【英语时差8,16】草夹竹桃

If you yearn¹ for a carpet of color on a bank or sloping area of your garden, plant some phlox subulate . These are the most popular spring flowers for spilling color over low stonewalls or beside garden steps. The perennial² plants spread rapidly and are about six inches high with needle shaped moss-like foliage³. In late spring the plants are completely covered with star-shaped flowers. Plant them in full sun in well-drained soil.

The lavender, pink or white flowers last quite a long time when the spring weather is cool. They can be sheared⁴ off after bloom to increase the plants vigor⁵ and tidiness. They are perfect for rock gardens and the colors combine beautifully as the individual plants grow together to form a mat.

In my garden, the lavender spreads more rapidly than the pink or white. A mature carpet of these plants is one of the most cheerful of all floral displays in a spring garden. Perhaps Ralph Waldo Emerson was thinking of such a display when he said, “The Earth laughs in flowers.”

1 yearn   

v.想念；怀念；渴望

参考例句：

• We yearn to surrender our entire being.我们渴望着放纵我们整个的生命。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

2 perennial   

adj.终年的；长久的

参考例句：

• I wonder at her perennial youthfulness.我对她青春常驻感到惊讶。
• There's a perennial shortage of teachers with science qualifications.有理科教学资格的老师一直都很短缺。

3 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

4 sheared   

v.剪羊毛( shear的过去式和过去分词 )；切断；剪切

参考例句：

• A jet plane sheared the blue sky. 一架喷气式飞机划破蓝空。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The pedal had sheared off at the pivot. 踏板在枢轴处断裂了。 来自辞典例句

5 vigor   

n.活力，精力，元气

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• She didn't want to be reminded of her beauty or her former vigor.现在，她不愿人们提起她昔日的美丽和以前的精力充沛。