traces of
+the topiary work of early years can be seen; these overgrown, uncertain
+shapes have a curious influence, and the sentiment awakened is
+beautifully described by Gabriele d' Annunzio:--
+
+ "We walked among evergreens, among ancient Box trees, Laurels,
+ Myrtles, whose wild old age had forgotten its early discipline. In
+ a few places here and there was some trace of the symmetrical
+ shapes carved once upon a time by the gardener's shears, and with a
+ melancholy not unlike his who searches on old tombstones for the
+ effigies of the forgotten dead, I noted carefully among the silent
+ plants those traces of humanity not altogether obliterated."
+
+The height of topiary art in America is reached in the lovely garden,
+often called the Italian garden, of Hollis H. Hunnewell, Esq., at
+Wellesley, Massachusetts. Vernon Lee tells in her charming essay on
+"Italian Gardens" of the beauty of gardens without flowers, and this
+garden of Mr. Hunnewell is an admirable example. Though the effect of
+the black and white of the pictured representations shown on these pages
+is perhaps somewhat sombre, there is nothing sad or sombre in the garden
+itself. The clear gleam of marble pavilions and balustrades, the formal
+rows of flower jars with their hundreds of Century plants, and the
+lovely light on the lovely lake, serve as a delightful contrast to the
+clear, clean lusty green of the clipped trees. This garden is a
+beautiful example of the art of the topiarist, not in its grotesque
+forms, but in the shapes liked by Lord Bacon, pyramids, columns, and
+"hedges in welts," carefully studied to be both stately and graceful. I
+first saw this garden thirty years ago; it was interesting then in its
+well thought-out plan, and in the perfection of every inch of its slow
+growth; but how much more beautiful now, when the garden's promise is
+fulfilled.
+
+[Illustration: Steps in Italian Garden at Wellesley, Massachusetts.]
+
+The editor of _Country Life_ says that the most notable attempt at
+modern topiary work in England is at Ascott, the seat of Mr. Leopold de
+Rothschild, but the examples there have not attained a growth at all
+approaching those at Wellesley. Mr. Hunnewell writes thus of his
+garden:--
+
+ "It was after a visit to Elvaston nearly fifty years ago that I
+ conceived the idea of making a collection of trees for topiary work
+ in imitation of what I had witnessed at that celebrated estate. As
+ suitable trees for that purpose could not be obtained at the
+ nurseries in this country, and as the English Yew is not reliable
+ in our New England climate, I was obliged to make the best
+ selection possible from such trees as had proved hardy here--the
+ Pines, Spruces, Hemlocks, Junipers, Arbor-vitae, Cedars, and
+ Japanese Retinosporas. The trees were all very small, and for the
+ first twenty years their growth was shortened twice annually,
+ causing them to take a close and compact habit, comparing favorably
+ in that respect with the Yew. Many of them are now more than forty
+ feet in height and sixty feet in circumference, the Hemlocks
+ especially proving highly successful."
+
+This beautiful example of art in nature is ever open to visitors, and
+the number of such visitors is very large. It is, however, but one of
+the many beauties of the great estate, with its fine garden of Roses,
+its pavilion of splendid Rhododendrons and Azaleas, its uncommon and
+very successful rock garden, and its magnificent plantation of rare
+trees. There are also many rows of fine hedges and arches in various
+portions of the grounds, hedges of clipped Cedar and Hemlock, many of
+them twenty feet high, which compare well in condition, symmetry, and
+extent with the finest English hedges on the finest English estates.
+
+[Illustration: Topiary Work in California.]
+
+Through the great number of formal gardens laid out within a few years
+in America, the topiary art has had a certain revival. In California,
+with the lavish foliage, it may be seen in considerable perfection,
+though of scant beauty, as here shown.
+
+[Illustration: Serpentine Brick Wall at University of Virginia,
+Charlottesville.]
+
+Happy is the garden surrounded by a brick wall or with terrace wall of
+brick. How well every color looks by the side of old brick; even
+scarlet, bright pink, and rose-pink flowers, which seem impossible, do
+very well when held to the wall by clear green leaves. Flowering vines
+are perfect when trained on old soft-red brick enclosing walls;
+white-flowered vines are specially lovely thereon, Clematis, white
+Roses, and the rarely beautiful white Wistaria. How lovely is my
+Virgin's-bower when growing on brick; how Hollyhocks stand up beside it.
+Brick posts, too, are good in a fence, and, better still, in a pergola.
+A portion of the fine terrace wall at Van Cortlandt Manor is shown
+facing page 286. This wall was put in about fifty years ago; ere that
+there had been a grass bank, which is ever a trial in a garden; for it
+is hard to mow the grass on such a bank, and it never looks neat; it
+should be planted with some vine.
+
+A very curious garden wall is the serpentine brick wall still standing
+at the University of Virginia, at Charlottesville. It is about seven
+feet high, and closes in the garden and green of the row of houses
+occupied by members of the faculty; originally it may have extended
+around the entire college grounds. I present a view from the street in
+order to show its contour distinctly; within the garden its outlines are
+obscured by vines and flowers. The first thought in the mind of the
+observer is that its reason for curving is that it could be built much
+more lightly, and hence more cheaply, than a straight wall; then it
+seems a possible idealization in brick of the old Virginia rail fence.
+But I do not look to domestic patterns and influences for its
+production; it is to me a good example of the old-time domination of
+French ideas which was so marked and so disquieting in America. In
+France, after the peace of 1762, the Marquis de Geradin was
+revolutionizing gardening. His own garden at Ermenonville and his
+description of it exercised important influence in England and America,
+as in France. Jefferson was the planner and architect of the University
+of Virginia; and it is stated that he built this serpentine wall.
+Whether he did or not, it is another example of French influences in
+architecture in the United States. This French school, above everything
+else, replaced straight lines with carefully curving and winding lines.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+A MOONLIGHT GARDEN
+
+ "How sweetly smells the Honeysuckle
+ In the hush'd night, as if the world were one
+ Of utter peace and love and gentleness."
+
+ --WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR
+
+
+Gardens fanciful of name, a Saint's Garden, a Friendship Garden, have
+been planted and cherished. I plant a garden like none other; not an
+everyday garden, nor indeed a garden of any day, but a garden for "brave
+moonshine," a garden of twilight opening and midnight bloom, a garden of
+nocturnal blossoms, a garden of white blossoms, and the sweetest garden
+in the world. It is a garden of my dreams, but I know where it lies, and
+it now is smiling back at this very harvest moon.
+
+The old house of Hon. Ben. Perley Poore--Indian Hill--at Newburyport,
+Massachusetts, has been for many years one of the loveliest of New
+England's homes. During his lifetime it had extraordinary charms, for on
+the noble hillside, where grew scattered in sunny fields and pastures
+every variety of native tree that would winter New England's snow and
+ice, there were vast herds of snow-white cows, and flocks of white
+sheep, and the splendid oxen were white. White pigeons circled in the
+air around ample dove-cotes, and the farmyard poultry were all white; an
+enthusiastic chronicler recounts also white peacocks on the wall, but
+these are also denied.
+
+On every side were old terraced walls covered with Roses and flowering
+vines, banked with shrubs, and standing in beds of old-time flowers
+running over with bloom; but behind the house, stretching up the lovely
+hillside, was The Garden, and when we entered it, lo! it was a White
+Garden with edgings of pure and seemly white Candytuft from the forcing
+beds, and flowers of Spring Snowflake and Star of Bethlehem and
+Jonquils; and there were white-flowered shrubs of spring, the earliest
+Spiraeas and Deutzias; the doubled-flowered Cherries and Almonds and old
+favorites, such as Peter's Wreath, all white and wonderfully expressive
+of a simplicity, a purity, a closeness to nature.
+
+I saw this lovely farmstead and radiant White Garden first in glowing
+sunlight, but far rarer must have been its charm in moonlight; though
+the white beasts (as English hinds call cattle) were sleeping in careful
+shelter; and the white dog, assured of their safety, was silent; and the
+white fowl were in coop and cote; and
+
+ "Only the white sheep were sometimes seen
+ To cross the strips of moon-blanch'd green."
+
+But the White Garden, ah! then the garden truly lived; it was like
+lightest snow wreaths bathed in silvery moonshine, with every radiant
+flower adoring the moon with wide-open eyes, and pouring forth incense
+at her altar. And it was peopled with shadowy forms shaped of pearly
+mists and dews; and white night moths bore messages for them from flower
+to flower--this garden then was the garden of my dreams.
+
+Thoreau complained to himself that he had not put duskiness enough into
+his words in his description of his evening walks. He longed to have the
+peculiar and classic severity of his sentences, the color of his style,
+tell his readers that his scene was laid at night without saying so in
+exact words. I, too, have not written as I wished, by moonlight; I can
+tell of moonlight in the garden, but I desire more; I want you to see
+and feel this moonlight garden, as did Emily Dickinson her garden by
+moonlight:--
+
+ "And still within the summer's night
+ A something so transporting bright
+ I clap my hands to see."
+
+But perhaps I can no more gather it into words than I can bottle up the
+moonlight itself.
+
+This lovely garden, varied in shape, and extending in many and diverse
+directions and corners, bears as its crown a magnificent double flower
+border over seven hundred feet long; with a broad straight path trimly
+edged with Box adown through its centre, and with a flower border twelve
+feet wide on either side. This was laid out and planted in 1833 by the
+parents of Major Poore, after extended travel in England, and doubtless
+under the influences of the beautiful English flower gardens they had
+seen. Its length was originally broken halfway up the hill and crowned
+at the top of the hill by some formal parterres of careful design, but
+these now are removed. There are graceful arches across the path, one of
+Honeysuckle on the crown of the hill, from which you look out perhaps
+into Paradise--for Indian Hill in June is a very close neighbor to
+Paradise; it is difficult to define the boundaries between the two, and
+to me it would be hard to choose between them.
+
+Standing in this arch on this fair hill, you can look down the long
+flower borders of color and perfume to the old house, lying in the heart
+of the trees and vines and flowers. To your left is the hill-sweep,
+bearing the splendid grove, an arboretum of great native trees, planted
+by Major Poore, and for which he received the prize awarded by his
+native state to the finest plantation of trees within its bounds. Turn
+from the house and garden, and look through this frame of vines formed
+by the arch upon this scene,--the loveliest to me of any on earth,--a
+fair New England summer landscape. Fields of rich corn and grain, broken
+at times with the gray granite boulders which show what centuries of
+grand and sturdy toil were given to make these fertile fields; ample
+orchards full of promise of fruit; placid lakes and mill-dams and narrow
+silvery rivers, with low-lying red brick mills embowered in trees; dark
+forests of sombre Pine and Cedar and Oak; narrow lanes and broad
+highways shaded with the livelier green of Elm and Maple and Birch;
+gray farm-houses with vast barns; little towns of thrifty white houses
+clustered around slender church-spires which, set thickly over this
+sunny land, point everywhere to heaven, and tell, as if speaking, the
+story of New England's past, of her foundation on love of God, just as
+the fields and orchards and highways speak of thrift and honesty and
+hard labor; and the houses, such as this of Indian Hill, of kindly
+neighborliness and substantial comfort; and as this old garden speaks of
+a love of the beautiful, a refinement, an aesthetic and tender side of
+New England character which _we_ know, but into which--as Mr. Underwood
+says in _Quabbin_, that fine study of New England life--"strangers and
+Kiplings cannot enter."
+
+Seven hundred feet of double flower border, fourteen hundred feet of
+flower bed, twelve feet wide! "It do swallow no end of plants," says the
+gardener.
+
+[Illustration: Chestnut Path in Garden at Indian Hill.]
+
+In spite of the banishing dictum of many artists in regard to white
+flowers in a garden, the presence of ample variety of white flowers is
+to me the greatest factor in producing harmony and beauty both by night
+and day. White seems to be as important a foil in some cases as green.
+It may sometimes be given to the garden in other ways than through
+flower blossoms, by white marble statues, vases, pedestals, seats.
+
+We all like the approval of our own thoughts by men of genius; with my
+love of white flowers I had infinite gratification in these words of
+Walter Savage Landor's, written from Florence in regard to a friend's
+garden:--
+
+ "I like white flowers better than any others; they resemble fair
+ women. Lily, Tuberose, Orange, and the truly English Syringa are my
+ heart's delight. I do not mean to say that they supplant the Rose
+ and Violet in my affections, for these are our first loves, before
+ we grew _too fond of considering_; and too fond of displaying our
+ acquaintance with others of sounding titles."
+
+In Japan, where flowers have rank, white flowers are the aristocrats. I
+deem them the aristocrats in the gardens of the Occident also.
+
+Having been informed of Tennyson's dislike of white flowers, I have
+amused myself by trying to discover in his poems evidence of such
+aversion. I think one possibly might note an indifference to white
+blossoms; but strong color sense, his love of ample and rich color,
+would naturally make him name white infrequently. A pretty line in
+_Walking to the Mail_ tells of a girl with "a skin as clean and white as
+Privet when it flowers"; and there were White Lilies and Roses and
+milk-white Acacias in Maud's garden.
+
+In _The Last Tournament_ the street-ways are depicted as hung with white
+samite, and "children sat in white," and the dames and damsels were all
+"white-robed in honor of the stainless child." A "swarthy one" cried out
+at last:--
+
+ "The snowdrop only, flowering thro' the year,
+ Would make the world as blank as wintertide.
+ Come!--let us gladden their sad eyes
+ With all the kindlier colors of the field.
+ So dame and damsel glitter'd at the feast
+ Variously gay....
+ So dame and damsel cast the simple white,
+ And glowing in all colors, the live grass,
+ Rose-campion, King-cup, Bluebell, Poppy, glanced
+ About the revels."
+
+[Illustration: Foxgloves in Lower Garden at Indian Hill.]
+
+In the garden borders is a commonplace little plant, gray of foliage,
+with small, drooping, closed flowers of an indifferently dull tint, you
+would almost wonder at its presence among its gay garden fellows. Let us
+glance at it in the twilight, for it seems like the twilight, a soft,
+shaded gray; but the flowers have already lifted their heads and opened
+their petals, and they now seem like the twilight clouds of palest pink
+and lilac. It is the Night-scented Stock, and lavishly through the still
+night it pours forth its ineffable fragrance. A single plant, thirty
+feet from an open window, will waft its perfume into the room. This
+white Stock was a favorite flower of Marie Antoinette, under its French
+name the Julienne. "Night Violets," is its appropriate German name.
+Hesperis! the name shows its habit. Dame's Rocket is our title for this
+cheerful old favorite of May, which shines in such snowy beauty at
+night, and throws forth such a compelling fragrance. It is rarely found
+in our gardens, but I have seen it growing wild by the roadside in
+secluded spots; not in ample sheets of growth like Bouncing Bet, which
+we at first glance thought it was; it is a shyer stray, blossoming
+earlier than comely Betsey.
+
+The old-fashioned single, or slightly double, country Pink, known as
+Snow Pink or Star Pink, was often used as an edging for small borders,
+and its bluish green, almost gray, foliage was quaint in effect and
+beautiful in the moonlight. When seen at night, the reason for the
+folk-name is evident. Last summer, on a heavily clouded night in June,
+in a cottage garden at West Hampton, borders of this Snow Pink shone out
+of the darkness with a phosphorescent light, like hoar-frost, on every
+grassy leaf; while the hundreds of pale pink blossoms seemed softly
+shining stars. It was a curious effect, almost wintry, even in
+midsummer. The scent was wafted down the garden path, and along the
+country road, like a concentrated essence, rather than a fleeting breath
+of flowers. One of these cottage borders is shown on page 292, and I
+have named it from these lines from _The Garden that I Love_:--
+
+ "A running ribbon of perfumed snow
+ Which the sun is melting rapidly."
