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THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



AMERICAN GARDENS AND GARDENERS. 



Editor. New York Times: 



Your correspondent, Mr. M. C. Ebel in answering Mrs. Marti- 

 neau's article about American apathy toward gardening, evidently 

 knows little of the interest taken in this subject in England, 

 and his remark that foreign visitors agreed that our great inter- 

 national show last spring surpassed anything of the kind wliich 

 can be seen abroad has nothing to do with the point. That 

 show consisted entirely of greenhouse grown plants, and under 

 glass northern Europe cannot compete with us, because there is 

 not enough sun. 



American apathy to matters horticultural seemed clear enough 

 to me when I found the international show nearly empty on the 

 morning I went, although only 25 cents admission was charged. 

 At the Plolland House show in London last summer it took half 

 an hour to reach the entrance because there was such a crush 

 of carriages, and nearly .$2 admission was charged. 



How many people in New Y'ork does Mr. Ebel think would go 

 to a flower show at that price? Then he goes on to say that 

 instead of leaving their gardens too much in the hands of gar- 

 deners the American owners of estates do not leave them enough, 

 because they employ so-called landscapers and other "experts." 

 But what I feel sure Mrs. Martineau meant was that the owners 

 took so little personal interest. Whether the gardens are left 

 to gardeners or "landscapers," they can't have the individuality 

 or express long years of loving care and thought, like English 

 gardens, and to any one- fond of gardens it is truly sad to see 

 how few owners of fine estates about New York know the diiTer- 

 cnce between an annual and a perennial, or recognize plants when 

 they see them. 



I agree with Mr. Ebel that the landscape architects are doing 

 a very great deal of harm because of their often complete igno- 

 rance" of the requirements of plants. They seem sometimes to 

 imagine that living trees and shrubs can be used by the yard 

 like wood or stone, without considering whether they are to grow 

 in sun or shade, in a sheltered or in an exposed position. And 

 of stone walls, balustrades, statutes, etc., they use far too much, 

 because stone is beautiful in Italy, where the mild, damp climate 

 softens it with moss and ivy. the fact that moss and ivy die 

 on a sunny terrace in this country seems to be ignored. If only 

 their rich patrons knew more about gardening, some of the land- 

 scape architects would be unable to continue their ugly and 

 expensive constructions. 



What a great public blessing it would be if some one would 

 start a crusade against the dreadful planting in front of our 

 new library at Forty-second street. Among other horrors, weep- 

 ing forsythia has been planted at the foot of the wall. It should 

 only be" planted on top of a wall or bank where it can hang 

 « down. There are erect varieties of forsythia. and why are there 

 no evergreens to gladden our hearts? C. 



Tuxedo Park, November 17, 1913. 



Editor, New Y'ork Times: 



Replying to "C," who took issue with me in tlie Times of 

 yesterday on "Apathy Towards Gardening," in which he states 

 that I evidently knov: little of the interest taken in tliis subject 

 in England, I am aware that the estate owners abroad are more 

 attached to their gardens than we find the American owners to 

 be. but I am also awake to the fact that Americans are mani- 

 festino a keener interest in gardening in this present age than 

 they ever did before. 



In his comparison of the New York show of last spring with 

 that of the Holland House Show in London last siimmer. morn- 

 inir is no time to seek a New York crowd. Had "C" visited the 

 New Y'ork Show on any afternoon he would have found big 

 crowds and a long line of automobiles and carriages awaiting 

 their turn to get to the door; and these crowds were present, 

 although the weather was most inclement, during many of the 

 days on which the show was held. I venture to say that with 

 the great interest which has developed in floAver shows in this 

 country within the past few years, we will witness similar 

 scenes' at our shows before another score of years rolls by, as 

 are now seen at the European flower shows. 



During the four days of the Fall Flower Show of the Horticul- 

 tural Society of New York, which was held the first of this month 

 at the American Museum of Natural History, over 200,000 people 

 passed through the doors. 



"C" states that "whether the gardens are left to the gardeners 

 or landscapers, they cannot have the individuality or expression 

 of long years of loving care and thought like the English gar- 

 dens." To this I answer that long before many of our American 

 estates attain the age of most of the English estates they will 

 compare most favorably in their natural beauty, which is being 

 developed, but which only time can finish. 



