For October, 1921 



735 



Welcoming the Visiting Gardeners to New York 



MRS. SAMUEL SLOAN, President, Garden Club of America 



I HARDLY know \\h\' I am here ! You are probably 

 as much surprised as I am! I am in great awe of 

 you ; for I feel like a woman who was president of an 

 art club and in writuig to the Federation of Arts for in- 

 formation, said she knew nothing about art. and was 

 president only because she was willing to work. 



It is a great honor your secretary, ]\Ir. Ebel, has con- 

 ferred upon the Garden Club of America in asking its 

 president to welcome you all to New York for your an- 

 nual convention. We, who live near New York, are 

 happy to have you meet here and we extend to you a 

 sincere and heart}' welcome. 



Of course, each one of you feels that his particular 

 spot, whether in New England or the West, is the best ! 

 However, we think that right here in the vicinity of New 

 York we have many gardens of which to be proud. It 

 is a pleasure to know that yoti are to visit several oi 

 the beautiful estates nearby and I am sure you will enjoy 

 seeing them. 



No matter where I go gardens (and the love of 

 gardening) are taking hold of everyone. Everyone is 

 talking, thinking, and dreaming of gardening. We have 

 all heard of hanging gardens, air plants, formal and in- 

 formal gardens, and in fact all kinds of gardens, but I 

 confess I wondered when I saw "apartment gardens" 

 advertised. Are they on the roof, fach owner having a 

 piece? We all notice a tremendous and a fortunate 

 change coming over America, and I hope that gradually 

 we shall see everyone more interested in the subject, 

 and that all will feel the necessity and desir- for a garden. 



The Garden Club of America wishes to encourage 

 Beauty in Gardening as a fine art. You can help better 

 than anyone by encouraging young men to enter the 

 profession (I will not speak of young women, for verv 

 few of you like them as gardeners). There is no nobler 

 or better calling than gardening, and we need the best 

 gardeners. 



There seems to me to be many classes of amateur 

 gardeners : 



1. The estate owner who takes neither a vital interest 



nor particular pleasure in improvements, and leaves all 

 decisions and responsibility to a competent superintendent. 

 You and I do nut like this relation where there is no 

 sympathy between employer and employee. 



2. The owner of a small garden who has real knowl- 

 edge and taste and works in his or her own garden. 



3. The owner of an estate of medium or large size 

 who is keenly interested in all improvements for beauti- 

 fying the garden and who wants and expects the best. 



Eighteen months ago your president, Mr. Craig, gave 

 a very delightful address before the Garden Club of 

 America on "The Relation of the Employer to the Em- 

 ployee." It was a most interesting talk and one w'hich 

 sanJv deeply into the minds of his audience. The need of 

 sympathy between employer and employee is great. No 

 one can do good work without encouragement, but do 

 you ever realize that the employer also wants encourage- 

 ment? In these days of garden craze, of garden books, 

 and garden lectures, are you surprised if an owner, 

 who has observed and studied, thinks she knows some- 

 thing and wishes to turn her garden upside down and in- 

 side out ? You may know her idea is unwise ; — perhaps 

 this tree will die. and these flowers will not grow — but 

 do not discourage this enthusiasm and this desire for 

 knowledge. Let her learn by experience ; we all must. 

 Please be patient with your enthusiastic employer, for 

 without your co-operation it is impossible to change the 

 badly planted stiff flower beds into restful and charming 

 surroundings in which to live. 



I have just heard that 22.000 cannas were planted in 

 ^^'ashington this Summer. Think of the horror and 

 waste of time ! 



I do w-ant to make a plea to you for better and simpler 

 effects in landscape gardening. Do not sacrifice every- 

 thing in trj'ing to grow bigger flowers than your neigh- 

 bor, or in attempting to have larger gardens, but remem- 

 ber the best and happiest background is simplicit\', for 

 there rest and beautv are found. 



Help make Gardening a Fine .Art. 



Samuel Untermyer's Esteem of the 

 Profession of Gardening 



THE National Association of Gardeners, who have 

 held their annual convention in New York City, 

 visited Greystone, the magnificent estate of Samuel 

 Untermyer. Following the meeting, the members motored 

 to Greystone. and enjoyed luncheon. I\Ir. L'ntermver 

 came up from New "S'ork in the course of the luncheon 

 especially to address them. 



Upon his arrival he was greeted with a great burst of 

 applause. He said in part: "I have come here from the 

 city for the purpose of greeting you and welcoming you 

 to Greystone." he began. "I congratulate you upon your 

 profession, for it is a profession. Indeed I envy you. 

 It is one of the greatest and most scientific of all pro- 

 fessions. 



"I have often told my friend, and gardener, Mr. Mil- 

 lard, that I would like to exchange places with him. I 

 would like to live among the plants and flowers, while he 

 grubbed in Wall street." (Laughter.) "You have in 

 your keeping the progression of a great work, and the 



opi)ortunity to do great good. To you has fallen the 

 work of developing intensive vegetation. You can do 

 what no other man can do ; you can make two blades 

 grow where but one grew before." 



It had long been his ambition, he went on, to get away 

 from the artificialities and turmoil of business, to get back 

 to the quiet and beauty of nature. 



Mr. Untermyer spoke of the great opportunities that 

 are open to the women of the country in gardening. She 

 is the creator, he said, she has the natural sympathy with 

 Nature. "If you start her at gardening," he* declared, 

 "it won't be long before you men are out of the race." 



The work of the gardeners of the country is most im- 

 portant, he continued, exjilaining how they are teaching 

 the world what to eat and giving the world better things 

 to eat. He spoke of the great imdertaking of Col. Wil- 

 liam B. Thompson, who is about to spend a fortune on 

 a vast horticultural research laboratory on his estate, 

 north of Greystone. 