+
+At sundown the beautiful white Day Lily opens and gives forth all night
+an overwhelming sweetness; I have never seen night moths visiting it,
+though I know they must, since a few seed capsules always form. In the
+border stand--
+
+ "Clumps of sunny Phlox
+ That shine at dusk, and grow more deeply sweet."
+
+These, with white Petunias, are almost unbearably cloying in their heavy
+odor. It is a curious fact that some of these night-scented flowers are
+positively offensive in the daytime; try your _Nicotiana affinis_ next
+midday--it outpours honeyed sweetness at night, but you will be glad it
+withholds its perfume by day. The plants of Nicotiana were first
+introduced to England for their beauty, sweet scent, and medicinal
+qualities, not to furnish smoke. Parkinson in 1629 writes of Tobacco,
+"With us it is cherished for medicinal qualities as for the beauty of
+its flowers," and Gerarde, in 1633, after telling of the beauty, etc.,
+says that the dried leaves are "taken in a pipe, set on fire, the smoke
+suckt into the stomach, and thrust forth at the noshtrils."
+
+Snake-root, sometimes called Black Cohosh (_Cimicifuga racemosa_), is
+one of the most stately wild flowers, and a noble addition to the
+garden. A picture of a single plant gives little impression of its
+dignity of habit, its wonderfully decorative growth; but the succession
+of pure white spires, standing up several feet high at the edge of a
+swampy field, or in a garden, partake of that compelling charm which
+comes from tall trees of slender growth, from repetition and
+association, such as pine trees, rows of bayonets, the gathered masts of
+a harbor, from stalks of corn in a field, from rows of Foxglove--from
+all "serried ranks." I must not conceal the fact of its horrible odor,
+which might exile it from a small garden.
+
+[Illustration: Dame's Rocket.]
+
+Among my beloved white flowers, a favorite among those who are all
+favorites, is the white Columbine. Some are double, but the common
+single white Columbines picture far better the derivation of their
+name; they are like white doves, they seem almost an emblematic flower.
+William Morris says:--
+
+ "Be very shy of double flowers; choose the old Columbine where the
+ clustering doves are unmistakable and distinct, not the double one,
+ where they run into mere tatters. Don't be swindled out of that
+ wonder of beauty, a single Snowdrop; there is no gain and plenty of
+ loss in the double one."
+
+There are some extremists, such as Dr. Forbes Watson, who condemn all
+double flowers. One thing in the favor of double blooms is that their
+perfume is increased with their petals. Double Violets, Roses, and Pinks
+seem as natural now as single flowers of their kinds. I confess a
+distinct aversion to the thought of a double Lilac. I have never seen
+one, though the Ranoncule, said to be very fine, costs but forty cents a
+plant, and hence must be much grown.
+
+[Illustration: Snake-root.]
+
+There is a curious influence of flower-color which I can only explain by
+giving an example. We think of Iris, Gladiolus, Lupine, and even
+Foxglove and Poppy as flowers of a warm and vivid color; so where we see
+them a pure white, they have a distinct and compelling effect on us,
+pleasing, but a little eerie; not a surprise, for we have always known
+the white varieties, yet not exactly what we are wonted to. This has
+nothing of the grotesque, as is produced by the albino element in the
+animal world; it is simply a trifle mysterious. White Pansies and White
+Violets possess this quality to a marked degree. I always look and look
+again at growing White Violets. A friend says: "Do you think they will
+speak to you?" for I turn to them with such an expectancy of something.
+
+The "everlasting" white Pea is a most satisfactory plant by day or
+night. Hedges covered with it are a pure delight. Do not fear to plant
+it with liberal hand. Be very liberal, too, in your garden of white
+Foxgloves. Even if the garden be small, there is room for many graceful
+spires of the lovely bells to shine out everywhere, piercing up through
+green foliage and colored blooms of other plants. They are not only
+beautiful, but they are flowers of sentiment and association, endeared
+to childhood, visited of bees, among the best beloved of old-time
+favorites. They consort well with nearly every other flower, and
+certainly with every other color, and they seem to clarify many a
+crudely or dingily tinted flower; they are as admirable foils as they
+are principals in the garden scheme. In England, where they readily grow
+wild, they are often planted at the edge of a wood, or to form vistas in
+a copse. I doubt whether they would thrive here thus planted, but they
+are admirable when set in occasional groups to show in pure whiteness
+against a hedge. I say in occasional groups, for the Foxglove should
+never be planted in exact rows. The White Iris, the Iris of the
+Florentine Orris-root, is one of the noblest plants of the whole world;
+its pure petals are truly hyaline like snow-ice, like translucent white
+glass; and the indescribably beautiful drooping lines of the flowers are
+such a contrast with the defiant erectness of the fresh green leaves.
+Small wonder that it was a sacred flower of the Greeks. It was called
+by the French _la flambe blanche_, a beautiful poetic title--the White
+Torch of the Garden.
+
+A flower of mystery, of wonderment to children, was the Evening
+Primrose; I knew the garden variety only with intimacy. Possibly the
+wild flower had similar charms and was equally weird in the gloaming,
+but it grew by country roadsides, and I was never outside our garden
+limits after nightfall, so I know not its evening habits. We had in our
+garden a variety known as the California Evening Primrose--a giant
+flower as tall as our heads. My mother saw its pale yellow stars shining
+in the early evening in a cottage garden on Cape Ann, and was there
+given, out of the darkness, by a fellow flower lover, the seeds which
+have afforded to us every year since so much sentiment and pleasure. The
+most exquisite description of the Evening Primrose is given by Margaret
+Deland in her _Old Garden_:--
+
+ "There the primrose stands, that as the night
+ Begins to gather, and the dews to fall,
+ Flings wide to circling moths her twisted buds,
+ That shine like yellow moons with pale cold glow,
+ And all the air her heavy fragrance floods,
+ And gives largess to any winds that blow.
+ Here in warm darkness of a night in June, ... children came
+ To watch the primrose blow. Silently they stood
+ Hand clasped in hand, in breathless hush around,
+ And saw her slyly doff her soft green hood
+ And blossom--with a silken burst of sound."
+
+[Illustration: The Title-page of Parkinson's _Paradisi in Solis_,
+etc.]
+
+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 "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." I do not know that any
+other garden flower opens with a distinct sound. Owen Meredith's poem,
+_The Aloe_, 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 mourn not the Yucca when I see the _Anemone japonica_ or
+any other noble white garden child.
+
+[Illustration: Yucca, like White Marble against the Evergreens.]
+
+Here at the end of the garden walk is an arbor dark with the shadow of
+great leaves, such as Gerarde calls "leaves round and big like to a
+buckler." But out of that shadowed background of leaf on leaf shine
+hundreds of pure, pale stars of sweetness and light,--a true flower of
+the night in fragrance, beauty, and name,--the Moon-vine. It is a flower
+of sentiment, full of suggestion.
+
+Did you ever see a ghost in a garden? I do so wish I could. If I had the
+placing of ghosts, I would not make them mope round in stuffy old
+bedrooms and garrets; but would place one here in this arbor in my
+Moonlight Garden. But if I did, I have no doubt she would take up a hoe
+or a watering-pot, and proceed to do some very unghostlike
+deed--perhaps, grub up weeds. Longfellow had a ghost in his garden (page
+142). He must have mourned when he found it was only a clothes-line and
+a long night-gown.
+
+It was the favorite tale of a Swedish old lady who lived to be
+ninety-six years old, of a discovery of her youth, in the year 1762, of
+strange flashes of light which sparkled out of the flowers of the
+Nasturtium one sultry night. I suppose the average young woman of the
+average education of the day and her country might not have heeded or
+told of this, but she was the daughter of Linnaeus, the great botanist,
+and had not the everyday education.
+
+Then great Goethe saw and wrote of similar flashes of light around
+Oriental Poppies; and soon other folk saw them also--naturalists and
+everyday folk. Usually yellow flowers were found to display this
+light--Marigolds, orange Lilies, and Sunflowers. Then the daughter of
+Linnaeus reported another curious discovery; she certainly turned her
+nocturnal rambles in her garden to good account. She averred she had
+set fire to a certain gas which formed and hung around the Fraxinella,
+and that the ignition did not injure the plant. This assertion was met
+with open scoffing and disbelief, which has never wholly ceased; yet the
+popular name of Gas Plant indicates a widespread confidence in this
+quality of the Fraxinella and it is easily proved true.
+
+Another New England name for the Fraxinella, given me from the owner of
+the herb-garden at Elmhurst, is "Spitfire Plant," because the seed-pods
+sizzle so when a lighted match is applied to them.
+
+The Fraxinella is a sturdy, hardy flower. There are some aged plants in
+old New England gardens; I know one which has outlived the man who
+planted it, his son, grandson, and great-grandson. The Fraxinella bears
+a tall stem with Larkspur-like flowers of white or a curious dark pink,
+and shining Ash-like leaves, whence its name, the little Ash. It is one
+of the finest plants of the old-fashioned garden; fine in bloom, fine in
+habit of growth, and it even has decorative seed vessels. It is as ready
+of scent as anything in the garden; if you but brush against leaf, stem,
+flower, or seed, as you walk down the garden path, it gives forth a
+penetrating perfume, that you think at first is like Lemon, then like
+Anise, then like Lavender; until you finally decide it is like nothing
+save Fraxinella. As with the blossoms of the Calycanthus shrub, you can
+never mistake the perfume, when once you know it, for anything else. It
+is a scent of distinction. Through this individuality it is, therefore,
+full of associations, and correspondingly beloved.
+
+[Illustration: Fraxinella.]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+FLOWERS OF MYSTERY
+
+ "Let thy upsoaring vision range at large
+ This garden through: for so by ray divine
+ Kindled, thy ken a magic flight shall mount."
+
+ --CARY'S Translation of Dante.
+
+
+Bogies and fairies, a sense of eeriness, came to every garden-bred child
+of any imagination in connection with certain flowers. These flowers
+seemed to be regarded thus through no special rule or reason. With some
+there may have been slight associations with fairy lore, or medicinal
+usage, or a hint of meretriciousness. Sometimes the child hardly
+formulated his thought of the flower, yet the dread or dislike or
+curiosity existed. My own notions were absolutely baseless, and usually
+absurd. I doubt if we communicated these fancies to each other save in a
+few cases, as of the Monk's-hood, when we had been warned that the
+flower was poisonous.
+
+I have read with much interest Dr. Forbes Watson's account of plants
+that filled his childish mind with mysterious awe and wonder; among them
+were the Spurge, Henbane, Rue, Dogtooth Violet, Nigella, and pink Marsh
+Mallow. The latter has ever been to me one of the most cheerful of
+blossoms. I did not know it in my earliest childhood, and never saw it
+in gardens till recent years. It is too close a cousin of the Hollyhock
+ever to seem to me aught but a happy flower. Henbane and Rue I did not
+know, but I share his feeling toward the others, though I could not
+carry it to the extent of fancying these the plants which a young man
+gathered, distilled, and gave to his betrothed as a poison.
+
+There has ever been much uncanny suggestion in the Cypress Spurge. I
+never should have picked it had I found it in trim gardens; but I saw it
+only in forlorn and neglected spots. Perhaps its sombre tinge may come
+now from association, since it is often seen in country graveyards; and
+I heard a country woman once call it "Graveyard Ground Pine." But this
+association was not what influenced my childhood, for I never went then
+to graveyards.
+
+In driving along our New England roads I am ever reminded of Parkinson's
+dictum that "Spurge once planted will hardly be got rid out again." For
+by every decaying old house, in every deserted garden, and by the
+roadside where houses may have been, grows and spreads this Cypress
+Spurge. I know a large orchard in Narragansett from which grass has
+wholly vanished; it has been crowded out by the ugly little plant, which
+has even invaded the adjoining woods.
+
+I wonder why every one in colonial days planted it, for it is said to
+be poisonous in its contact to some folks, and virulently poisonous to
+eat--though I am sure no one ever wanted to eat it. The colonists even
+brought it over from England, when we had here such lovely native
+plants. It seldom flowers. Old New England names for it are
+Love-in-a-huddle and Seven Sisters; not over significant, but of
+interest, as folk-names always are.
+
+I join with Dr. Forbes Watson in finding the Nigella uncanny. It has a
+half-spidery look, that seems ungracious in a flower. Its names are
+curious: Love-in-a-mist, Love-in-a-puzzle, Love-in-a-tangle,
+Puzzle-love, Devil-in-a-bush, Katherine-flowers--another of the many
+allusions to St. Katherine and her wheel; and the persistent styles do
+resemble the spokes of a wheel. A name given it in a cottage garden in
+Wayland was Blue Spider-flower, which seems more suited than that of
+Spiderwort for the Tradescantia. Spiderwort, like all "three-cornered"
+flowers, is a flower of mystery; and so little cared for to-day that it
+is almost extinct in our gardens, save where it persists in
+out-of-the-way spots. A splendid clump of it is here shown, which grows
+still in the Worcester garden I so loved in my childhood. In this plant
+the old imagined tracings of spider's legs in the leaves can scarce be
+seen. With the fanciful notion of "like curing like" ever found in old
+medical recipes, Gerarde says, vaguely, the leaves are good for "the
+Bite of that Great Spider," a creature also of mystery.
+
+Perhaps if the clear blue flowers kept open throughout the day, the
+Spiderwort would be more tolerated, for this picture certainly has a
+Japanesque appearance, and what we must acknowledge was far more
+characteristic of old-time flowers than of many new ones, a wonderful
+individuality; there was no sameness of outline. I could draw the
+outline of a dozen blossoms of our modern gardens, and you could not in
+a careless glance distinguish one from the other: Cosmos, _Anemone
+japonica_, single Dahlias, and Sunflowers, Gaillardia, Gazanias, all
+such simple Rose forms.
+
+[Illustration: Love-in-a-mist.]
+
+There was a quaint and mysterious annual in ancient gardens, called
+Shell flower, or Molucca Balm, which is not found now even on seedsmen's
+special lists of old-fashioned plants. The flower was white,
+pink-tipped, and set in a cup-shaped calyx an inch long, which was
+bigger than the flower itself. The plant stood two or three feet high,
+and the sweet-scented flowers were in whorls of five or six on a stem.
+It is a good example of my assertion that the old flowers had queerer
+shapes than modern ones, and were made of queer materials; the calyx of
+this Shell flower is of such singular quality and fibre.
+
+The Dog-tooth Violet always had to me a sickly look, but its leaves give
+it its special offensiveness; all spotted leaves, or flower petals which
+showed the slightest resemblance to the markings of a snake or lizard,
+always filled me with dislike. Among them I included Lungwort
+(Pulmonaria), a flower which seems suddenly to have disappeared from
+many gardens, even old-fashioned ones, just as it has disappeared from
+medicine. Not a gardener could be found in our public parks in New York
+who had ever seen it, or knew it, though there is in Prospect Park a
+well-filled and noteworthy "Old-fashioned Garden." Let me add, in
+passing, that nothing in the entire park system--greenhouses, water
+gardens, Italian gardens--affords such delight to the public as this
+old-fashioned garden.
