fact is, the person who doesn't grow them _out of love for them_
will never succeed with them, therefore it would be well for such
persons not to attempt their culture. This for the plant's sake, as well
as their own. Plants call for something. Plants ask for something more
than a regular supply of food and water. They must have that
sympathy,--that friendship--which enables one to understand them and
their needs, and treat them accordingly. This knowledge will come
through intuition and from keen, intelligent observation, such as only a
real plant-lover will be likely to give. Those who grow plants--or
_attempt_ to grow them--simply because their neighbors do so will never
bring to their cultivation that careful, conscientious attention which
alone can result in success. The idea of growing a flower because "it is
the fashion to do so!"

* * * * *

It may seem to some who read what I have said above that I do not
encourage the cultivation of flowers by the masses. That's a wrong
conclusion to jump at. I would like to have everybody the owner of a
flower-garden. Those who have never attempted the culture of flowers are
very likely to develop a love for them of whose existence, of the
possibility of which, they had never dreamed. A dormant feeling is
kindled into activity by our contact with them. But these persons must
begin from a better motive than a desire to have them simply because it
is "the style." The desire to succeed with them _because you like them_
will insure success. Those who would have flowers because _it is the
fashion_ to have them may experience a sort of _satisfaction_ in the
possession of them, but this is a feeling utterly unlike the pleasure
known to those who grow flowers _because they love them_.

* * * * *

I am not a believer in the "knack" of flower-growing in the sense that
some are born with a special ability in that line, or, as some would
say, with a "_gift_" that way. We often hear it said, "Flowers will grow
for her if she just _looks_ at them." This is a wrong conclusion to
arrive at in the cases of those who are successful with them. They do
something more than simply "look" at their plants. They take intelligent
care of them. Some may acquire this ability easier and sooner than
others, but it is a "knack" that anyone may attain to who is willing to
keep his eyes open, and reason from cause to effect. Don't get the idea