Page:An orchard princess (IA orchardprincess00barbiala).pdf/42

 side of a very respectable hill whereon a forest of young maples holds sway. From the backs of many of the studios porches have been thrown out over the bank where, high above the murmuring brook, the citizens of Maple Green sit when the shadows lengthen on summer afternoons and sip tea from quaint cups and talk a gibberish far beyond the comprehension of the birds and squirrels listening amazedly from nearby branches.

From May to October flowers bloom from one end of Maple Green to the other; crimson ramblers clamber up snowy white lattices and dispute the eaves with wistaria and honeysuckle; nasturtiums flame along the borders and sweet peas flutter like dainty butterflies among the trellises; stocks, sweet-william, dahlias, bachelor's-buttons, and phlox—for Maple Green af