Flower Children

With trimmings shading into brown;
Her cousin is a dainty sprite,
She dresses modestly in white.

SWEET ALYSSUM plays around
On any little piece of ground;
Takes up hardly any room,
And sheds a very sweet perfume.

SIMPLE LOOKING Blue-eyed Flax
Helped the farmer pay his tax;
Was busy all the season through;
Said it was n’t hard to do.

BLEEDING HEART, against the wall,
Told her woes to one and all.
Live-Forever said, “Forget it;
Life treats you the way you let it.”

SWEET PEA said she thought they might
Give her a dress that was n’t white;
So Mother Nature chose for her
All the colors that there were.

SNAP-DRAGON is so very bold,
He plays his tricks on young and old;
Hides behind the old stone wall,
And shoots his pop-gun at us all.

RAGGED ROBIN on a lark
Stole inside of Central Park;
There they treated her so well,
She soon looked like a city Belle.

YARROW PINK and Yarrow White,
Stole in on the lawn one night;
Gardener said they had no sense,
But they did n’t take offense.

IRIS in a country garden,
Politely said, “I beg your pardon,
But I’m from sunny France you see
And my real name is Fleur-de-Lis.”

PEONY ’S a charming lady,
She does n’t like a spot too shady;
Likes to live out in the light,
Dressed in red or pink or white.

ONCE THEY LOST sweet Babe Verbena,
Mother said, “Oh, have you seen her?”
But pretty soon the dear was found
Creeping on the nice soft ground.

DAINTY LITTLE Maidenhair
Lost her way and did n’t care;
Played all day, the naughty child,
With common ferns, who run quite wild.

YOUNG Sweet William, sad to tell,
Rang the Canterbury’s Bell,
“Just for that,” his father said,
“William, come out in the shed!”

NAUGHTY little Four-O’Clock
Gave her mother quite a shock;
Stayed awake till nearly six,
Oh, she’s always up to tricks.

IF YOU’RE very, very good
When you ’re walking in the wood,
Twin-Flower babies you may see,
Sheltered by some old pine tree.

ALL THE SUMMER, Milkweed played,
Like a dear, good little maid;
But on a bright October day,
She found some wings and flew away.

CANDYTUFT and Marigold
Live outdoors until it’s cold;
Sturdy maids with glowing faces
Blooming in the bleakest places.

JACK ROSE said, ambitiously,
He would grow to be a tree;
But his Dad said, “Better far
Be contented as you are.”

WATER-LILY is very fond
Of floating in a sunny pond.
Tantalizing little creature,
Likes to grow where one can’t reach her.

YOUNG COCKS-COMB was so very vain,
Hated to stay out in the rain;
Said he would n’t so much care,
If he had other clothes to wear.

ON THE BORDER of the wood