+
+The changing blue and pink flowers of the Lungwort, somewhat
+characteristic of its family, are curious also. This plant was also
+known by the singular name of Joseph-and-Mary; the pink flowers being
+the emblem of Joseph; the blue of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Lady's-tears
+was an allied name, from a legend that the Virgin Mary's tears fell on
+the leaves, causing the white spots to grow in them, and that one of
+her blue eyes became red from excessive weeping. It was held to be
+unlucky even to destroy the plant. Soldier-and-his-wife also had
+reference to the red and blue tints of the flower.
+
+A cousin of the Lungwort, our native _Mertensia virginica_, has in the
+young plant an equally singular leafage; every ordinary process of leaf
+progress is reversed: the young shoots are not a tender green, but are
+almost black, and change gradually in leaf, stem, and flower calyx to an
+odd light green in which the dark color lingers in veins and spots until
+the plant is in its full flower of tender blue, lilac, and pink. "Blue
+and pink ladies" we used to call the blossoms when we hung them on pins
+for a fairy dance.
+
+The Alstroemeria is another spotted flower of the old borders, curious
+in its funnel-shaped blooms, edged and lined with tiny brown and green
+spots. It is more grotesque than beautiful, but was beloved in a day
+that deemed the Tiger Lily the most beautiful of all lilies.
+
+[Illustration: Spiderwort.]
+
+The aversion I feel for spotted leaves does not extend to striped ones,
+though I care little for variegated or striped foliage in a garden. I
+like the striped white and green leaves of one variety of our garden
+Iris, and of our common Sweet Flag (Calamus), which are decorative to a
+most satisfactory degree. The firm ribbon leaves of the striped Sweet
+Flag never turn brown in the driest summer, and grow very tall; a tub of
+it kept well watered is a thing of surprising beauty, and the plants are
+very handsome in the rock garden. I wonder what the bees seek in the
+leaves! they throng its green and white blades in May, finding
+something, I am sure, besides the delightful scent; though I do not note
+that they pierce the veins of the plant for the sap, as I have known
+them to do along the large veins of certain palm leaves. I have seen
+bees often act as though they were sniffing a flower with appreciation,
+not gathering honey. The only endeared striped leaf was that of the
+Striped Grass--Gardener's Garters we called it. Clumps of it growing at
+Van Cortlandt Manor are here shown. We children used to run to the great
+plants of Striped Grass at the end of the garden as to a toy ribbon
+shop. The long blades of Grass looked like some antique gauze ribbons.
+They were very modish for dolls' wear, very useful to shape
+pin-a-sights, those very useful things, and very pretty to tie up
+posies. Under favorable circumstances this garden child might become a
+garden pest, a spreading weed. I never saw a more curious garden stray
+than an entire dooryard and farm garden--certainly two acres in extent,
+covered with Striped Grass, save where a few persistent Tiger Lilies
+pierced through the striped leaves. Even among the deserted hearthstones
+and tumble-down chimneys the striped leaves ran up among the roofless
+walls.
+
+Let me state here that the suggestion of mystery in a flower did not
+always make me dislike it; sometimes it added a charm. The
+Periwinkle--Ground Myrtle we used to call it--was one of the most
+mysterious and elusive flowers I knew, and other children thus regarded
+it; but I had a deep affection for its lovely blue stars and clean,
+glossy leaves, a special love, since it was the first flower I saw
+blooming out of doors after a severe illness, and it seemed to welcome
+me back to life.
+
+[Illustration: Gardener's Garters, at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+The name is from the French Pervenche, which suffers sadly by being
+changed into the clumsy Periwinkle. Everywhere it is a flower of
+mystery; it is the "Violette des Sorciers" of the French. Sadder is its
+Tuscan name, "Flower of death," for it is used there as garlands at the
+burial of children; and is often planted on graves, just as it is here.
+A far happier folk-name was Joy-of-the-ground, and to my mind better
+suited to the cheerful, healthy little plant.
+
+An ancient medical manuscript gives this description of the Periwinkle,
+which for directness and lucidity can scarcely be excelled:--
+
+ "Parwyke is an erbe grene of colour,
+ In tyme of May he bereth blue flour.
+ Ye lef is thicke, schinede and styf,
+ As is ye grene jwy lefe.
+ Vnder brod and uerhand round,
+ Men call it ye joy of grownde."
+
+On the list of the Boston seedsman (given on page 33 _et seq._) is
+Venus'-navelwort. I lingered this summer by an ancient front yard in
+Marblehead, and in the shade of the low-lying gray-shingled house I saw
+a refined plant with which I was wholly unacquainted, lying like a
+little dun cloud on the border, a pleasing plant with cinereous foliage,
+in color like the silvery gray of the house, shaded with a bluer tint
+and bearing a dainty milk-white bloom. This modest flower had that power
+of catching the attention in spite of the high and striking colors of
+its neighbors, such as a simple gown of gray and white, if of graceful
+cut and shape, will have among gay-colored silk attire--the charm of
+Quaker garb, even though its shape be ugly. You know how ready is the
+owner of such a garden to talk of her favorites, and soon I was told
+that this plant was "Navy-work." I accepted this name in this old
+maritime town as possibly a local folk-name, yet I was puzzled by a
+haunting memory of having heard some similar title. A later search in a
+botany revealed the original, Venus'-navelwort.
+
+I deem it right to state in this connection that any such corruption of
+the old name of a flower is very unusual in Massachusetts, where the
+English tongue is spoken by all of Massachusetts descent in much purity
+of pronunciation.
+
+There is no doubt that all the flowers of the old garden were far more
+suggestive, more full of meaning, than those given to us by modern
+florists. This does not come wholly from association, as many fancy, but
+from an inherent quality of the flower itself. I never saw Honeywort
+(Cerinthe) till five years ago, and then it was not in an old-fashioned
+garden; but the moment I beheld the graceful, drooping flowers in the
+flower bed, the yellow and purple-toothed corolla caught my eye, as it
+caught my fancy; it seemed to mean something. I was not surprised to
+learn that it was an ancient favorite of colonial days. The leaves of
+Honeywort are often lightly spotted, which may be one of its elements of
+mystery. Honeywort is seldom seen even in our oldest gardens; but it is
+a beautiful flower and a most hardy annual, and deserves to be
+reintroduced.
+
+[Illustration: Garden Walk at The Manse, Deerfield, Massachusetts.]
+
+A great favorite in the old garden was the splendid scarlet Lychnis, to
+which in New England is given the name of London Pride. There are two
+old varieties: one has four petals with squared ends, and is called,
+from the shape of the expanded flower, the Maltese Cross; the other,
+called Scarlet Lightning, is shown on a succeeding page; it has five
+deeply-nicked petals. It is a flower of midsummer eve and magic power,
+and I think it must have some connection with the Crusaders, being
+called by Gerarde Floure of Jerusalem, and Flower of Candy. The
+five-petalled form is rarely seen; in one old family I know it is so
+cherished, and deemed so magic a home-maker, that every bride who has
+gone from that home for over a hundred years has borne away a plant of
+that London Pride; it has really become a Family Pride.
+
+Another plant of mysterious suggestion was the common Plantain. This was
+not an unaided instinct of my childhood, but came to me through an
+explanation of the lines in the chapter, "The White Man's Foot," in
+_Hiawatha_:--
+
+ "Whereso'er they tread, beneath them
+ Springs a flower unknown among us;
+ Springs the White Man's Foot in blossom."
+
+After my father showed me the Plantain as the "White Man's Foot," I ever
+regarded it with a sense of its unusual power; and I used often to
+wonder, when I found it growing in the grass, who had stepped there. I
+have permanently associated with the Plantain or Waybred a curious and
+distasteful trick of my memory. We recall our American humorist's
+lament over the haunting lines from the car-conductor's orders, which
+filled his brain and ears from the moment he read them, wholly by
+chance, and which he tried vainly to forget. A similar obsession filled
+me when I read the spirited apostrophe to the Plantain or Waybred, in
+Cockayne's translation of AElfric's _Lacunga_, a book of leech-craft of
+the eleventh century:--
+
+ "And thou Waybroad,
+ Mother of worts,
+ Over thee carts creaked,
+ Over thee Queens rode,
+ Over thee brides bridalled,
+ Over thee bulls breathed,
+ All these thou withstoodst,
+ Venom and vile things,
+ And all the loathly things,
+ That through the land rove."
+
+I could not thrust them out of my mind; worse still, I kept
+manufacturing for the poem scores of lines of similar metre. I never
+shall forget the Plantain, it won't let me forget it.
+
+[Illustration: London Pride.]
+
+The Orpine was a flower linked with tradition and mystery in England,
+there were scores of fanciful notions connected with it. It has grown to
+be a spreading weed in some parts of New England, but it has lost both
+its mystery and its flowers. The only bed of flowering Orpine I ever saw
+in America was in the millyard of Miller Rose at Kettle Hole--and a
+really lovely expanse of bloom it was, broken only by old worn
+millstones which formed the doorsteps. He told with pride that his
+grandmother planted it, and "it was the flowering variety that no one
+else had in Rhode Island, not even in greenhouses in Newport." Miller
+Rose ground corn meal and flour with ancient millstones, and infinitely
+better were his grindings than "store meal." He could tell you, with
+prolonged detail, of the new-fangled roller he bought and used one week,
+and not a decent Johnny-cake could be made from the meal, and it shamed
+him. So he threw away all the meal he hadn't sold; and then the new
+machinery was pulled out and the millstones replaced, "to await the
+Lord's coming," he added, being a Second Adventist--or by his own title
+a "Christadelphian and an Old Bachelor." He was a famous preacher,
+having a pulpit built of heavy stones, in the woods near his mill. A
+little trying it was to hear the outpourings of his long sermons on
+summer afternoons, while you waited for him to come down from his pulpit
+and his prophesyings to give you your bag of meal. A tithing of time he
+gave each day to the Lord, two hours and a half of preaching--and
+doubtless far more than a tithe of his income to the poor. In
+sentimental association with his name, he had a few straggling Roses
+around his millyard--all old-time varieties; and, with Orpine and
+Sweetbrier, he could gather a very pretty posy for all who came to
+Kettle Hole.
+
+We constantly read of Fritillaries in the river fields sung of Matthew
+Arnold. In a charming book of English country life, _Idlehurst_, I read
+how closely the flower is still associated with Oxford life, recalling
+ever the Iffley and Kensington meadows to all Oxford men. The author
+tells that "quite unlikely sorts of men used to pick bunches of the
+flowers, and we would come up the towpath with our spoils." Fritillaries
+grew in my mother's garden; I cannot now recall another garden in
+America where I have ever seen them in bloom. They certainly are not
+common. On a succeeding page are shown the blossoms of the white
+Fritillary my mother planted and loved. Can you not believe that we love
+them still? They have spread but little, neither have they dwindled nor
+died. Each year they seem to us the very same blossoms she loved.
+
+Our cyclopaedias of gardening tell us that the Fritillaries spread
+freely; but E. V. B. writes of them in her exquisite English: "Slow in
+growth as the Fritillaries are, they are ever sure. When they once take
+root, there they stay forever, with a constancy unknown in our human
+world. They may be trusted, however late their coming. In the fresh
+vigor of its youth was there ever seen any other flower planned so
+exquisitely, fashioned so slenderly! The pink symmetry of Kalmia perhaps
+comes nearest this perfection, with the delicately curved and rounded
+angles of its bloom."
+
+In no garden, no matter how modern, could the Fritillaries ever look to
+me aught but antique and classic. They are as essentially of the past,
+even to the careless eye, as an antique lamp or brazier. Quaint, too, is
+the fabric of their coats, like some old silken stuff of paduasoy or
+sarsenet. All are checkered, as their name indicates. Even the white
+flowers bear little birthmarks of checkered lines. They were among the
+famous dancers in my mother's garden, and I can tell you that a country
+dance of Fritillaries in plaided kirtles and green caps is a lively
+sight. Another name for this queer little flower is Guinea-hen Flower.
+Gerarde, with his felicity of description, says:--
+
+ "One square is of a greenish-yellow colour, the other purple,
+ keeping the same order as well on the back side of the flower as on
+ the inside; although they are blackish in one square, and of a
+ violet colour in another: in so much that every leafe (of the
+ flower) seemeth to be the feather of a Ginnie hen, whereof it took
+ its name."
+
+A strong personal trait of the Fritillaries (for I may so speak of
+flowers I love) is their air of mystery. They mean something I cannot
+fathom; they look it, but cannot tell it. Fritillaries were a flower of
+significance even in Elizabethan days. They were made into little
+buttonhole posies, and, as Parkinson says, "worn abroad by curious
+lovers of these delights." In California grow wild a dozen varieties;
+the best known of these is recurved, but it does not droop, and is to
+all outward glance an Anemone, and has lost in that new world much the
+mystery of the old herbalist's "Checker Lily," save the checkers; these
+always are visible.
+
+[Illustration: White Fritillaria.]
+
+The Cyclamen and Dodecatheon lay their ears back like a vicious horse.
+Both have an eerie aspect, as if turned upside down, as has also the
+Nightshade. I knew a little child, a flower lover from babyhood, who
+feared to touch the Cyclamen, and even cried if any attempt was made to
+have her touch the flower. When older, she said that she had feared the
+flower would sting her.
+
+I have often a sense of mysterious meaning in a vine, it seems so
+plainly to reach out to attract your attention. I recall once being
+seated on the doorstep of a deserted farm-house, musing a little over
+the sad thought of this lost home, when suddenly some one tapped me on
+the cheek--I suppose I ought to say some thing, though it seemed a human
+touch. It was a spray of Matrimony vine, twenty feet long or more, that
+had reached around a corner, and helped by a breeze, had appealed to me
+for sympathy and companionship. I answered by following it around the
+corner. It had been trained up to a little shelf-like ledge or roof,
+over what had been a pantry window, and hung in long lines of heavy
+shade. It said to me: "Here once lived a flower-loving woman and a man
+who cared for her comfort and pleasure. She planted me when she, and the
+man, and the house were young, and he made the window shelter, and
+trained me over it, to make cool and green the window where she worked.
+I was the symbol of their happy married love. See! there they lie, under
+the gray stone beneath those cedars. Their children all are far away,
+but every year I grow fresh and green, though I find it lonely here
+now." To me, the Matrimony vine is ever a plant of interest, and it may
+be very beautiful, if cared for. On page 186 is shown the lovely growth
+on the porch at Van Cortlandt Manor.
+
+With a sentiment of wonder and inquiry, not unmixed with mystery, do we
+regard many flowers, which are described in our botanies as Garden
+Escapes. This Matrimony vine is one of the many creeping, climbing
+things that have wandered away from houses. Honeysuckles and
+Trumpet-vines are far travellers. I saw once in a remote and wild spot
+a great boulder surrounded with bushes and all were covered with the old
+Coral or Trumpet Honeysuckle; it had such a familiar air, and yet seemed
+to have gained a certain knowingness by its travels.
+
+This element of mystery does not extend to the flowers which I am told
+once were in trim gardens, but which I have never seen there, such as
+Ox-eye Daisies, Scotch Thistles, Chamomile, Tansy, Bergamot, Yarrow, and
+all of the Mint family; they are to me truly wild. But when I find
+flowers still cherished in our gardens, growing also in some wild spot,
+I regard them with wonder. A great expanse of Coreopsis, a field of
+Grape Hyacinth or Star of Bethlehem, roadsides of Coronilla or
+Moneywort, rows of red Day Lily and Tiger Lily, patches of Sunflowers or
+Jerusalem Artichokes, all are matters of thought; we long to trace their
+wanderings, to have them tell whence and how they came. Bouncing Bet is
+too cheerful and rollicking a wanderer to awaken sentiment. How gladly
+has she been welcomed to our fields and roadsides. I could not willingly
+spare her in our country drives, even to become again a cherished garden
+dweller. She rivals the Succory in beautifying arid dust heaps and
+barren railroad cuts, with her tender opalescent pink tints. How
+wholesome and hearty her growth, how pleasant her fragrance. We can
+never see her too often, nor ever stigmatize her, as have been so many
+of our garden escapes, as "Now a dreaded weed."
