September 26, 1908 



HORTICULTURE 



409 



Horticulture at the Franco-British 

 Exhibition 



NO. II. 

 THE FRENCH GARDEN 



We should be sorry to offend the susceptibilities of 

 our fellow countrymen but magna est Veritas, et prac- 

 valebit. The French garden at the Franco-British 

 Exhibition is unquestionably the finest bit of horticul- 

 tural work there and a complete contrast to the so-called 

 English garden of which a few notes will be sent later 

 on. Although the Elite gardens are entirely made up 

 of exhibits from Frenchmen the one now under consid- 

 eration is specially known as "'the French Garden," it 

 having been designed and laid out by M. Vacherot, the 

 head gardener to the City of Paris and the horticultural 

 superintendent of the Paris 1900 International Univer- 

 sal Exposition. We offer him here our sincere compli- 

 ments on his talent which has been ably supported by 

 the exhibitors. 



As we leave the Elite gardens we pass under the arch- 

 way by the side of the Restaurant Paillard, cross the 

 Avenue of Progress and find ourselves in front of a 

 large open space of rectangular form flanked on three 

 sides by the Machinery Halls. A middle path runs 

 from one end to the other, and right and left is a series 

 of geometrical beds and borders laid out with consum- 

 mate taste and skill. As we enter we find on our right 

 and left two large sunken gardens planted by Vilmorin 

 Andrieux & Co. in the choicest style. They are both 

 identical and a description of one will answer for the 

 other. Each is thirty-eight yards in length by nine yards 

 in width. At intervals on the ga rden level are huge stone 

 vases on pedestals filled with flowering plants, ivy-leaved 

 pelargoniums and the like. On the inside is a semi- 

 circular stone balustrade occupying the middle half, 

 which is continued to each end by a narrow flower box 

 planted with tropseolums, marguerites, petunias, ager- 

 atums and the like. The sides and ends of this sunken 

 garden have grassy slopes upon which have been cut out 

 borders in the form of garlands connected at the end by 

 little circular beds. The garland borders are planted 

 with Begonia gracilis rubra and the little connecting 

 beds with bright golden French marigolds. Access to 

 the lower 'level of the sunken garden is obtained by a 

 flight of steps at intervals, each of which is flanked 

 with zonal pelargoniums and other brightly colored flow- 

 ers in quantity. On the lower level there is just suffi- 

 cient gravel path to allow the visitor to inspect the 

 floral design that is cut out on a flat green turf lawn. 

 A most artistic combination of scrolls and fleur de lys 

 comprises the design which at a little distance looks like 

 a handsome piece of carpet bedding. Begonia gracilis 

 rubra, and several others are freely employed to fill the 

 design and blue lobelia in quantity heightens the color 

 effect in a most amazing manner. There are at inter- 

 vals some fine palms and other ornamental plants which 

 lend an indescribable grace to this high class work of 

 floral art. On the inner side immediately beneath the 

 semi-circular stone balustrade is a little pond filled with 

 water lilies and other aquatics by M. Lagrange. 



We mount the steps and again find ourselves on the 

 ground level of the French garden. Proceeding further 



down we notice Geo. Bruant of Poitiers has some of 

 his zonal pelargoniums and other flowers in two triangu- 

 lar beds. Away in the distance vases, statuary and 

 fountains are plainly visible to lend a charm and vary 

 the design of the ground plan forming the garden. We 

 pass a sunken garden of circular form the sloping grassy 

 sides clothed with ivy-leaved pelargoniums and the bot- 

 tom planted with a bed of scarlet zonals and blue ager- 

 atum. Around it is a path and beds shaped to fit the 

 circle. Ad. Rothberg has standard and small bush roses 

 in great profusion, so too has Louis Leroy of Angers. 

 Leon Pain has two large lots in horse-shoe beds. 



Leveque and Son of Paris exhibit roses a little further 

 down towards the middle. Very fine are Mildred Grant, 

 Mine. Hoste, Suzanne Marie, Prince de Bulgarie, Rosel 

 Klein, Souvenir du President Carnot, Papa Lambert, 

 Mme. Abel Chatenay, Paul Olier, etc. 



Another important exhibit in the form of a hollow 

 square comes from Cayeux and Leclerc. A lawn is in 

 the middle and a path between that and the outer edge. 

 Various flowers for culture in the open are here dis- 

 played. The same exhibitors stage shrubs in two lots. 

 Ilex marginata alba, Magnolia grandifolia Exmouth, 

 Osmanthus illieifolius, are alternated with foxgloves, 

 funkias, Anemone Japonica, gaillardias and others. 



At the four corners of the middle of this garden 

 caused by a transverse path Abel Chatenay has planted 

 standard and bush formed lilacs in large numbers. 

 Further on towards the end where the outer lawns bend 

 inwards and enclose a water fountain with aquatics 

 shown by M. Lagrange are two groups, one on each side 

 of the entrance, by Croux and Son. These comprise 

 some fine examples of ornamental trees and shrubs, 

 Enonymus radicans Silver Gem, Prunus Pissardi, Phil- 

 lyrea media, Cornus Siberica elegantissima, Buxus sem- 

 pervirens compacta, B. aurea compacta, Negundo ele- 

 gans foliis marginatis, Cedrus Atlantica ccerulea are the 

 most effective. 



Auguste Xonin's two lots bring us to the end. He 

 has two long borders running round the edges of a 

 couple of quaintly shaped grass lawns. The planting 

 of these consists of Calceolaria Triomphe du Nord, Im- 

 patiens Oliveri. Anthemis floribunda, Hydrangea arbor- 

 escens grandiflora, Fuchsia Robt. Blabry and F. Ernest 

 Renan, Lobelia Deanville, Plumbago ccerulea, Helio- 

 trope Mathilde Cremieux, Lantana Soliel d'Or and a 

 host of others. 



Home Grounds of a Working 

 Gardener 



The pretty view used ;is a cover illustration this week 

 was taken in the home grounds of J. H. Troy at New 

 Rochelle, 1ST. Y. It tells its own story and needs no 

 description for the class of readers reached by HORTI- 

 CULTURE. Xo better evidence of a man's capability 

 in gardening can be given than may be found about his 

 own home. It is the sort of object lesson which stimu- 

 lates emulation and inspires confidence that the owner 

 can be trusted to do creditable work elsewhere. The 

 florist or landscape gardener cannot devise a more ef- 

 fective advertisement than to set forth in his place of 

 business and around his home, so far as the available 

 room will permit, the very best that his art can produce. 



