The Rube smiled broadly when he came upon these beds (Fig. Mc) unexpectedly ... clearly the work of an inspired gardener.

At first he thought the flowers (Fig. 1) were some kind of blue impatiens -- blooming very early! But a label identified them as common periwinkle, which the Rube has never seen blooming so profusely outside of flower shows. Perhaps this is because they are most often planted as ground cover in shady places since they will tolerate it, but then will only produce a few flowers.

Fig. 3 shows the blue grape hyacinths which share the bed -- another dependable spring bulb. If you get down on your hands and knees, you will find they have the same delightful fragrance as their showy cousins.