+
+[Illustration: Bouncing Bet.]
+
+One of the weirdest of all flowers to me is the Butter-and-eggs, the
+Toad-flax, which was once a garden child, but has run away from gardens
+to wander in every field in the land. I haven't the slightest reason for
+this regard of Butter-and-eggs, and I believe it is peculiar to myself,
+just as is Dr. Forbes Watson's regard of the Marshmallow to him. I have
+no uncanny or sad associations with it, and I never heard anything
+"queer" about it. Thirty years ago, in a locality I knew well in central
+Massachusetts, Butter-and-eggs was far from common; I even remember the
+first time I saw it and was told its quaint name; now it grows there and
+everywhere; it is a persistent weed. John Burroughs calls it "the
+hateful Toad-flax," and old Manasseh Cutler, in a curious mixture of
+compliment and slur, "a common, handsome, tedious weed." It travels
+above ground and below ground, and in some soils will run out the grass.
+It knows how to allure the bumblebee, however, and has honey in its
+heart. I think it a lovely flower, though it is queer; and it is a
+delight to the scientific botanist, in the delicate perfection of its
+methods and means of fertilization.
+
+The greatest beauty of this flower is in late autumn, when it springs up
+densely in shaven fields. I have seen, during the last week in October,
+fields entirely filled with its exquisite sulphur-yellow tint, one of
+the most delicate colors in nature; a yellow that is luminous at night,
+and is rivalled only by the pale yellow translucent leaves of the
+Moosewood in late autumn, which make such a strange pallid light in old
+forests in the North--a light which dominates over every other autumn
+tint, though the trees which bear them are so spindling and low, and
+little noted save in early spring in their rare pinkness, and in this
+their autumn etherealization. And the Moosewood shares the mystery of
+the Butter-and-eggs as well as its color. I should be afraid to drive or
+walk alone in a wood road, when the Moosewood leaves were turning yellow
+in autumn. I shall never forget them in Dublin, New Hampshire, driving
+through what our delightful Yankee charioteer and guide called "only a
+cat-road."
+
+This was to me a new use of the word cat as a praenomen, though I knew,
+as did Dr. Holmes and Hosea Biglow, and every good New Englander, that
+"cat-sticks" were poor spindling sticks, either growing or in a load of
+cut wood. I heard a country parson say as he regarded ruefully a gift of
+a sled load of firewood, "The deacon's load is all cat-sticks." Of
+course a cat-stick was also the stick used in the game of ball called
+tip-cat. Myself when young did much practise another loved ball game,
+"one old cat," a local favorite, perhaps a local name. "Cat-ice," too,
+is a good old New England word and thing; it is the thin layer of
+brittle ice formed over puddles, from under which the water has
+afterward receded. If there lives a New Englander too old or too hurried
+to rejoice in stepping upon and crackling the first "cat-ice" on a late
+autumn morning, then he is a man; for no New England girl, a century
+old, could be thus indifferent. It is akin to rustling through the
+deep-lying autumn leaves, which affords a pleasure so absurdly
+disproportioned and inexplicable that it is almost mysterious. Some of
+us gouty ones, alas! have had to give up the "cat-slides" which were
+also such a delight; the little stretches of glare ice to which we ran a
+few steps and slid rapidly over with the impetus. But I must not let my
+New England folk-words lure me away from my subject, even on a tempting
+"cat-slide."
+
+[Illustration: Overgrown Garden at Llanerck, Pennsylvania.]
+
+Though garden flowers run everywhere that they will, they are not easily
+forced to become wild flowers. We hear much of the pleasure of sowing
+garden seeds along the roadside, and children are urged to make
+beautiful wild gardens to be the delight of passers-by. Alphonse Karr
+wrote most charmingly of such sowings, and he pictured the delight and
+surprise of country folk in the future when they found the choice
+blooms, and the confusion of learned botanists in years to come. The
+delight and surprise and confusion would have been if any of his seeds
+sprouted and lived! A few years ago a kindly member of our United States
+Congress sent to me from the vast seed stores of our national
+Agricultural Department, thousands of packages of seeds of common garden
+flowers to be given to the poor children in public kindergartens and
+primary schools in our great city. The seeds were given to hundreds of
+eager flower lovers, but starch boxes and old tubs and flower pots
+formed the limited gardens of those Irish and Italian children, and the
+Government had sent to me such "hats full, sacks full, bushel-bags
+full," that I was left with an embarrassment of riches. I sent them to
+Narragansett and amused myself thereafter by sowing several pecks of
+garden seeds along the country roadsides; never, to my knowledge, did
+one seed live and produce a plant. I watched eagerly for certain
+plantings of Poppies, Candytuft, Morning-glories, and even the
+indomitable Portulaca; not one appeared. I don't know why I should think
+I could improve on nature; for I drove through that road yesterday and
+it was radiant with Wild Rose bloom, white Elder, and Meadow Beauty; a
+combination that Thoreau thought and that I think could not be excelled
+in a cultivated garden. Above all, these are the right things in the
+right place, which my garden plants would not have been. I am sure
+that if they had lived and crowded out these exquisite wild flowers I
+should have been sorry enough.
+
+[Illustration: Fountain at Yaddo.]
+
+The hardy Colchicum or Autumnal Crocus is seldom seen in our gardens;
+nor do I care for its increase, even when planted in the grass. It bears
+to me none of the delight which accompanies the spring Crocus, but seems
+to be out of keeping with the autumnal season. Rising bare of leaves, it
+has but a seminatural aspect, as if it had been stuck rootless in the
+ground like the leafless, stemless blooms of a child's posy bed. Its
+English name--Naked Boys--seems suited to it. The Colchicum is
+associated in my mind with the Indian Pipe and similar growths; it is
+curious, but it isn't pleasing. As the Indian Pipe could not be lured
+within garden walls, I will not write of it here, save to say that no
+one could ever see it growing in its shadowy home in the woods without
+yielding to its air of mystery. It is the weirdest flower that grows, so
+palpably ghastly that we feel almost a cheerful satisfaction in the
+perfection of its performance and our own responsive thrill, just as we
+do in a good ghost story.
+
+[Illustration: Avenue of White Pines at Wellesley, Mass., the
+Country-seat of Hollis H. Hunnewell, Esq.]
+
+Many wild flowers which we have transplanted to our gardens are full of
+magic and charm. In some, such as Thyme and Elder, these elements come
+from English tradition. In other flowers the quality of mystery is
+inherent. In childhood I absolutely abhorred Bloodroot; it seemed to me
+a fearsome thing when first I picked it. I remember well my dismay, it
+was so pure, so sleek, so innocent of face, yet bleeding at a touch,
+like a murdered man in the Blood Ordeal.
+
+The Trillium, Wake-robin, is a wonderful flower. I have seen it growing
+in a luxuriance almost beyond belief in lonely Canadian forests on the
+Laurentian Mountains. At this mining settlement, so remote that it was
+unvisited even by the omnipresent and faithful Canadian priest, was a
+wealth of plant growth which seemed fairly tropical. The starry flowers
+of the Trillium hung on long peduncles, and the two-inch diameter of the
+ordinary blossom was doubled. The Painted Trillium bore rich flowers of
+pink and wine color, and stood four or five feet from the ground. I
+think no one had ever gathered their blooms, for there were no women in
+this mining camp save a few French-Indian servants and one Irish cook,
+and no educated white woman had ever been within fifty, perhaps a
+hundred, miles of the place. Every variety of bloom seemed of
+exaggerated growth, but the Trillium exceeded all. An element of mystery
+surrounds this plant, a quality which appertains to all "three-cornered"
+flowers; perhaps there may be some significance in the three-sided
+form. I felt this influence in the extreme when in the presence of this
+Canadian Trillium, so much so that I was depressed by it when wandering
+alone even in the edge of the forest; and when by light o' the moon I
+peered in on this forest garden, it was like the vision of a troop of
+trembling white ghosts, stimulating to the fancy. It was but a part of
+the whole influence of that place, which was full of eerie mystery. For
+after the countless eons of time during which "the earth was without
+form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the earth," the waters
+at last were gathered together and dry land appeared. And that dry land
+which came up slowly out of the face of the waters was this Laurentian
+range. And when at God's command "on the third day" the earth brought
+forth grass, and herb yielded seed--lo, among the things which were good
+and beautiful there shone forth upon the earth the first starry flowers
+of the white Trillium.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+ROSES OF YESTERDAY
+
+ "Each morn a thousand Roses brings, you say;
+ Yes, but where leaves the Rose of Yesterday?"
+
+ --_Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam_, translated by EDWARD FITZGERALD, 1858.
+
+
+The answer can be given the Persian poet that the Rose of Yesterday
+leaves again in the heart. The subtle fragrance of a Rose can readily
+conjure in our minds a dream of summers past, and happy summers to come.
+Many a flower lover since Chaucer has felt as did the poet:--
+
+ "The savour of the Roses swote
+ Me smote right to the herte rote."
+
+The old-time Roses possess most fully this hidden power. Sweetest of all
+was the old Cabbage Rose--called by some the Provence Rose--for its
+perfume "to be chronicled and chronicled, and cut and chronicled, and
+all-to-be-praised." Its odor is perfection; it is the standard by which
+I compare all other fragrances. It is not too strong nor too cloying, as
+are some Rose scents; it is the idealization of that distinctive
+sweetness of the Rose family which other Roses have to some degree. The
+color of the Cabbage Rose is very warm and pleasing, a clear, happy
+pink, and the flower has a wholesome, open look; but it is not a
+beautiful Rose by florists' standards,--few of the old Roses are,--and
+it is rather awkward in growth. The Cabbage Rose is said to have been a
+favorite in ancient Rome. I wish it had a prettier name; it is certainly
+worthy one.
+
+The Hundred-leaved Rose was akin to the Cabbage Rose, and shared its
+delicious fragrance. In its rather irregular shape it resembled the
+present Duke of Sussex Rose.
+
+One of the rarest of old-time Roses in our gardens to-day is the red and
+white mottled York and Lancaster. It is as old as the sixteenth century.
+Shakespeare writes in the _Sonnets_:--
+
+ "The Roses fearfully in thorns did stand
+ One blushing shame, another white despair.
+ A third, nor red, nor white, had stol'n of both."
+
+They are what Chaucer loved, "sweitie roses red, brode, and open also."
+Roses of a broad, flat expanse when in full bloom; they have a cheerier,
+heartier, more gracious look than many of the new Roses that never open
+far from bud, that seem so pinched and narrow. What ineffable fragrance
+do they pour out from every wide-open flower, a fragrance that is the
+very spirit of the Oriental Attar of Roses; all the sensuous sweetness
+of the attar is gone, and only that which is purest and best remains. I
+believe, in thinking of it, that it equals the perfume of the Cabbage
+Rose, which, ere now, I have always placed first. This York and
+Lancaster Rose is the _Rosa mundi_,--the rose of the world. A fine plant
+is growing in Hawthorne's old home in Salem.
+
+[Illustration: Violets in Silver Double Coaster.]
+
+Opposite page 462 is an unusual depiction of the century-old York and
+Lancaster Rose still growing and flourishing in the old garden at Van
+Cortlandt Manor. It is from one of the few photographs which I have ever
+seen which make you forgive their lack of color. The vigor, the grace,
+the richness of this wonderful Rose certainly are fully shown, though
+but in black and white. I have called this Rose bush a century old; it
+is doubtless much older, but it does not seem old; it is gifted with
+everlasting youth. We know how the Persians gather before a single plant
+in flower; they spread their rugs, and pray before it; and sit and
+meditate before it; sip sherbet, play the lute and guitar in the
+moonlight; bring their friends and stand as in a vision, then talk in
+praises of it, and then all serenade it with an ode from Hafiz and
+depart. So would I gather my friends around this lovely old Rose, and
+share its beauty just as my friends at the manor-house share it with me;
+and as the Persians, we would praise it in sunlight and by moonlight,
+and sing its beauty in verses. This York and Lancaster Rose was known to
+Parkinson in his day; it is his _Rosa versicolor_. I wonder why so few
+modern gardens contain this treasure. I know it does not rise to all the
+standards of the modern Rose growers; but it possesses something
+better--it has a living spirit; it speaks of history, romance,
+sentiment; it awakens inspiration and thought, it has an ever living
+interest, a significance. I wonder whether a hundred years from now any
+one will stand before some Crimson Rambler, which will then be ancient,
+and feel as I do before this York and Lancaster goddess.
+
+[Illustration: York and Lancaster Rose.]
+
+The fragrance of the sweetest Roses--the Damask, the Cabbage, the York
+and Lancaster--is beyond any other flower-scent, it is irresistible,
+enthralling; you cannot leave it. You can push aside a Syringa, a
+Honeysuckle, even a Mignonette, but there is a magic something which
+binds you irrevocably to the Rose. I have never doubted that the Rose
+has some compelling quality shared not by other flowers. I know not
+whether it comes from centuries of establishment as a race-symbol, or
+from some inherent witchery of the plant, but it certainly exists.
+
+The variety of Roses known to old American gardens, as to English
+gardens, was few. The English Eglantine was quickly established here in
+gardens and spread to roadsides. The small, ragged, cheerful little
+Cinnamon Rose, now chiefly seen as a garden stray, is undoubtedly old.
+This Rose diffuses its faint "sinamon smelle" when the petals are dried.
+Nearly all of the Roses vaguely thought to be one or two hundred years
+old date only, within our ken, to the earlier years of the nineteenth
+century. The Seven Sisters Rose, imagined by the owner of many a
+Southern garden to belong to colonial days, is one of the family _Rosa
+multiflora_, introduced from Japan to England by Thunberg. Its catalogue
+name is Greville. I think the Seven Sisters dates back to 1822. The
+clusters of little double blooms of the Seven Sisters are not among our
+beautiful Roses, but are planted by the house mistress of every Southern
+home from power of association, because they were loved by her
+grandmothers, if not by more distant forbears. The crimson Boursaults
+are no older. They came from the Swiss Alps and therefore are hardy, but
+they are fussy things, needing much pruning and pulling out. I recall
+that they had much longer prickles than the other roses in our garden.
+The beloved little Banksia Rose came from China in 1807. The Madame
+Plantier is a hybrid China Rose of much popularity. We have had it about
+seventy or eighty years. In the lovely garden of Mrs. Mabel Osgood
+Wright, author of _Flowers and Trees in their Haunts_, I saw, this
+spring, a giant Madame Plantier which had over five thousand buds, and
+which could scarcely be equalled in beauty by any modern Roses. Its
+photograph gives scant idea of its size.
+
+What gratitude we have in spring to the Sweetbrier! How early in the
+year, from sprouting branch and curling leaf, it begins to give forth
+its pure odor! Gracious and lavish plant, beloved in scent by every one,
+you have no rival in the spring garden with its pale perfumes. The
+Sweetbrier and Shakespeare's Musk Rose (_Rosa moschata_) are said to be
+the only Roses that at evening pour forth their perfume; the others are
+what Bacon called "fast of their odor."
