June 4, 1910 



nOKTICULTURt 



8 49 



More Flowers in the Garden 



The taste of the public in the furnishing of the gar- 

 den and pleasure grounds, and the effects at which we 

 aim in the present day are the beauty of the flowers 

 and the manner in which they are employed. Carpet 

 beds in more or less ornamental patterns were for many 

 years running' considered the acme of bedding out, and 

 such styles of flower gardening are even now to be found 

 in famous gardens in this and other lands. But I will 

 repress the scornful epithets applied to these by the 

 moderns. Then came the taste for angular beds, oval 

 and round bods, cut out in the turf and provided with 

 a central mass of one kind or variety of plant with one 

 •or several kinds of edging plants. This kind of plant- 

 ing is still the reigning mode, and the gardener en- 

 deavors by means of his various edgings to impart the 

 greatest possible amount of variety to the designs by 

 means of the sharpest contrasts; and in the middle 

 stands a yucca, a dracasna or a phoenix. But another 

 mode of planting is come into vogue for the flower bed 

 — started by a Dutch lady, Mrs. deLow, who advises the 

 planting in hamionious tones of one color. That which 

 she advocates in this style is hardly better than that 

 she desires to replace. She makes use of kidney or 

 bladder shaped beds instead of the geometrical shapes, 

 and forms these without any kind of order on the lawn 

 •or grass plot. 



Another kind of arrangement may be found in 

 the "color" garden at Darmstadt, and this is a sur- 

 prise to all who have observed it. This, however, will 

 not have, any more than carpet bedding, an enduring 

 popularity owing to the natural beauty of the individual 

 plants being lost in making the combinations of colors, 

 fine as these are. The mixed flower and foliage bed 

 now favored by many is in reality a going back to the 

 ancient flower border with its great simplicity. Such 

 beds possess a certain charm and pass very well in the 

 •ordinary country garden, but they are not suited to 

 public gardens, being too variegated in effect, however 

 well cared for. 



After all it appears probable that in the gardens 

 of the future a far greater number of hardy perennials 

 and biennials will find their employment in the fore- 

 ground of flowering and evergreen shrubs, naturally ar- 

 ranged as borders and groups. Good examples of this 

 method are found in Eegents, Battersea and Kensing- 

 ton Gardens. The erj- is always for more flowering 

 plants, and these must be planted so that each individual 

 shall display its natural beauty in color, as in habit of 

 growth. 



British Horticulture 



SOME GABDEN LEAVES 



"I have always believed that the happiness of man- 

 Tdnd may be increased by encouraging that love of a 

 garden, — that love of the beautiful wliich is innate in 

 us all." Thus wrote the cheery Dean Hole, who did 

 more than anyone else to popularize gardening, and 

 whose informative, gossipy books have gained a world- 

 wide reputation. The theory of promoting happiness 

 by a love of gardening was carried into practise. The 

 Dean's best known work, "Book About Eoses," has 

 •become an English classic, and has been translated into 



nearly every European tongue. British gardening is 

 extremely fortunate in the wealth of literature which 

 has been bestowed upon it by devoted enthusiasts, who 

 have found the hobby "the purest of human pleasures, 

 the greatest refreshment to the spirit of man." Rose 

 literature appears to have an irresistible fascination 

 for clerical writers. The Rev. J. H. Pemberton has 

 made a valuable contribution to this department. 

 Skilled as a grower and prize winner at the leading 

 shows, Mr. Pemberton is imminently qualified to act as 

 an historian of "the Queen of Flowers." His book, 

 "Roses: their history, development, and cultivation," 

 is well fitted to take its place with the older work of 

 the illustrious Dean of Rochester. The volume is a 

 reliable guide to all phases of rose culture. 



A USEFUL SELECTION 



"Roses for Amateurs" is a well written book of 

 invaluable instruction from the pen of the late Rev. 

 H. D'Ombrain, who was for many years Secretary to 

 (he National Rose Society; the work has lately reached 

 its third edition. Another manual on the same subject 

 has been written by the Rev. A. Foster Melliar, M. A. 

 Wm. Paul, a leading trade exhibitor, has incorporated 

 his many years' experience in an elaborately illustrated 

 work, "The Rose Garden." 



Coming to the wide range of books dealing generally 

 with horticultural subjects, one need not be an expert 

 to gain many delightful hours from a perusal of Alfred 

 Austin's "The Garden that I Love." Charming de- 

 scriptions enhance an appreciation of the garden's 

 illimitable interests, whilst the townsman cannot fail 

 to be infected with a yearning for a wholesome com- 

 munion with "Mother Nature." Even if one's garden 

 is the restricted area of a villa pjot, a wider purview 

 is obtained from the closely observed changes recorded 

 in Rider Haggard's "A Gardener's Year," which trans- 

 ]3orts one to the entrancing and ever-changing attrac- 

 tions of cut-door life. Word pictures of old world gar- 

 dens make one of Eden Phillpott's later works a 

 pleasant companion for the country lover. "Pot-Pourri 

 from a Surrey Garden," Mrs. E. W. Earle's clever work, 

 has caused many zealous admirers to take up a horti- 

 cultural hobby. 



ITEMS OF INTEREST 



The death of King Edward brought a large amount 

 of business to the florists. The day before the funeral 

 over 6,000 wreaths had been received, many of these^ -_ 

 being magnificent specimens of the florists' art. — A well i;'; 

 arranged model of a French garden has been shown at ^ 

 Warley Park, Birmingham, by Messrs. Sutton & Sons. 

 The garden 'covers some 1500 ft. and demonstrates 

 the latest methods of raising crops by the intensive 

 system. — The National Dahlia Society is conducting a 

 trial of single dahlias in connection with Messrs. J. 

 Cheal & Sons.— A movement for the formation of a 

 trades union of gardeners in Scotland has been set on 

 foot.— The Rev. E. Arkwright, of Telemly, Algiers, 

 announces that he has succeeded in introducing the 

 Spencer wave into the Telemly strain of winter-flower- 

 inty sweet peas. — Several British firms exhibited at a 

 flower show recently held at the Brussels International 

 Exhibition. — The death has recently taken place of 

 Mr. Wilson Ker, a well known and esteemed North 

 Countrv horticulturist. 



>tV QM'iXC^ 



