Evening star., 1945-10-12
This and That
By Charles E. TrdceDeH.

Dear Sir:
This past August my husband and I
spent our vacation in the Page Valley
OF Virginia near the Skyline Drive
One of the pleasantest memories
have of our stay there was the short
ride over the Skyline Drive near Pano-
rama The atmosphere was rather hazy,
SO that we could not see distant views
very clearly, but for compensation we
especially enjoyed seeing the wild flow-
ers which grew undisturbed in profu-
sion on the roadsideS.
They made veritable riot of color,
For while, as we rode along, the color
scheme was blue and white, chicory and
Queen Anne's lace in abundance. Then
we saw great splashes of yellow, brown
eyed Susans, cone flowers, evening prim-
roses, and goldenrod.
Finally we found some specimens we
had never seen before, rabbits foot
clover, with gray blossoms shaped like
a rabbits foot, wild bergamot and ladys
thumb
Somehow as recall the beauty of
those flowers this verse comes to nv
mind: And the Lord planted a garden
Another pleasant memory of that
-
ice OF Thanksgiving for the coming of
peace again.
AS we sang America and The Star
Spangled Banner, and listened to the
prayer OF the minister, and to the talk
OF the Army chaplain We looked out
INTO the peace and beauty of the garden.
In thinking of that brief service the
same verse came to my mind, And the
Lord planted a garden
L thought to myself, He will soon be
covering the ugly scars made by man
upon the face of the earth with grass
ana Wild flowers. He will cover the war
mace scars IN the hearts of fathers and
mothers and widows of our dead heroes
with the flowers of patience and cour-
age, sympathy and forgiveness and love.
ana some day He will plant the flowers
OF nrothelly love and permanent peace
IN the hearts of all mankind
very sincerely yours, E. D. B."
X
Our correspondent shows the proper
attitude toward wild flowers.
Admire them but let them alone
One must know the wild flowers in
timately before trying to remove them
from woods and fields.
This is lifetime study, and a very
interesting one. Without prior acauaint-
ance, nothing but disappointment will
come to the gardener who tries to lift
plants from nature.
Often the part of the plant which
gives next years flowers is at the end
OF runner some distance from the
main group of flowers and leaves.
No matter how carefully the latter
are taken up, along with large sec
tion of their native soil, they are about
to die, and nothing can revive them
All the time, the part which the am
oltlous gardener should have taken is
lying in the wildwood!
Even when the greatest care is used
failure follows, because there is some
thing about wrenching such plants from
their native haunts which dooms them
to ultimate death.
1t is impossible to take with them all
of the conditions which made them
flourish. A bit of their acid soil is not
enough. There are the matters of mois-
ture, and so on, which one cannot dupIi-
cate in the cultivated garden.
Autumn is good time to gather in
some of the real wildings, if one desires
to try 1t, but here again exact knowledge
is necessary. This is the wrong time of
year for many others to be lifted. and
If it Is tried nothing but failure can re-
suit. Prior reading of good books about
wild flowers, or talks with an expert
enced gardener, are essential. The best
thing, however, is to leave wild flowers
where they grow, for all to admire.