+
+The June Rose, called by many the Hedgehog Rose, was, I think, the first
+Rose of summer. A sturdy plant, about three feet in height; set thick
+with briers, it well deserved its folk name. The flowers opened into a
+saucer of richest carmine, as fragrant as an American Beauty, and the
+little circles of crimson resembling the _Rosa rugosa_ were seen in
+every front dooryard.
+
+[Illustration: Cinnamon Roses.]
+
+In the Walpole garden from whence came to us our beloved Ambrosia, was
+an ample Box-edged flower bed which my mother and the great-aunt called
+The Rosery. One cousin, now living, recalls with distinctness its charms
+in 1830; for it was beautiful, though the vast riches of the Rose-world
+of China and Japan had not reached it. There grew in it, he remembers,
+Yellow Scotch Roses, Sweetbrier (or Eglantine), Cinnamon Roses, White
+Scotch Roses, Damask Roses, Blush Roses, Dog Roses (the Canker-bloom of
+Shakespeare), Black Roses, Burgundy Roses, and Moss Roses. The
+last-named sensitive creatures, so difficult to rear with satisfaction
+in such a climate, found in this Rosery by the river-side some exact
+fitness of soil or surroundings, or perhaps of fostering care, which in
+spite of the dampness and the constant tendency of all Moss Roses to
+mildew, made them blossom in unrivalled perfection. I remember their
+successors, deplored as much inferior to the Roses of 1830, and they
+were the finest Moss Roses I ever saw blooming in a garden. An amusing
+saying of some of the village passers-by (with smaller gardens and
+education) showed the universal acknowledgment of the perfection of
+these Roses. These people thought the name was Morse Roses and always
+thus termed them, fancying they were named for the family for whom the
+flowers bloomed in such beauty and number.
+
+Among the other Roses named by my cousin I recall the White Scotch Rose,
+sometimes called also the Burnet-leaved Rose. It was very fragrant, and
+was often chosen for a Sunday posy. There were both single and double
+varieties.
+
+The Blush Rose (_Rosa alba_), known also as Maiden's blush, was much
+esteemed for its exquisite color; it could be distinguished readily by
+the glaucous hue of the foliage, which always looked like the leaves of
+artificial roses. It was easily blighted; and indeed we must acknowledge
+that few of the old Roses were as certain as their sturdy descendants.
+
+The Damask Rose was the only one ever used in careful families and by
+careful housekeepers for making rose-water. There was a Velvet Rose,
+darker than the Damask and low-growing, evidently the same Rose. Both
+showed plentiful yellow stamens in the centres, and had exquisite rich
+dark leaves.
+
+The old Black Rose of The Rosery was so suffused with color-principle,
+so "color-flushing," that even the wood had black and dark red streaks.
+Its petals were purple-black.
+
+The Burgundy Rose was of the Cabbage Rose family; its flowers were very
+small, scarce an inch in diameter. There were two varieties: the one my
+cousin called Little Burgundy had clear dark red blossoms; the other,
+white with pink centres. Both were low-growing, small bushes with small
+leaves. They are practically vanished Roses--wholly out of cultivation.
+
+We had other tiny roses; one was a lovely little Rose creature called a
+Fairy Rose. I haven't seen one for years. As I recall them, the Rose
+plants were never a foot in height, and had dainty little flower
+rosettes from a quarter to half an inch in diameter set in thick
+clusters. But the recalled dimensions of youth vary so when seen
+actually in the cold light of to-day that perhaps I am wrong in my
+description. This was also called a Pony Rose. This Fairy Rose was not
+the Polyantha which also has forty or fifty little roses in a cluster.
+The single Polyantha Rose looks much like its cousin, the Blackberry
+blossom.
+
+Another small Rose was the Garland Rose. This was deemed extremely
+elegant, and rightfully so. It has great corymbs of tiny white blossoms
+with tight little buff buds squeezing out among the open Roses.
+
+Another old favorite was the Rose of Four Seasons--known also by its
+French name, _Rose de Quartre Saisons_--which had occasional blooms
+throughout the summer. It may have been the foundation of our Hybrid
+Perpetual Roses. The Bourbon Roses were vastly modish; their round
+smooth petals and oval leaves easily distinguish them from other
+varieties.
+
+Among the several hundred things I have fully planned out to do, to
+solace my old age after I have become a "centurion," is a series of
+water-color drawings of all these old-time Roses, for so many of them
+are already scarce.
+
+The Michigan Rose which covered the arches in Mr. Seward's garden, has
+clusters of deep pink, single, odorless flowers, that fade out nearly
+white after they open. It is our only native Rose that has passed into
+cultivation. From it come many fine double-flowered Roses, among them
+the beautiful Baltimore Belle and Queen of the Prairies, which were
+named about 1836 by a Baltimore florist called Feast. All its vigorous
+and hardy descendants are scentless save the Gem of the Prairies. It is
+one of the ironies of plant-nomenclature when we have so few plant names
+saved to us from the picturesque and often musical speech of the
+American Indians, that the lovely Cherokee Rose, Indian of name, is a
+Chinese Rose. It ought to be a native, for everywhere throughout our
+Southern states its pure white flowers and glossy evergreen leaves love
+to grow till they form dense thickets.
+
+People who own fine gardens are nowadays unwilling to plant the old
+"Summer Roses" which bloom cheerfully in their own Rose-month and then
+have no more blossoming till the next year; they want a Remontant Rose,
+which will bloom a second time in the autumn, or a Perpetual Rose, which
+will give flowers from June till cut off by the frost. But these
+latter-named Roses are not only of fine gardens but of fine gardeners;
+and folk who wish the old simple flower garden which needs no
+highly-skilled care, still are happy in the old Summer Roses I have
+named.
+
+[Illustration: Cottage Garden with Roses.]
+
+A Rose hedge is the most beautiful of all garden walls and the most
+ancient. Professor Koch says that long before men customarily surrounded
+their gardens with walls, that they had Rose hedges. He tells us that
+each of the four great peoples of Asia owned its own beloved Rose,
+carried in all wanderings, until at last the four became common to all
+races of men. Indo-Germanic stock chose the hundred-leaved red Rose,
+_Rosa gallica_ (the best Rose for conserves). _Rosa damascena_, which
+blooms twice a year, and the Musk Rose were cherished by the Semitic
+people; these were preferred for attar of Roses and Rose water. The
+yellow Rose, _Rosa lutea_, or Persian Rose, was the flower of the
+Turkish Mongolian people. Eastern Asia is the fatherland of the Indian
+and Tea Roses. The Rose has now become as universal as sunlight. Even in
+Iceland and Lapland grows the lovely _Rosa nitida_.
+
+We say these Roses are common to all peoples, but we have never in
+America been able to grow yellow Roses in ample bloom in our gardens.
+Many that thrive in English gardens are unknown here. The only yellow
+garden Rose common in old gardens was known simply as the "old yellow
+Rose," or Scotch Rose, but it came from the far East. In a few
+localities the yellow Eglantine was seen.
+
+The picturesque old custom of paying a Rose for rent was known here. In
+Manheim, Pennsylvania, stands the Zion Lutheran Church, which was
+gathered together by Baron William Stiegel, who was the first glass and
+iron manufacturer of note in this country. He came to America in 1750,
+with a fortune which would be equal to-day to a million dollars, and
+founded and built and named Manheim. He was a man of deep spiritual and
+religious belief, and of profound sentiment, and when in 1771 he gave
+the land to the church, this clause was in the indenture:--
+
+ "Yielding and paying therefor unto the said Henry William Stiegel,
+ his heirs or assigns, at the said town of Manheim, in the Month of
+ June Yearly, forever hereafter, the rent of _One Red Rose_, if the
+ same shall be lawfully demanded."
+
+Nothing more touching can be imagined than the fulfilment each year of
+this beautiful and symbolic ceremony of payment. The little town is rich
+in Roses, and these are gathered freely for the church service, when One
+Red Rose is still paid to the heirs of the sainted old baron, who died
+in 1778, broken in health and fortunes, even having languished in jail
+some time for debt. A new church was erected on the site of the old one
+in 1892, and in a beautiful memorial window the decoration of the Red
+Rose commemorates the sentiment of its benefactor.
+
+The Rose Tavern, in the neighboring town of Bethlehem, stands on land
+granted for the site of a tavern by William Penn, for the yearly rental
+of One Red Rose.
+
+In England the payment of a Rose as rent was often known. The Bishop of
+Ely leased Ely house in 1576 to Sir Christopher Hatton, Queen
+Elizabeth's handsome Lord Chancellor, for a Red Rose to be paid on
+Midsummer Day, ten loads of hay and ten pounds per annum, and he and his
+Episcopal successors reserved the right of walking in the gardens and
+gathering twenty bushels of Roses yearly. In France there was a feudal
+right to demand a payment of Roses for the making of Rose water.
+
+Two of our great historians, George Bancroft and Francis Parkman, were
+great rose-growers and rose-lovers. I never saw Mr. Parkman's Rose
+Garden, but I remember Mr. Bancroft's well; the Tea Roses were
+especially beautiful. Mr. Bancroft's Rose Garden in its earliest days
+had no rivals in America.
+
+The making of potpourri was common in my childhood. While the petals of
+the Cabbage Rose were preferred, all were used. Recipes for making
+potpourri exist in great number; I have seen several in manuscript in
+old recipe books, one dated 1690. The old ones are much simpler than the
+modern ones, and have no strong spices such as cinnamon and clove, and
+no bergamot or mints or strongly scented essences or leaves. The best
+rules gave ambergris as one of the ingredients; this is not really a
+perfume, but gives the potpourri its staying power. There is something
+very pleasant in opening an old China jar to find it filled with
+potpourri, even if the scent has wholly faded. It tells a story of a day
+when people had time for such things. I read in a letter a century and
+a half old of a happy group of people riding out to the house of the
+provincial governor of New York; all gathered Rose leaves in the
+governor's garden, and the governor's wife started the distilling of
+these Rose leaves, in her new still, into Rose water, while all drank
+syllabubs and junkets--a pretty Watteau-ish scene.
+
+The hips of wild Roses are a harvest--one unused in America in modern
+days, but in olden times they were stewed with sugar and spices, as were
+other fruits. Sauce Saracen, or Sarzyn, was made of Rose hips and
+Almonds pounded together, cooked in wine and sweetened. I believe they
+are still cooked by some folks in England, but I never heard of their
+use in America save by one person, an elderly Irish woman on a farm in
+Narragansett. Plentiful are the references and rules in old cookbooks
+for cooking Rose hips. Parkinson says: "Hippes are made into a conserve,
+also a paste like licoris. Cooks and their Mistresses know how to
+prepare from them many fine dishes for the Table." Gerarde writes
+characteristically of the Sweetbrier, "The fruit when it is ripe maketh
+most pleasant meats and banqueting dishes, as tarts and such-like; the
+making whereof I commit to the cunning cooke, and teeth to eat them in
+the rich man's mouth."
+
+Children have ever nibbled Rose hips:--
+
+ "I fed on scarlet hips and stony haws--
+ Hard fare, but such as boyish appetite
+ Disdains not."
+
+The Rose bush furnished another comestible for the children's larder,
+the red succulent shoots of common garden and wild Roses. These were
+known by the dainty name of "brier candy," a name appropriate and
+characteristic, as the folk-names devised by children frequently are.
+
+[Illustration: Madame Plantier Rose.]
+
+On the post-road in southern New Hampshire stands an old house, which
+according to its license was once "improved" as a tavern, and was famous
+for its ghost and its Roses. The tavern was owned by a family of two
+brothers and two sisters, all unmarried, as was rather a habit in the
+Mason family; though when any of the tribe did marry, a vast throng of
+children quickly sprung up to propagate the name and sturdy qualities of
+the race. The men were giants, and both men and women were hard-working
+folk of vast endurance and great thrift, and, like all of that ilk in
+New England, they prospered and grew well-to-do; great barns and
+out-buildings, all well filled, stretched down along the roadside below
+the house. Joseph Mason could lay more feet of stone wall in a day,
+could plough more land, chop down more trees, pull more stumps, than any
+other man in New Hampshire. His sisters could bake and brew, make soap,
+weed the garden, spin and weave, unceasingly and untiringly. Their
+garden was a source of purest pleasure to them, as well as of hard work;
+its borders were so stocked with medicinal herbs that it could supply a
+township; and its old-time flowers furnished seeds and slips and bulbs
+to every other garden within a day's driving distance; but its glory was
+a garden side to gladden the heart of Omar Khayyam, where two or three
+acres of ground were grown over heavily with old-fashioned Roses. These
+were only the common Cinnamon Rose, the beloved Cabbage Rose, and a pale
+pink, spicily scented, large-petalled, scarcely double Rose, known to
+them as the Apothecaries' Rose. Farmer-neighbors wondered at this waste
+of the Masons' good land in this unprofitable Rose crop, but it had a
+certain use. There came every June to this Rose garden all the children
+of the vicinity, bearing milk-pails, homespun bags, birch baskets, to
+gather Rose petals. They nearly all had Roses at their homes, but not
+the Mason Roses. These Rose leaves were carried carefully to each home,
+and were packed in stone jars with alternate layers of brown or scant
+maple sugar. Soon all conglomerated into a gummy, brown, close-grained,
+not over alluring substance to the vision, which was known among the
+children by the unromantic name of "Rose tobacco." This cloying
+confection was in high repute. It was chipped off and eaten in tiny
+bits, and much treasured--as a love token, or reward of good behavior.
+
+The Mason house was a tavern. It was not one of the regular
+stopping-places on the turnpike road, being rather too near the town to
+gather any travel of teamsters or coaches; but passers-by who knew the
+house and the Masons loved to stop there. Everything in the well-kept,
+well-filled house and barns contributed to the comfort of guests, and it
+was known that the Masons cared more for the company of the traveller
+than for his pay.
+
+There was a shadow on this house. The youngest of the family, Hannah,
+had been jilted in her youth, "shabbed" as said the country folks. After
+several years of "constant company-keeping" with the son of a neighbor,
+during which time many a linen sheet and tablecloth, many a fine
+blanket, had been spun and woven, and laid aside with the tacit
+understanding that it was part of her wedding outfit, the man had fallen
+suddenly and violently in love with a girl who came from a neighboring
+town to sing a single Sunday in the church choir. He had driven to her
+home the following week, carried her off to a parson in a third town,
+married her, and brought her to his home in a triumph of enthusiasm and
+romance, which quickly fled before the open dislike and reprehension of
+his upright neighbors, who abhorred his fickleness, and before the years
+of ill health and ill temper of the hard-worked, faded wife. Many
+children were born to them; two lived, sickly little souls, who,
+unconscious of the blemish on their parents' past, came with the other
+children every June, and gathered Rose leaves under Hannah Mason's
+window.
+
+Hannah Mason was called crazy. After her desertion she never entered any
+door save that of her own home, never went to a neighbor's house either
+in time of joy or sorrow; queerer still, never went to church. All her
+life, her thoughts, her vast strength, went into hard work. No labor was
+too heavy or too formidable for her. She would hetchel flax for weeks,
+spin unceasingly, and weave on a hand loom, most wearing of women's
+work, without thought of rest. No single household could supply work for
+such an untiring machine, especially when all labored industriously--so
+work was brought to her from the neighbors. Not a wedding outfit for
+miles around was complete without one of Hannah Mason's fine
+tablecloths. Every corpse was buried in one of her linen shrouds.
