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Bronson Tweed Publishing
The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers (Illustrated)
The Book of Old-Fashioned Flowers (Illustrated)
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TO HOMELY UNAFFECTED PEOPLE WHO APPRECIATE HOMELY UNASSUMING FLOWERS
"The precious metals are not often found at the surface of the earth."--Sir Arthur Helps
"I speak with the lowliest of the meadow flowers as readily as with the highest fir-trees."--Heine
Many years ago an ingenious writer compiled a book dealing with a subject with which he had no practical acquaintance. The whole of his alleged observations were second-hand, being derived from previous writings on the subject. In order, however, to hoodwink the public, this author laid great stress on the uselessness of mere book knowledge, saying that an ounce of experience was worth a stone of theory.
Like many other foolish sayings, this one has been regarded as an inspired utterance, and has been copied by nine-tenths of all subsequent writers of handbooks. As a matter of fact, whilst a certain amount of practical experience is absolutely essential to the proper understanding of nearly all subjects, an intelligent reader can learn more in an hour from a sensible book than from many weeks of intercourse with merely "practical" people, and many weeks of so-called experience.
This little book, forming one of a series of handbooks with an aim purely practical, has itself an entirely practical object. This object is to teach those who are comparatively new to gardening the general principles which they must observe if they wish to grow successfully those flowering plants which are able to live their whole lives in the open air of this country. By old-fashioned flowering plants are meant those which we may class with the herbaceous, bulbous and other hardy plants which one always expects to find in the old cottage gardens, old vicarage gardens and old farmhouse gardens of romance, and occasionally in those of reality. One is continually discovering fresh old-fashioned people, and in like manner we are continually having additions made to our list of old-fashioned flowers. Many newly discovered or newly introduced plants, therefore, are treated of in this book, which is not intended merely as a "Book of Old Flowers." Still, as a matter of fact, most of the flowers named in these pages are old favourites, and have long been grown and sentimentalised over by English gardeners and poets.
"The precious metals are not often found at the surface of the earth."--Sir Arthur Helps
"I speak with the lowliest of the meadow flowers as readily as with the highest fir-trees."--Heine
Many years ago an ingenious writer compiled a book dealing with a subject with which he had no practical acquaintance. The whole of his alleged observations were second-hand, being derived from previous writings on the subject. In order, however, to hoodwink the public, this author laid great stress on the uselessness of mere book knowledge, saying that an ounce of experience was worth a stone of theory.
Like many other foolish sayings, this one has been regarded as an inspired utterance, and has been copied by nine-tenths of all subsequent writers of handbooks. As a matter of fact, whilst a certain amount of practical experience is absolutely essential to the proper understanding of nearly all subjects, an intelligent reader can learn more in an hour from a sensible book than from many weeks of intercourse with merely "practical" people, and many weeks of so-called experience.
This little book, forming one of a series of handbooks with an aim purely practical, has itself an entirely practical object. This object is to teach those who are comparatively new to gardening the general principles which they must observe if they wish to grow successfully those flowering plants which are able to live their whole lives in the open air of this country. By old-fashioned flowering plants are meant those which we may class with the herbaceous, bulbous and other hardy plants which one always expects to find in the old cottage gardens, old vicarage gardens and old farmhouse gardens of romance, and occasionally in those of reality. One is continually discovering fresh old-fashioned people, and in like manner we are continually having additions made to our list of old-fashioned flowers. Many newly discovered or newly introduced plants, therefore, are treated of in this book, which is not intended merely as a "Book of Old Flowers." Still, as a matter of fact, most of the flowers named in these pages are old favourites, and have long been grown and sentimentalised over by English gardeners and poets.
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