brotherly companionship with the Norwegian pine
the magnolia-tree unfolds its great creamy cups.

In her garden at Stonehedge, situated in lovely Montecito, about six
miles from Santa Barbara, Fanny Stevenson found the chief solace of
her declining years. Its extent of some seven acres gave her full
scope for the horticultural experiments in which she delighted. When
she took possession of the place it was in rather a neglected state,
but that was all the better, for it gave her a free field to develop
it according to her own tastes. The house was a well-built but
old-fashioned affair of an unattractive type, with imitation towers
and gingerbread trimmings, and at first sight her friends assured her
that nothing could be done with it. Architects, when asked for advice,
said the only thing was to tear it down and build a new house. But,
instead, she called in a carpenter from the town and set to work on
alterations. When all was done the house had a pleasant southern look
that fitted in well with the luxuriant growth of flowers and trees in
which it stood, and its red roof made a cheerful note in the
landscape.

In the grounds she worked out her plans, leisurely adding something
year by year, a little Dutch garden, sweeping walks and lawns, a
wonderful terraced rose-garden with a stone pergola at the upper end,
where the creepers were never trimmed into smug stiffness, but grew in
wild luxuriance at their own sweet will, and soon they made a glorious
tangle of sweet-smelling blooms and glossy green leaves. From the
living-room windows one looked out over a broad expanse of mossy lawn;
groups of vermilion-coloured hibiscus and poinsettias kept harmonious
company; dahlias made great masses of gorgeous colour among the green;
tall hollyhocks were ranged along the veranda in old-fashioned
formalism; indeed, it would be like quoting from a florist's catalogue
to mention all the plants to be found in this garden.

[Illustration: Stonehedge at Santa Barbara.]

Nor did she neglect the purely useful, for the most delicious fruits
and vegetables--from the lemons, oranges, and loquats of the south
to the apricots, apples, and pears of the north--grew to perfection
under her fostering care. She was always on the lookout for new
varieties, and I find among her correspondence a letter from the
distinguished horticulturist, Luther Burbank, in answer to her request
for strawberry plants:

"Santa Rosa,