+Sailmakers and boat-owners in Portsmouth sent up to her for strong duck
+for their sails. Lads went up to Dartmouth College in suits of her
+homespun. Many a teamster on the road slept under Hannah Mason's heavy
+gray woollen blankets, and his wagon tilts were covered with her canvas.
+Her bank account grew rapidly--she became rich as fast as her old
+lover became poor. But all this cast a shadow on the house. Sojourners
+would waken and hear throughout the night some steady sound, a
+scratching of the cards, a whirring of the spinning-wheel, the
+thump-thump of the loom. Some said she never slept, and could well grow
+rich when she worked all night.
+
+[Illustration: Sun-dial and Roses at Van Cortlandt Manor.]
+
+At last the woman who had stolen her lover--the poor, sickly wife--died.
+The widower, burdened hopelessly with debts, of course put up in her
+memory a fine headstone extolling her virtues. One wakeful night, with a
+sentiment often found in such natures, he went to the graveyard to view
+his proud but unpaid-for possession. The grass deadened his footsteps,
+and not till he reached the grave did there rise up from the ground a
+tall, ghostly figure dressed all in undyed gray wool of her own weaving.
+It was Hannah Mason. "Hannah," whimpered the widower, trying to take her
+hand,--with equal thought of her long bank account and his unpaid-for
+headstone,--"I never really loved any one but you." She broke away from
+him with an indescribable gesture of contempt and dignity, and went
+home. She died suddenly four days later of pneumonia, either from the
+shock or the damp midnight chill of the graveyard.
+
+As months passed on travellers still came to the tavern, and the story
+began to be whispered from one to another that the house was haunted by
+the ghost of Hannah Mason. Strange sounds were heard at night from the
+garret where she had always worked; most plainly of all could be heard
+the whirring of her great wool wheel. When this rumor reached the
+brothers' ears, they determined to investigate the story and end it
+forever. That night their vigil began, and soon the sound of the wheel
+was heard. They entered the garret, and to their surprise found the
+wheel spinning round. Then Joseph Mason went to the garret and seated
+himself for closer and more determined watch. He sat in the dark till
+the wheel began to revolve, then struck a sudden light and found the
+ghost. A great rat had run out on the spoke of the wheel and when he
+reached the broad rim had started a treadmill of his own--which made the
+ghostly sound as it whirred around. Soon this rat grew so tame that he
+would come out on the spinning-wheel in the daytime, and several others
+were seen to run around in the wheel as if it were a pleasant
+recreation.
+
+The old brick house still stands with its great grove of Sugar Maples,
+but it is silent, for the Masons all sleep in the graveyard behind the
+church high up on the hillside; no travellers stop within the doors, the
+ghost rats are dead, the spinning-wheel is gone, but the garden still
+blossoms with eternal youth. Though children no longer gather rose
+leaves for Rose tobacco, the "Roses of Yesterday" bloom every year; and
+each June morn, "a thousand blossoms with the day awake," and fling
+their spicy fragrance on the air.
+
+
+
+
+Index
+
+
+ Abbotsford, Ivy from, 62;
+ sun-dial from, 219, 377.
+
+ Achillaea, 238.
+
+ Aconite, 266.
+
+ Acrelius, Dr., quoted, 208.
+
+ Adam's Needle. _See_ Yucca.
+
+ Adlumia, 183.
+
+ Agapanthus, 52.
+
+ Ageratum, as edging, 60, 264.
+
+ Ague-weed, 146.
+
+ Akers, Elizabeth, quoted, 152.
+
+ Alcott, A. B., cited, 120.
+
+ Alka, 359.
+
+ Alleghany Vine. _See_ Adlumia.
+
+ Allen, James Lane, quoted, 195.
+
+ Almond, flowering, 39, 41, 159.
+
+ Aloe, 429.
+
+ Alpine Strawberries, 62.
+
+ Alstroemeria, 438.
+
+ Alyssum, sweet, 59-60, 179;
+ yellow, 137.
+
+ Ambrosia, 48, 235 _et seq._
+
+ _Anemone japonica_, 67, 187.
+
+ Annunzio, G. d', quoted, 94.
+
+ Apple betty, 211.
+
+ Apple butter, 212-213.
+
+ Apple frolic, 211 _et seq._
+
+ Apple hoglin, 211.
+
+ Apple-luns, 209.
+
+ Apple mose, 209.
+
+ Apple moy, 209.
+
+ Apple paring, 207.
+
+ Apple pie, 208.
+
+ Apple sauce, 213.
+
+ Apple slump, 211.
+
+ Apple stucklin, 211.
+
+ Apple tansy, 209.
+
+ Aquilegia, 260.
+
+ Arabis, 47.
+
+ Arbors, 384.
+
+ Arbutus, trailing, 166, 291, 299.
+
+ Arches, 384, 387, 418.
+
+ Arch-herbs, 384.
+
+ Arethusa, 247 _et seq._, 295, 299 _et seq._
+
+ Arlington, pergola at, 385.
+
+ Arnold, Matthew, quoted, 225, 226.
+
+ Ascott, sun-dial at, 98.
+
+ Asters, 179, 180.
+
+ Athol porridge, 393.
+
+ Azalea, 16.
+
+
+ Baby's Breath, 257.
+
+ Bachelor's Buttons, 52, 176, 265, 291.
+
+ Back-yard, flowers in, 154.
+
+ Bacon-and-eggs, 138.
+
+ Bacon, Lord, cited, 44-45, 55, 56, 144.
+
+ Balloon Flower. _See_ _Platycodon grandiflorum_.
+
+ Balloon Vine, 183-184.
+
+ Balsams, 257.
+
+ Baltimore Belle Rose, 468.
+
+ Bancroft, George, Rose Garden of, 471.
+
+ Banksia Rose, 463.
+
+ Bare-dames, 17.
+
+ Barney, Major, landscape art of, 101.
+
+ Bartram, John, 12.
+
+ Basil, sweet, 121 _et seq._
+
+ Battle of Princeton, 78.
+
+ Batty Langley, cited, 383.
+
+ Bayberry, 302.
+
+ Beata Beatrix, 380.
+
+ Beaver-tongue, 347-348.
+
+ Beech, weeping, 231.
+
+ Bee-hives, 354, 391 _et seq._
+
+ Beekman, James, greenhouse of, 19.
+
+ Bee Larkspur, 265, 268.
+
+ Bell-bind, 181, 182.
+
+ Bell Flower, Chinese or Japanese. _See_ _Platycodon grandiflorum_.
+
+ Belvoir Castle, Lunaria at, 171-172.
+
+ Bergamot, 166.
+
+ Bergen Homestead, garden of, 23.
+
+ Berkeley, Bishop, Apple trees of, 194-195.
+
+ Bitter Buttons. _See_ Tansy.
+
+ Bitter-sweet, 25, 238.
+
+ Black Cohosh, 423-424.
+
+ Black Roses, 466.
+
+ Bleeding-heart. _See_ Dielytra.
+
+ Blind, herb-garden for, 131.
+
+ Bloodroot, 154, 457.
+
+ Bluebottles, 265.
+
+ Blue-eyed Grass, 278-279.
+
+ Blue-pipe tree, 144.
+
+ Blue Roses, 253.
+
+ Blue Sage, 264.
+
+ Blue Spider-flower, 435.
+
+ Bluetops, 265.
+
+ Bluets, 260.
+
+ Blue-weed. _See_ Viper's Bugloss.
+
+ Blush Roses, 466.
+
+ Bocconia. _See_ Plume Poppy.
+
+ Boneset, 145 _et seq._
+
+ Bosquets, 387.
+
+ Botrys. _See_ Ambrosia.
+
+ Boulder, sun-dial mounted on, 377.
+
+ Bouncing Bet, 52, 450.
+
+ Bourbon Roses, 467.
+
+ Boursault Roses, 48, 463.
+
+ Bowers, 385.
+
+ Bowling greens, 240.
+
+ Bowne, Eliza Southgate, diary of, 31.
+
+ Box. _See_ Chapter IV.;
+ also 29, 47, 48, 54, 59, 71, 80, 112, 338.
+
+ Break-your-spectacles, 265.
+
+ Brecknock Hall, Box at, 103-104.
+
+ Bricks for edging, 59, 71;
+ for walls, 71-72, 412 _et seq._
+
+ Brier candy, 473.
+
+ British soldiers, graves of, 77 _et seq._
+
+ Broom. _See_ Woad-waxen.
+
+ Broughton Castle, Box sun-dial at, 97, 98.
+
+ Brown, Dr. John, cited, 103.
+
+ Browne, Sir Thomas, quoted, 306.
+
+ Brunelle. _See_ Prunella.
+
+ Buck-thorn, 387, 407.
+
+ Bulbs, 157.
+
+ Burgundy Roses, 465, 466, 467.
+
+ Burnet, 305.
+
+ Burnet-leaved Rose, 466.
+
+ Burroughs, J., quoted, 195, 451-452.
+
+ Burying-grounds,
+ Box in, 94;
+ Dogwood in, 155;
+ Thyme in, 303;
+ Spurge in, 434.
+
+ Butter-and-eggs. _See_ Toad-flax.
+
+ Buttercups, 166, 291, 294.
+
+
+ Cabbage Rose, 297, 320, 459, 460, 471.
+
+ Calceolarias, 179.
+
+ Calopogon, 247.
+
+ Calycanthus, 297.
+
+ Cambridge University, sun-dial at, 97.
+
+ Camden, South Carolina, gardens at, 15.
+
+ Camellia Japonica, 16.
+
+ Camomile, 192.
+
+ Campanula, 52, 262.
+
+ Candy-tuft, as edging, 59.
+
+ Canker-bloom, 465.
+
+ Canterbury Bells, 34, 162, 262, 333 _et seq._
+
+ Caraway, 341, 342.
+
+ Carnation, green, 239.
+
+ Catalpas, 26, 31, 293.
+
+ Cat-ice, 453.
+
+ Catnip, 315.
+
+ Cat road, 452.
+
+ Cat's-fancy, 315.
+
+ Cat-slides, 453.
+
+ Cat-sticks, 453.
+
+ Cedar hedges, 387.
+
+ Cedar of Lebanon, 29.
+
+ Centaurea Cyanus. _See_ Bachelor's Buttons.
+
+ Cerinthe. _See_ Honeywort.
+
+ Charles I. sun-dials of, 357.
+
+ Charles II. sun-dials of, 357.
+
+ Charlottesville, Virginia, wall at, 414.
+
+ Charmilles, 387.
+
+ Chaucer, Geoffrey, quoted, flowers of, 215.
+
+ Checkerberry, 345.
+
+ Checker lily. _See_ Fritillaria.
+
+ Chenopodium Botrys. _See_ Ambrosia.
+
+ Cherokee Rose, 468.
+
+ Cherry blossoms, 158, 193, 197.
+
+ Cheshire, Connecticut, Apple tree in, 194.
+
+ Chicory, 266 _et seq._
+
+ Chinese Bell Flower. _See_ _Platycodon grandiflorum_.
+
+ Chionodoxa, 137.
+
+ Chore-girl, 393.
+
+ Christalan, statue of, 84, 85.
+
+ Chrysanthemums, 179.
+
+ Cider, manufacture of, 202 _et seq._
+
+ Cider soup, 212.
+
+ Cinnamon Fern, 332.
+
+ Cinnamon Roses, 463, 465.
+
+ Civet, 317.
+
+ Clair-voyees, 389.
+
+ Clare, John, quoted, 227, 309.
+
+ Claymont, Virginia, garden at, 181, 182.
+
+ Claytonia, 294.
+
+ Clematis, Jackmanni, 182.
+
+ Clove apple, 210.
+
+ Clover, 165.
+
+ Clover, Italian, 241.
+
+ Codlins and Cream, 138.
+
+ Cohosh. _See_ Snakeroot.
+
+ Colchicum, 455.
+
+ Columbia, South Carolina, gardens at, 15.
+
+ Columbine, 260, 424-425.
+
+ Comfort Apple, 210.
+
+ Concord, Massachusetts, British dead at, 78;
+ Sunday observance in, 345 _et seq._
+
+ Cooper, Susan, quoted, 289.
+
+ Corchorus, 190.
+
+ Cornel, 332.
+
+ Cornelian Rose, 17.
+
+ Cornuti, Dr., list of plants, 10.
+
+ Corydalis, 154.
+
+ Costmary, 347-348.
+
+ Covert walks, 59.
+
+ Cowslips, 294.
+
+ Cowslip mead, 393.
+
+ Crab Apple trees, 192.
+
+ Craigie House, 141.
+
+ Crape Myrtle, 16, 71.
+
+ Creeping Jenny, 60.
+
+ Crocus, 136.
+
+ Crown Imperial, 40;
+ _loquitur_, 322 _et seq._
+
+ Culpepper, N., cited, 349.
+
+ Cupid's Car, 266.
+
+ Currant, flowering, 298.
+
+ Cyanus, 33.
+
+ Cyclamens, 448.
+
+ Cylindres, 355.
+
+ Cypress, 406.
+
+
+ Daffodil Dell, 84.
+
+ Daffodils, 137 _et seq._;
+ 318.
+
+ Dahlias, 176 _et seq._
+
+ Daisies, 165.
+
+ Damask Roses, 462, 465, 466.
+
+ Dames' Rocket, 422.
+
+ Dandelion, 117, 135, 154-155, 330.
+
+ Dante's Garden, 228.
+
+ Deland, Margaret, quoted, 64, 229, 267, 429.
+
+ Delphinum. _See_ Larkspur.
+
+ Derby family, gardens of, 30-31.
+
+ Deutzias, 189.
+
+ Devil-in-a-bush, 435.
+
+ Devil's-bit, 289.
+
+ Dialling, taught, 372.
+
+ Dicentra. _See_ Dielytra.
+
+ Dickens, Charles, sun-dial of, 376.
+
+ Dickinson, Emily, quoted, 341, 417.
+
+ Dielytra, 185 _et seq._
+
+ Dill, 5, 341-343.
+
+ Dodocatheon, 448.
+
+ Dog Roses, 465.
+
+ Dogtooth Violet, 434, 437.
+
+ Dogwood, 155.
+
+ Double Buttercups, 176.
+
+ Double flowers, 425.
+
+ Douglas, Gavin, quoted, 257.
+
+ Dovecotes in England, 394;
+ at Shirley-on-James, 394 _et seq._
+
+ Draytons, garden of, 16.
+
+ Drumthwacket, garden at, 76 _et seq._
+
+ Drying Apples, 207.
+
+ Dudgeon, 99-100.
+
+ Dutch gardens, 19, 20 _et seq._, 71 _et seq._
+
+ Dutchman's Pipe, 184.
+
+ Dumbledore's Delight, 266.
+
+ Dyer's Weed. _See_ Woad-waxen.
+
+
+ Egyptians, sun-dials of, 359.
+
+ Elder, 304.
+
+ Election Day, lilacs bloom on, 148.
+
+ Elijah's Chariot, 271.
+
+ Ely Place, rental of, 471.
+
+ Emerson, R. W., quoted, 138, 376.
+
+ Endicott, Governor, garden of, 3;
+ nursery of, 24;
+ bequest of Woad-waxen, 24, 25;
+ sun-dial of, 358.
+
+ Erasmus quoted, 109.
+
+ Evening Primrose, 10, 428, 429.
+
+ Everlasting Pea, 427.
+
+
+ Fairbanks, Jonathan, sun-dial of, 344, 358.
+
+ Fairies, charm to see, 304.
+
+ Fair-in-sight, 334.
+
+ Fairy Roses, 467.
