jy4 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



what an artist and philosopher once pronounced an en- 

 chanting piece of realistic brook poetry. The log cabin 

 in the rear, by the brook, was built by the founder of 

 "Compton Garden" for his hours of relaxation after re- 

 turning from his city office. He knew the rejuvenating 

 power of free nature and loved to listen to her voices 

 around him. To go down from his mansion on a turbu- 

 lent November day and in his log cabin alongside the open 

 fireplace hear the driving rain on the roof, the raging 

 of the wind through the crowns of the trees and the deep 

 murmuring of the foaming brook was emotion stirring. 

 Again during the month of May, with door and windows 

 wide open the jubilant song of wooing birds, the buzzing 

 of busy bees and the gleeful prattling of the brook was 

 delight. Thus, when looking at the picture of the brook 

 at "Compton Garden" it is to be borne in mind that the 

 amiable character and simplicity in the composition of the 

 scenery and the distinguished personality of John T. 

 Morris are inseparable. 



The out of door fernery in connection with biook and 

 natural stream is one of the most alluring possibilities. 

 However to produce and maintain a luxuriant growth 



pal list ris and Pri inula rosea and Priiiuila veris appeal to 

 us. We also know of meadow rue, ranunculus, trollius and 

 valerians being suitable subjects for^our purpose. But 

 not until we have seen the tropical lu.xuriance and the 

 metallic lustre of the large-leaved funkias, above all of 

 Funkia fortiinci gigaiitca; not until we have studied the 

 possibilities of Iris pseudo-acorns with its strong flood- 

 resisting root system : and not until we behold the gor- 

 geous color displays of Japanese and Siberian irises can 

 we fully realize the wide scope for artistic compositions 

 along brook and -natural stream. It is in the tempered 

 atmosphere near running water where grace in leaf and 

 flower invested in stately specimens of Spiraea aruncus 

 and Spiraea paimata in beauty vies with the heavy yet 

 highly decorative foliage of Gunnera scabra and the dif- 

 ferent species of Senecio. Many are the pleasant sur- 

 prises we meet with at our work down along the brook 

 and one of the happiest to me was to notice the vigorous 

 growth of all the species of Astilbc, especially the in- 

 comparable eft'ect obtained by employing the new As- 

 tilbe Arendsi hybrids close to the water edge. Indeed 

 the large, erect, feathery flower heads in beautiful clear 



Brook i'lantuig Late in Mii\ on Ihc Author's urvunds, Glcnsidc. I'a. 



and beautiful effect outdoors beside a natural stream of 

 water necessitates partial shade and protection against 

 high winds. Therefore the natural ravine with oppor- 

 tunities for rock-pocket construction along more or less 

 steep slopes will prove ideal for extraordinary displays. 



Visions and dreams cropping out of a yearning desire 

 to work on some enticing problem are among the most 

 obstinate and tantalizing things in human life. When at 

 last mv brook zigzagged in sight I was more than ever 

 bent on a realization of the poet's image with the inten- 

 tion to accentuate the line : "Through the flowers and 

 foliage glancing" as strong as possible. Beginning with 

 the practical part it is self-evident that the moist grotind 

 conditions along creek and brook call for moisture loving 

 plants. For lining of our water edge we naturally first 

 think of M\'osotis paliistris, the swamp forget-me-not. In 

 tui'ii the ilifl"i'rent si)ecies of marsh marigolds: Calllia 



pink shades above a dense growth of glossy green foliage 

 are among the most novel and attractive features of floral 

 display at the immediate brook waterline. The two 

 illustrations of brook views from the author's grounds 

 at Glenside, Pa., convey samples of arrangement and 

 character of vegetation in open sunny positions. 



.Similar to rock-garden building, landscape architecture 

 in connection with brook and stream brings us closely 

 hack to the beautiful in nature. Brook treatment com- 

 pared with bog gardening and shore planting of lake and 

 pond, however, offers infinitely more variety in highly 

 interesting problems to solve. It taxes our faculty of im- 

 agination and technical ingenuity to the utmost when the 

 natural fall of the ground increases the mobilitv of our 

 stream. In such cases the character of the work calls for 

 unlimited freedom for the landscape architect to follow 

 his conception in regard to form and composition. .Any 



