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THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[October, 



ness of botanical coUectors, and gathered under 

 glass many rare and beautiful plants. 



The splendors of the tropical vegetation of 

 her early home dwelt in the memory of Joseph- 

 ine, when she came to Malmaison and added to 

 the graceful vivacity of her manners the charms of 

 beautiful gardens. Her collection of plants was 

 large, many of them being obtained in this 

 country, by a collector kept here at the joint ex- 

 pense of herself and some English gentlemen- 

 In England there has been more than in any 

 other country, a fondness for plants shown bj' 

 women of all classes, from the noble and cul- 

 tured to the simple peasant's wife. In the 

 eighteenth century, the Duchess of Beaufort col- 

 lected a large quantity of rare plants in the fa- 

 mous gardens of Badmington, where they were 

 maintained in great beauty. At a later period in 

 the same century, the Princess Dowager of Wales 

 established the Arboretum at Kew% which thus 

 became the nucleus of a siill larger collection 

 now unsurpassed. 



Still earlier— in 1706— the Countess of Had- 

 dington was a great lover of trees. She sold her 

 jewels to enable her to plant Binning Wood. 

 Will the ladies of New York sell their jewels 

 to build a horticultural hall and flower market? 

 One of the most beautiful places of England 

 was formed, partly by the influence and partly 

 by the pique of a woman. 



The former Earl of Harrington married an 

 actress, and the gentry of the neighborhood re- 

 fused to recognize her. He therefore resolved 

 that he would have something which they 

 should not see while he lived So to Elvas- 

 ton Castle he brought, at great expense, large 

 cedars of Lebanon, yews and other trees. Some 

 of the yews were over six hundred years old. 

 The result was a place of wonderful beauty, 

 which was rigorously closed against visitors until 

 after his death, when it was thrown open to the 

 public. I shall not soon forget my first sight of 

 it, and no words of mine can do it justice. A 

 hollow hedge of yew seemed like the sinuous 

 folds of a boa constrictor, with windows in its sides, 

 and all around were golden yews trimmed in 

 various forms — of columns and pedestals and 

 vases and birds and crowns and footstools and 

 arm chairs, all bright as burnished gold, while 

 dark green upright Irish yews stood on guard 

 like sable sentinels in a golden palace. 



At Binstead, in the Isle of Wight, the skill and 

 taste of Lady Downs has formed grounds of 

 much beauty. Lady Pembroke is the author of 



the well-known garden at Wilton House ; and the 

 Countess of Cowper designed the remarkable 

 Box garden at Pansh anger. These are but few 

 of many instances. All England is one vast 

 garden, and an English lady who does not take 

 an interest in her own part of it, is an excep- 

 tion. In some instances the result of this 

 interest is very remarkable. I once stumbled 

 upon a curious piece of rock landscape near the 

 quaint old town of Chester, and found that it be- 

 longed to Lady Hamilton, owing its creation to 

 her taste and skill. From the seclusion of a 

 hedge we opened suddenly upon the lawn. The 

 illusion was perfect. There was scarcely two 

 acres of ground, and yet there appeared a broad 

 valley with Alpine mountains. Rockwork formed 

 the mountains, with gentle slopes and occasional 

 pockets, while the crowning forests were small 

 pyramidal evergreens, so arranged that it was 

 difiicult to realize that the foreground did not 

 cover miles of plain, — that the rocks were not 

 truly Alpine heights, crowned by Alpine forests. 



I have spoken of the interest in horticulture 

 shown by English women. We are not entirely 

 deficient in this country. I know many Ameri- 

 can women who take more interest in their 

 grounds and know more of horticulture than do 

 their husbands. I was once walking with an 

 accomplished lady through her grounds near 

 Baltimore, and found that she was familiar with 

 all processes of culture, and had the true busi- 

 ness capability, in that she paid all the ex- 

 penses of her lawn and gardens by the cultiva- 

 tion and sale of mushrooms. 



The genius of American society is, however, 

 against country homes and their resulting gar- 

 dens. The attractions of watering places and of 

 foreign and domestic travel, are such that 

 American women prefer to move about, to avoid 

 the cares of a country house and the annoyan- 

 ces of domestic service. Thus it is doubtful if 

 our country will ever contain the numerous 

 charming country homes which are found in 

 England. If such' country homes are few and 

 exceptional, there is the more reason to have 

 the city homes adorned by all that is beautiful 

 in plants and flowers. 



It is possible to hav-e gardens upon the house- 

 tops, into which all beautiful and rare plants can 

 be gathered. It is possible to have a horticultu- 

 ral hall in which will be exhibited every variety 

 ofplant or flower which American enterprise can 

 furnish. It is possible to have therein a library, 

 which will give all the horticultural information 