+
+ Fairy Thimbles, 337.
+
+ Faneuil, Andrew, glass house of, 19.
+
+ Fennel, 5, 341 _et seq._
+
+ Fitchburg, Massachusetts, garden at jail, 101, 102.
+
+ Fitzgerald, Edward, quoted, 316, 330.
+
+ Flag, sweet, striped, 438;
+ blue, 278.
+
+ Flagroot, 343 _et seq._
+
+ Flax, 262.
+
+ Flower closes, 240.
+
+ Flower de Luce, 257 _et seq._
+
+ Flowering Currant, 64.
+
+ Flower-of-death, 441.
+
+ Flower-of-prosperity, 42.
+
+ Flower toys, 156.
+
+ Flushing, Long Island, nurseries at, 26;
+ _et seq._, 156, 230 _et seq._
+
+ Fore court, 40.
+
+ Forget-me-not, 265.
+
+ Formal garden, 78 _et seq._
+
+ Forsythia, 133, 189, 190.
+
+ Forth rights, 58.
+
+ Fortune, Robert, 187 _et seq._
+
+ Fountains, 69, 85-86, 380, 389.
+
+ Fox, George, bequest of, 11;
+ at Sylvester Manor, 105.
+
+ Foxgloves, 162, 427.
+
+ Frankland, Sir Henry, 29.
+
+ Franklin cent, 365.
+
+ Fraxinella, 432.
+
+ Fringed Gentian, 265, 273, 294.
+
+ Fritillaria, 81, 165, 446 _et seq._
+
+ Fuchsias, 52, 331.
+
+ Fugio bank note, 364, 365.
+
+ Fumitory, Climbing, 183.
+
+ Funerals, in front yard, 51;
+ Tansy at, 128 _et seq._
+
+ Funkias, 70.
+
+
+ Gardener's Garters, 438.
+
+ Garden Heliotrope, 313.
+
+ Garden of Sentiment, 110.
+
+ Garden Pink. _See_ Pinks.
+
+ Garden, Significance of name, 280.
+
+ Garden-viewing, 338.
+
+ Gardiner, Grissel, 104.
+
+ Garland of Julia, 323.
+
+ Garland Roses, 467.
+
+ Garrets with herbs, 115.
+
+ Garth, 39.
+
+ Gas-plant. _See_ Fraxinella.
+
+ Gate of Yaddo, 81, 82;
+ at Westover-on-James, 388, 389;
+ at Bristol, Rhode Island, 389.
+
+ Gatherer of simples, 118.
+
+ Gaultheria, 118.
+
+ Gem of the Prairies Rose, 468.
+
+ Genista tinctoria. _See_ Woad-waxen.
+
+ Geraniums, 244.
+
+ Germander, 59.
+
+ Germantown, Pennsylvania, gardens at, 11, 12;
+ sun-dial at, 371 _et seq._
+
+ Ghosts in gardens, 431.
+
+ Gilly flowers, 5.
+
+ Ginger, Wild, 343.
+
+ _Girls' Life Eighty Years Ago_, 31.
+
+ Glory-of-the-snow, 137.
+
+ Gnomon of sun-dial, 379 _et seq._
+
+ Goethe, cited, 431.
+
+ Goncourt, Edmond de, quoted, 248, 249.
+
+ Gooseberries, 338, 339 _et seq._
+
+ Goosefoot, 59.
+
+ Gorse, 221, 222.
+
+ Grace Church Rectory, sun-dial of, 364, 374.
+
+ Grafting, 391.
+
+ Grape Hyacinth, 255 _et seq._
+
+ Graveyard Ground-pine, 434.
+
+ Green apples, 200 _et seq._
+
+ Green, color, 138, 233 _et seq._
+
+ Green galleries, 385.
+
+ Greenhouse, of James Beekman, 19;
+ of T. Hardenbrook, 19.
+
+ Ground Myrtle, 439.
+
+ Groundsel, 292.
+
+ Guinea-hen flower, 447.
+
+ Gypsophila, 175.
+
+
+ Hair-dye, of Box, 99.
+
+ Hampton Court, Box at, 94.
+
+ Hampton, garden at, 14, 58, 60, 95, 101.
+
+ Hancock garden, 30.
+
+ Hawdods, 265.
+
+ Hawthorn, 292, 300.
+
+ Hawthorne, Nathaniel, quoted, 153, 299.
+
+ Headaches, 309.
+
+ Heart pea, 184.
+
+ Heather, 221, 222.
+
+ Hedgehog Roses, 464.
+
+ Hedgerows, 399 _et seq._, 403 _et seq._
+
+ Hedges, of Box, 99;
+ of Lilac, 143-144, 406;
+ of Privet, 406, 408;
+ of Locust, 406.
+
+ Heliotrope, scent of, 319.
+
+ Hermerocallis. _See_ Lemon Lily.
+
+ Hemlock hedges, 406.
+
+ Henbane, 434.
+
+ Hepatica, 259.
+
+ Herbaceous border, 113 _et seq._
+
+ Herber, 113, 384.
+
+ Herbert, George, quoted, 114.
+
+ Herb twopence, 61.
+
+ Hermits, 245.
+
+ Herrick, flowers of, 216.
+
+ Hesperis, 421-422.
+
+ Hiccough, 342.
+
+ Higginson, T. W., quoted, 74.
+
+ Hips of Roses, 472.
+
+ Holly, 406.
+
+ Holmes, Oliver Wendell, quoted, 91, 139-140, 226, 268, 301, 313.
+
+ Hollyhocks, 5, 6, 33, 52, 332 _et seq._, 336.
+
+ Honesty. _See_ Lunaria.
+
+ Honeyblob gooseberries, 338.
+
+ Honey, from Thyme, 303;
+ in drinks, 393.
+
+ Honeysuckle, 182, 332, 450.
+
+ Honeywort, 33, 442.
+
+ Hood, quoted, 228-229.
+
+ Hopewell, Lilacs at, 148.
+
+ Houstonia, 260.
+
+ Howitt Garden, 223.
+
+ Howitt, Mary, quoted, 326, 330, 345.
+
+ Humming-birds, 243.
+
+ Hundred-leaved Rose, 460, 469.
+
+ Hutchinson, Governor, garden of, 54.
+
+ Hyacinths, 257.
+
+ Hydrangea, 182;
+ blue, 260;
+ at Capetown, 261.
+
+ Hyssop, 54.
+
+
+ Iberis. _See_ Candy-tuft.
+
+ Independence Trees. _See_ Catalpa.
+
+ Indian Hill, 144, 415 _et seq._
+
+ Indian Pipe, 455.
+
+ Indian plant names, 293 _et seq._
+
+ Innocence. _See_ Houstonia.
+
+ Iris, 427. _See_ also Flower de Luce.
+
+ Italian gardens, 75 _et seq._
+
+
+ Jack-in-the-pulpit, 154.
+
+ Jacob's Ladder, 265.
+
+ James I., quoted, 62.
+
+ Japan, flowers from, 40, 67, 157, 158, 406.
+
+ Jenoffelins, 17.
+
+ Jewett, S. O., quoted, 38, 49.
+
+ Joepye-weed, 145 _et seq._
+
+ Johnson, Dr. Samuel, dial motto of, 219.
+
+ Jonquils, 318.
+
+ Joseph and Mary, 437, 438.
+
+ Josselyn, John, quoted, 4 _et seq._, 8.
+
+ Joy-of-the-ground, 441.
+
+ Judas tree, 158.
+
+ June Roses, 464.
+
+
+ Kalendars, 355.
+
+ Kalm, cited, 128, 203, 408.
+
+ Karr, Alphonse, quoted, 272, 302, 453, 454.
+
+ Katherine flowers, 435.
+
+ Keats, cited, 223 _et seq._
+
+ Kiskatomas nut, 294.
+
+ Kiss-me-at-the-garden-gate, 135.
+
+ Kitchen door, 69.
+
+ Knots, described, 54 _et seq._
+
+
+ Labels, 217.
+
+ Labrador Indians, sun-dials of, 359.
+
+ Laburnum, 168, 169, 231.
+
+ Ladies' Delights, 48, 133 _et seq._
+
+ Lad's Love. _See_ Southernwood.
+
+ Lady's Slipper, 293.
+
+ Lafayette, influence of, 241;
+ dial of, 357.
+
+ Lamb, Charles quoted, 360.
+
+ Landor, Walter Savage, quoted, 140, 362-363, 415, 420.
+
+ Larch, 300.
+
+ Larkspur, 33, 162, 267 _et seq._
+
+ Latin names, 291.
+
+ Lavender, 5, 33, 121.
+
+ Lavender Cotton, 5, 61.
+
+ Lawns, 53, 240.
+
+ Lawson, William, quoted, 56.
+
+ Lebanon, Cedar of, 29.
+
+ Lemon Lily, 45, 80.
+
+ Lennox, Lady, Box sun-dial of, 97-98.
+
+ Leucojum, 234-235.
+
+ Lilacs, at Hopkinton, 29, also 140-153, 318 _et seq._, 406.
+
+ Lilies, 180.
+
+ Linen, drying of, 99;
+ bleaching of, 99.
+
+ Linnaeus, classification of, 282;
+ horologe of, 381-382;
+ discovery of daughter of, 431 _et seq._
+
+ Liricon-fancy, 45.
+
+ Little Burgundy Rose, 467.
+
+ Live-forever. _See_ Orpine.
+
+ Live Oaks, 16.
+
+ Lobelia, 33, 271-272.
+
+ Loch, 259.
+
+ Locust, as house friend, 22-23;
+ blossoms sold, 155;
+ on Long Island, 156;
+ in Narragansett, 401 _et seq._;
+ in a hedge, 406-407.
+
+ Loggerheads, 265.
+
+ Lombardy Poplars, 27.
+
+ London Pride, 45, 443.
+
+ Longfellow, quoted, 141;
+ garden of, 102, 431.
+
+ Lotus, 74.
+
+ Lovage-root, 343.
+
+ Love divination, with Lilacs, 150;
+ with Apples, 205 _et seq._;
+ with Southernwood, 349.
+
+ Love-in-a-huddle, 435.
+
+ Love-in-a-mist, 435.
+
+ Love lies bleeding, 287.
+
+ Love philtres, 118 _et seq._
+
+ Lowell, J. R., quoted, 48-49, 89, 227, 277.
+
+ Luck-lilac, 150.
+
+ Lunaria, 5, 33, 170 _et seq._
+
+ Lungwort, 437-438.
+
+ Lupines, 33, 163, 253, 275 _et seq._
+
+ Lychnis. _See_ Mullein Pink; also London Pride.
+
+ Lyre flower. _See_ Dielytra.
+
+ Lyres, 385, 386.
+
+
+ Madame Plantier Rose, 71, 463, 464.
+
+ Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, gardens at, 16.
+
+ Magnolias, 26, 71, 155-156.
+
+ Maiden's Blush Roses, 466.
+
+ Maize, 293-294.
+
+ Maltese Cross, 443.
+
+ Manheim, Rose for rent in, 470.
+
+ Maple, only Celtic plant name, 292.
+
+ Marigolds, 33, 52, 315 _et seq._
+
+ Maritoffles, 17.
+
+ Markham, Gervayse, cited, 40, 54, 115.
+
+ Marsh Mallow, 434.
+
+ Marsh Marigold, 294.
+
+ Marvell, Andrew, quoted, 231, 239, 381.
+
+ Mather, Cotton, quoted, 337, 342.
+
+ Matrimony Vine, 185, 449-450.
+
+ Mayflower, 166, 291, 299.
+
+ Maze, described, 54-55;
+ in America, 55;
+ at Sylvester Manor, 106.
+
+ Meadow Rue, 175-176.
+
+ Meet-her-in-the-entry, Kiss-her-in-the-buttery, 135.
+
+ Meeting-plant, 348.
+
+ Meet-me-at-the-garden-gate, 135.
+
+ Meredith, Owen, quoted, 166.
+
+ Meresteads, 3.
+
+ Meridian lines, 355.
+
+ Mertensia, 438.
+
+ Michigan Roses, 62, 468.
+
+ Mignonette, scent of, 319.
+
+ Milkweed silk, 328, 331.
+
+ Mills, for cider-making, 203.
+
+ Minnow-tansy, 127.
+
+ Mint family, 117-264.
+
+ Miskodeed, 294.
+
+ Missionary plant, 25.
+
+ Mitchell, Dr., disinterment of, 129 _et seq._
+
+ Mithridate, 123.
+
+ Moccasin flower, 293.
+
+ Mole cider, 212.
+
+ Molucca Balm, 436-437.
+
+ Money-in-both-pockets, 170 _et seq._
+
+ Moneywort, 60-61.
+
+ Monkshood, 266, 329, 433.
+
+ Moon vine, 430-431.
+
+ Moosewood, 452 _et seq._
+
+ Morning-glory, 181-182.
+
+ Morristown, sun-dial at, 359, 374.
+
+ Morris, William, quoted, 240, 425.
+
+ Morse, S. B. F., lines on sun-dial motto, 363.
+
+ Mosquitoes, 74.
+
+ Moss Roses, 345, 465, 466.
+
+ Mottoes on sun-dials, 88, 360, _et seq._
+
+ Mountain Fringe. _See_ Adlumia.
+
+ Mount Atlas Cedar, 29.
+
+ Mount Auburn Cemetery, sun-dial at, 373.
+
+ Mount Vernon, garden at, 11-12;
+ sun-dial at, 369.
+
+ Mourning Bride, 297, 339 _et seq._
+
+ Mulberries, 27.
+
+ Mullein Pink, 174.
+
+ Musk Roses, 464, 469.
+
+
+ Names, old English, 284 _et seq._
+
+ Naked Boys, 455.
+
+ Napanock, garden at, 69-70.
+
+ Naushon, Gorse on, 222;
+ sun-dial at, 374.
+
+ Nemophila, 315.
+
+ New Amsterdam, flowers of, 17-18.
+
+ _New England's Prospect_, 3.
+
+ New England's Rarities, 5.
+
+ Nicotiana, 423.
+
+ Nigella, 33, 434, 435.
+
+ Night-scented Stock, 421-422.
+
+ Nightshade, 448.
+
+ Night Violets, 422.
+
+ Noon-marks, 355.
+
+ None-so-pretty, 135.
+
+
+ Oak of Jerusalem. _See_ Ambrosia.
+
+ Obesity, cure for, 122.
+
+ Old Man. _See_ Southernwood.
+
+ Oleanders, 52, 329-330.
+
+ Olitory, 113.
+
+ Open knots, 57-58.
+
+ Ophir Farm, sun-dial at, 376 _et seq._
+
+ Opyn-tide, meaning of, 143.
+
+ Orange Lily, 50.
+
+ Orchard seats, 192.
+
+ Orpine, 444-445.
+
+ Orris-root, 259.
+
+ Osage Orange, 69, 406.
+
+ Ostrowskia, 262.
+
+ "Out-Landish Flowers," 58.
+
+ Oxeye Daisies, introduction to America, 25.
+
+ Oxford, sun-dial at, 97.
+
+
+ Pansies, 134, 318.
+
+ Pappoose-root, 293.
+
+ Parkman, Francis, Rose Garden of, 471.
+
+ Parley, Peter, quoted, 343.
+
+ Parsons, T. W., on Lilacs, 153.
+
+ Parterre, 58 _et seq._
+
+ Pastorius, Father, 11.
+
+ Patagonian Mint, 347-348.
+
+ Patience, 6.
+
+ Paulownias, 29.