American landscapes should not be compared with English 

 landscapes. An American landscaper, who knows his business, 

 can get more beautiful cfTocts in the fall from the coloring of the 

 leavra than Europe ever dreamed of. This is due to difi^erent 



climatic conditions. On tlie other hand, Europe surpasses us in 

 its winter landscape effects on account of the holly, hews and 

 many varieties of laurel that are ever green in E\u'ope, and 

 which we, owing to our climate, cannot grow successfully because 

 they are not hardy with us. But the possibility for beautiful 

 effects are just as great here as in Eiu'ope or in any other part 

 of the world; it simply remains to the skill of the gardener to 

 develop them. Up to now much of our trouble has been due to 

 slavishly trying to follow European models and ideas. America 

 presents opportunities for horticulture which are unequaled in 

 any other portion of the globe. California and Florida can pro- 

 duce wonderful tropical effects; the East, while it may miss some 

 of the hardy evergreens, still can grow enough varieties to make 

 evergreens a feature, and. as stated above, our beautiful fall 

 efrects are unequalled in any part of the world. 



I quite agree with "C" that the plantings surrounding the new 

 library at Fifth avenue and Forty-second street is an eyesore 

 and a disgrace to a municipality like New Y'ork, but this is not 

 the fault of the practical gardener, and in all likelihood is the 

 handiwork of some of the so-called "landscapers." Now, I do 

 not want to be understood as believing there are no capable land- 

 scape architects — there are many of them, but there are many 

 more engaged in tliat profession today possessed of absolutely 

 no qualilications to fit them for that calling, than there are those 

 fitted for it. 



M. C. EBEL, 

 Secretary. National Association of Gardeners. 



Madison, N. .J.. November 19, 1913. 



Editor. New Y'ork Times: 



Miss Martineau's remarks about gardening have stirred up two 

 or more correspondents of the Times to write gratuitous gen- 

 eral statements about "theorists" and "landscapers" in so much 

 that one of a long suffering cult is goaded to rush into print 

 in reply. 



The landscape architect looks first of all at a tree or bush 

 as a part of the composition; this, of course, does not interfere 

 witli a lively interest in the plant itself. It means that he is 

 tr.ving to create the individualitj' tliat "C" says our gardens can- 

 not have; for the designer should, and as a rule does, try to 

 express the individuality of his client in the garden as the archi- 

 tect does (when he can) in the house. It is quite true that trees 

 and shrubs are used at times by the yard like wood or stone; 

 but, if "C" will investigate he will usually find that this is not 

 done by the landscape architect. 



T have no desire to sneer publicly at a worthy and necessary 

 class of men like gardeners, but, having had a good deal of ex- 

 perience among them, I can say that too often they appear to 

 lie more anxious to exploit their own ideas than to develop the 

 scheme laid down by the landscape architect. At times, they 

 actually seem to think tliat a good layout is detrimental to good 

 gardening and a successful place, instead of being necessary to 

 tliem. "SMien the gardener questions the designer's knowledge of 

 planting, he should remember that no one knows what a plant is 

 going to do until he has tried, and that the landscape architect, 

 continually working in new localities and conditions, is fairly 

 sure to make mistakes that no one could have foreseen. The gar- 

 dener, on the other hand, works in one place, studies Its possi- 

 bilities and its limitations, and is able to cover up and replace 

 liis own mistakes, and, at times, to make the most of those of 

 the designer, wjio luis gone and cannot amend his errors or defend 

 himself. 



If the gardeners would study design more and learn to appreci- 

 ate it better, they would be more efliicient and valuable in their 

 calling and woiild learn how mutually helpful the gardener and 

 the designer can be. I believe that there is perhaps no single 

 cause of the deficiencies of American gardens greater than this 

 lack of sympathy between the designer of the work and the man 

 who must maintain and develop it. The gardener who criticises 

 the landscape architect hastily and inclusively should remember 

 that since Central Park the landscape architect has created all 

 the great park systems and most of the private places of impor- 

 tance, and thereby provided a livelihood for large numbers of 

 gardeners A^ho otherwise might never have existed. 



New York, November IS, 1913. HAROLD A. CAPARN. 



Editor. New York Tim<s: 



Your correspondent. Harold A. Caparn, falls far short of the 

 mark in his conception of the real gardener. He confounds so- 

 called gardeners (those who call themselves gardeners with no 

 more right to the title than the "theoretical landscaper") with 

 the practical men engaged in the gardening profession and whose 

 training in it dates back to childhood. When those who require 

 the services of gardeners will come to the understanding that 

 there is a most decided distinction between untrained and thor- 

 ough gardeners, they will have overcome much that many of them 

 now have to contend with in the maintaining of their country 

 estates. 



