The lure of the far-famed gardens of the island so close to our shores is enticing enough to make a happy excuse for giving the space of a page to one of its smaller gardens.

In the heart of this fair garden, in the country of the Englishman, at the end of this book on American gardens, the author, though a proud American, unhesitatingly admits that usually it is the Englishman who has inspired us to make gardens as nearly as possible like those of the mother country. Is it the old blood that is stirring within us, the common bond of past associations and brotherhood so often expressed in our physical resemblances as well as in many of our ideals? The garden in the accompanying illustrations shows a beautiful combination of flowers with picturesque old trees.

The climate of this favored place is even more delightful and balmy than that of the mainland, and the charm of the great Pacific is doubly felt along these quiet shores. The untravelled may picture it as isolated and forsaken, but rather is it just enough retired to be apart without loneliness; and, except, in a few cities, excluding the turmoil of the world, yet hospitably open to the friendly passer-by.

There is more sunshine here than in England, although the climates are very similar. On Vancouver Island there are the four distinct, well-defined seasons; the temperature is more like that of Portland than of Tacoma. The island is generously covered with vegetation, and when its native wild flowers are considered, in addition to the gardens in rich cultivation, it may well be called a garden island.