+
+ Peach blossoms, 158.
+
+ Peacocks, 395 _et seq._
+
+ Pear blossoms, scent of, 318.
+
+ Pedestals for sun-dials, 374 _et seq._
+
+ Pennsylvania, sun-dials in, 370 _et seq._
+
+ Penn, William, encouraged gardens, 11.
+
+ Peony, 42 _et seq._
+
+ Peppermint, as medicine, 118.
+
+ Pergolas, 82-83, 385 _et seq._
+
+ Peristyle, 389.
+
+ Periwinkle, 62, 439 _et seq._
+
+ Perpetual Roses, 468.
+
+ Persians, colors of, 253;
+ plant names of, 292;
+ flower love of, 462.
+
+ Persian Lilac, 152.
+
+ Persian Yellow Rose, 320, 469.
+
+ Peter's Wreath, 41-42.
+
+ Petunias, 179, 423.
+
+ Phlox, 40, 45, 162, 423.
+
+ Piazzas, 388-389.
+
+ Pig-nuts, 332.
+
+ _Pilgrim's Progress_, quotations from, 201.
+
+ Pinckney, E. L., floriculture by, 14.
+
+ Pine at Yaddo, 90.
+
+ Pink-of-my-Joan, 135.
+
+ Pinks, as edgings, 34, 47, 61, 292, 422-423.
+
+ Pippins, 345.
+
+ Plane trees in Pliny's garden, 97.
+
+ Plantain, 197, 443-444.
+
+ Plant-of-twenty-days, 42.
+
+ _Platycodon grandiflorum_, 262.
+
+ Playhouse Apple tree, 199.
+
+ Pliny, quoted, 342, 349;
+ gardens of, 96-97.
+
+ Plum blossoms, 157-158.
+
+ Plume Poppy, 175 _et seq._
+
+ Plymouth, Massachusetts, early gardens at, 3.
+
+ Poet's Narcissus, 318.
+
+ Pogonia, 247.
+
+ Poison Ivy, 403.
+
+ Polling, of trees, 387.
+
+ Polyantha Rose, 467.
+
+ Polyanthus, as edging, 62.
+
+ Pomander, 212.
+
+ Pomatum, 209-210.
+
+ Pompeii, standards at, 87 _et seq._
+
+ Pond Lily, 345.
+
+ Pony Roses, 467.
+
+ Poppies, 163-164, 243-244, 309 _et seq._, 431.
+
+ Pops, 337.
+
+ Portable dials, 356-357.
+
+ Portulaca, 178-179.
+
+ Potatoes, planted by Raleigh, 230.
+
+ Potocka, Countess, quoted, 327.
+
+ Pot-pourri, 471.
+
+ Preston Garden, 15-16, 18, 24, 101.
+
+ Prick-song plant. _See_ Lunaria.
+
+ Primprint. _See_ Privet.
+
+ Prince Nurseries, 26 _et seq._, 230.
+
+ Privet, 54, 317, 406, 408.
+
+ Provence Roses, 459.
+
+ Prunella, 264-265.
+
+ Prygmen, 99.
+
+ Pudding, 304.
+
+ Pulmonaria, 437-438.
+
+ Pumps, old, 67-68.
+
+ Pussy Willows, 155, 247.
+
+ Puzzle-love, 435.
+
+ Pyrethrum, 242.
+
+
+ _Quabbin_, 419.
+
+ Queen Anne, hatred of Box, 94.
+
+ Queen's Maries, bower of, 103.
+
+ Queen of the Prairies Rose, 468.
+
+ Quincy, Josiah, 407.
+
+
+ Ragged Robin, 291.
+
+ Ragged Sailors, 265.
+
+ Rail fences, 399 _et seq._
+
+ Railings, 62.
+
+ Raleigh, Sir Walter, garden of, 230.
+
+ Rapin, Rene, quoted, 94, 323;
+ on gardens, 227.
+
+ Red, influence of, 251.
+
+ Remontant Roses, 468.
+
+ Rent, of a Rose, 469 _et seq._
+
+ _Rescue of an Old Place_, cited, 103, 290.
+
+ Rhodes, Cecil, garden of, 261.
+
+ Rhododendrons, 42, 182, 244, 245.
+
+ Ridgely Garden, 57, 60, 95, 101.
+
+ Ring dials, 356.
+
+ Rock Cress. _See_ Arabis.
+
+ Rocket. _See_ Dames' Rocket.
+
+ Rose Acacia, 185, 406.
+
+ Rose Campion, 33, 174, 175.
+
+ Rose Garden, at Yaddo, 81 _et seq._
+
+ Rosemary, 5, 55, 59, 110.
+
+ Rose of Four Seasons, 467.
+
+ Rose of Plymouth, 295.
+
+ Rose Tavern, 470.
+
+ Rose tobacco, 475.
+
+ Rose-water, 472.
+
+ Rossetti, D. G., picture by, 380;
+ quoted, 380.
+
+ Roxbury Waxwork. _See_ Bittersweet.
+
+ Rue, 5, 110, 123 _et seq_, 434.
+
+ Ruskin, John, quoted, 243, 283, 255, 279, 309.
+
+
+ Sabbatia, 295.
+
+ Saffron-tea, 118.
+
+ Sage, 125 _et seq._
+
+ Sag Harbor, sun-dial at, 362.
+
+ Salpiglossis, 262.
+
+ Salt Box House, 128.
+
+ Sand, in parterres, 56, 58.
+
+ Santolina. _See_ Lavender Cotton.
+
+ Sapson Apples, 201-202.
+
+ Sassafras, 343.
+
+ Satin-flower, 170 _et seq._
+
+ Sauce Saracen, 472.
+
+ Scarlet Lightning, 443.
+
+ Scilla, 255.
+
+ Scotch Roses, 48, 464, 469.
+
+ Scott, Sir Walter, sun-dial of, 219, 377.
+
+ Scythes, 391.
+
+ Seeds, sale of, 32 _et seq._
+
+ Serpentine Walls, 414.
+
+ Setwall. _See_ Valerian.
+
+ Seven Sisters, 435.
+
+ Seven Sisters Rose, 463.
+
+ Shade alleys, 59.
+
+ Shaded Walks, 64.
+
+ Shakespeare Border, 217 _et seq._
+
+ Sheep bones, as edgings, 57-58.
+
+ Shelley, Garden, 223.
+
+ Shell flower, 436-437.
+
+ Shirley Poppies, 255, 312.
+
+ Simples, 115.
+
+ Skepes, 354, 391 _et seq._
+
+ Slugs, in Box, 95.
+
+ Smithsonian Institution, sun-dials in, 357-358.
+
+ Snakeroot, 423-424.
+
+ Snapdragons, 33, 175.
+
+ Snowballs, 71.
+
+ Snowberry, 169.
+
+ Snowdrops, 234.
+
+ Snow in Summer, 47.
+
+ Snow Pink. _See_ Pinks.
+
+ Soldier and his Wife, 438.
+
+ Sops-o'-wine. _See_ Sapson.
+
+ Sorrel, 6, 240, 332.
+
+ South Carolina, gardens of, 14.
+
+ Southernwood, 5, 341, 348 _et seq._
+
+ Southey, Robert, quoted, 266.
+
+ Spenser, Edmund, quoted, 54;
+ flowers of, 215, 284.
+
+ Spider-flower. _See_ Love-in-a-mist.
+
+ Spiders in medicine, 303, 343.
+
+ Spiderwort, 435-436.
+
+ Spiraeas, 189.
+
+ Spitfire Plant. _See_ Fraxinella.
+
+ Spring Beauty, 294.
+
+ Spring Snowflake, 234, 235.
+
+ Spruce gum, 332.
+
+ Spurge, Cypress, 434 _et seq._
+
+ Squirrel Cups, 260.
+
+ Squirt, for water, 390.
+
+ Star of Bethlehem, 34, 235.
+
+ Star Pink. _See_ Pink.
+
+ Statues in garden, 85, 389.
+
+ Stockton, Richard, letter of, 30-31.
+
+ Stones, for edging, 58.
+
+ Stonecrop, 135.
+
+ Stone walls, 399 _et seq._
+
+ Strawberry Bush. _See_ Calycanthus.
+
+ Striped Grass, 438-439.
+
+ Striped Lily, 61.
+
+ Stuyvesant, Peter, garden of, 18-19.
+
+ Succory. _See_ Chicory.
+
+ Summer-houses, 392.
+
+ Summer Roses, 468.
+
+ Summer savory, 124.
+
+ Summer-sots, 17.
+
+ Sun-dials of Box, 62, 80, 87, 88, 97 _et seq._
+
+ Sun-flowers, 178, 287.
+
+ Sunken gardens, 72-73.
+
+ Sunshine Bush, 189.
+
+ Swan River Daisy, 263, 264.
+
+ Sweet Alyssum. _See_ Alyssum.
+
+ Sweet Brier, 6, 25, 48, 302, 464, 465.
+
+ Sweet Fern, 2.
+
+ Sweet Flag, 343.
+
+ Sweet Johns, 285.
+
+ Sweet Marjoram, 124.
+
+ Sweet Peas, 33, 178, 224.
+
+ Sweet Rocket, 34.
+
+ Sweet Shrub. _See_ Calycanthus.
+
+ Sweet Williams, 34, 162, 285 _et seq._
+
+ Sylvester Manor, gardens at, 104 _et seq._
+
+ Syringas, 71.
+
+
+ Tansy, 6, 126 _et seq._
+
+ Tansy bitters, 128.
+
+ Tansy cakes, 128.
+
+ Tasmania, Thistles in, 26.
+
+ Tea Roses, 320, 469.
+
+ Telling the bees, 393.
+
+ Temperance Reform, 204.
+
+ Tennyson, on blue, 266;
+ on white, 420-421.
+
+ Thaxter, Celia, cited, 311.
+
+ Thistles, in Tasmania, 26.
+
+ Thomas, Edith, quoted, 229.
+
+ Thoreau, H. D., quoted, 148, 197, 198, 199, 275, 276, 345, 346, 417.
+
+ Thoroughwort, 145 _et seq._
+
+ Thrift, sun-dials in, 97;
+ as edging, 61-62.
+
+ Thyme, 34, 60, 302 _et seq._
+
+ Tiger Lilies, 45, 162.
+
+ Toad-flax, 450 _et seq._
+
+ Tobacco. _See_ Nicotiana.
+
+ Tongue-plant, 347-348.
+
+ Topiary work in England, 408;
+ at Wellesley, 409 _et seq._;
+ in California, 412.
+
+ Tradescantia. _See_ Spiderwort.
+
+ Trailing Arbutus, 299.
+
+ Traveller's Rest, sun-dial at, 350, 370.
+
+ Tree arbors, 199, 384-385.
+
+ Tree Peony. _See_ Peony.
+
+ Trillium, 154, 457, 458.
+
+ Trumpet vine, 449-450.
+
+ Tuckahoe, Box at, 102, 105.
+
+ Tudor gardens, 55.
+
+ Tudor Place, garden at, 103.
+
+ Tulips, 18, 138, 168.
+
+ Turner, cited, 61, 236.
+
+ Tusser, Thomas, quoted, 115.
+
+ Twopenny Grass, 61.
+
+
+ Valerian, 34, 313 _et seq._
+
+ Van Cortlandt Manor, garden at, 20 _et seq._
+
+ Van Cortlandt, Pierre, 21.
+
+ Vancouver's Island, 26.
+
+ Van der Donck, Adrian, quoted, 17-18.
+
+ Velvet Roses, 466.
+
+ Vendue, 50-51.
+
+ Venus' Navelwort, 33, 441-442.
+
+ Versailles, Box at, 97.
+
+ Victoria Regia, 74-75.
+
+ Vinca. _See_ Periwinkle.
+
+ Viola tricolor, 134.
+
+ Violets, edgings of, 71;
+ in backyard, 154;
+ gallant grace of, 166;
+ scent of, 259, 317-318.
+
+ Viper's Bugloss, 273-274.
+
+ Virginia Allspice. _See_ Calycanthus.
+
+ Virginia, sun-dials in, 369-370;
+ Rose-bowers in, 385;
+ lyres in, 385.
+
+ Virgin's Bower. _See_ Adlumia.
+
+
+ Wake Robin. _See_ Trillium.
+
+ Walden Pond, 198, 345.
+
+ Walpole, New Hampshire, garden in, 237 _et seq._, 464 _et seq._
+
+ Walton, Izaak, 127.
+
+ Wandis, 62.
+
+ Warwick, Lady, sun-dial of, 98;
+ gardens of, 84, 85, 110;
+ Shakespeare Border of, 217.
+
+ Washings, semi-annual, 99.
+
+ Washington, Betty, sun-dial of, 370.
+
+ Washington Family, in England, 367;
+ sun-dial of, 367 _et seq._
+
+ Washington, George, sun-dials of, 357, 368.
+
+ Washington, Martha, garden of, 12-13.
+
+ Washington, Mary, sun-dial of, 369;
+ garden of, 370.
+
+ Wassailing, 206.
+
+ Waterbury, Connecticut, sun-dial at, 379.
+
+ Waterford, Virginia, bee-hives at, 393.
+
+ Water gardens, 73-74.
+
+ Watering-pot, 391.
+
+ Watson, Forbes, cited, 425, 433.
+
+ Waybred, 443-444.
+
+ Weed-smother, 300.
+
+ Weeds of old garden, 8, 48, 52.
+
+ Wellesley, gardens at, 409 _et seq._
+
+ Well-sweeps, 68, 390.
+
+ White animals on farm; 416 _et seq._
+
+ White Garden, 415 _et seq._
+
+ Whitehall, home of Bishop Berkeley, 194, 195.
+
+ White Man's Foot, 443-444.
+
+ White Satin, 170 _et seq._
+
+ White, value in garden, 157, 255, 419.
+
+ Whiteweed, 291. _See_ Oxeye Daisy.
+
+ Whitman, Walt, quoted, 152-153.
+
+ Whittier, J. G., sun-dial motto by, 373-374.
+
+ Wild gardens, 237 _et seq._, 453-454.
+
+ Wine-sap. _See_ Sapson.
+
+ Winter, in a garden, 327 _et seq._
+
+ Winter posy, 131.
+
+ Winthrop, John, quoted, 1, 3.
+
+ Wistaria, 166, 182, 188 _et seq._, 232.
+
+ Woad-waxen, 24, 25.
+
+ Wordsworth, W., quoted, 193.
+
+ Wort, 113.
+
+ Wort-cunning, 113.
+
+
+ Yaddo, garden at, 81 _et seq._
+
+ Yew, 406.
+
+ York and Lancaster Rose, 62, 460 _et seq._
+
+ Yucca, 293, 429-430.
+
+
+ Zodiac, signs of, on sun-dial, 376.
+
+
+
+
+TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE:
+
+A prescription symbol on page 304 is represented in this text as "Rx".
+
+Obvious errors in spelling and punctuation have been corrected without
+comment. One example of an obvious error is on page 126 where the word
+"perservation" was changed to "preservation" in the phrase: "...
+preservation of all perishable food...."
+
+With the exception of obvious errors, inconsistencies in the author's
+spelling and use of punctuation and hyphenation are left unchanged,
+as in the original text.
+
+One error which has been retained in this version is on Page 415, where
+the attribution line for the poem reads "Walter Savage Landor" while the
+correct author of the poem is Alfred Lord Tennyson.
+
+Illustrations have been moved to the nearest, most appropriate paragraph
+break.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Old-Time Gardens, by Alice Morse Earle
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