The garden
had to be made a "garden to look in upon," a veritable imprisoned
garden; the question of expense required it to be chiefly of annuals,
and all the structural features of the place called for concealment.
These wire nettings did so; on their outside, next the grass, two
complete groups of herbaceous things were so disposed as to keep them
veiled in bloom throughout the whole warm half of the year. Close
against them and overpeering their tops were hollyhocks and dahlias;
against these stood at lesser height sweet peas, asters, zinnias,
coreopsis and others of like stature; in front of these were poppies for
summer, marigolds for autumn; beneath these again were verbenas,
candytuft--all this is sketched from memory, and I recall the winsome
effect rather than species and names; and still below nestled portulaca
and periwinkle. I fear the enumeration gives but a harlequin effect; but
the fault of that is surely mine, for the result was delightful.
I have ventured to make report of these two or three gardens, not as in
themselves worthy of a great public's consideration and praise but as
happy instances of a fruitage we are gathering among hundreds of homes
in a little city where it is proposed to give every home, if possible,
its utmost value. Many other pleasing examples could be cited if further
turnings of the kaleidoscope were a real need, but this slender
discourse is as long now as it should be.
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