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I GARDENERS' CHRONICLE I 



(OF AMERICA) 

 Devoted to the Science of Floriculture an 





d Horticulture 



I 

 I 



■ Vol. XXV 



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NOVEMBER, 1921 



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Things and Thoughts of the Garden 



MONTAGUE FREE 



■^ 



No. 



BY using Birmingham as headquarters when on a hor- 

 ticultural pilgrimage one has the advantage of being 

 able, at the expense of an hour or two's travel, to 

 contrast the utter desolation'of the "Black Country" so far 

 as vegetation is concerned, with the rural beauty that sur- 

 rounds the birthplace of Shakespeare. The "Black Coun- 

 try" is an industrial area, which takes in part of Warwick- 

 shire, Statt'ordshire, and Worcestershire — characterized in 

 the daytime by a pall of sooty smoke which always hovers 

 over it, and at night by the lurid glare from the blast 

 furnaces. 



As can be readily imagined, this district offers but little 

 of interest to the gardener. The fumes, smoke, dust and 

 refuse generally from the factories make it impossible to 

 do any fine gardening. But the love for gardening is not 

 non-existent, even in this factory area, for we noticed on 

 our way to Birmingham, that at Hinckley, one of the sta- 

 tions on the line, there were extensive new plantations of 

 roses, hybrid perpetuals and teas. These were planted in 

 connection with a thrifty appearing hosiery factory. 



The parks on the outskirts of Birmingham, which is 

 on the border if not actually within the "Black Country" 

 district, exhibit fairly good gardens of the usual park type, 

 namely, an abundance of formal and carpet bedding. In 

 Tower Grove Park, which is considered to be the best in 

 Birmingham, a model of a crow-n, eight or ten feet high 

 and as mtich in diameter, made up of various bedding 

 plants, was evidently a feature of great interest. 



When in this section, our first serious studv of gardens 

 was made in the village of Bourneville, possibly the pre- 

 mier garden city. This is the home of the famous Cad- 

 bury Chocolate Factory, and it is here that so much has 

 been done to render tolerable the lives of the factory 

 workers by the provision of suitable houses, each with 

 ample garden space, and by laying out the village with 

 due regard to landscape considerations — the exact oppo- 

 site of what one usually encounters in a factory town. 

 This enlightened and progressive firm provides a recrea- 

 tion area for its girl workers, consisting of a garden 

 covering about thirteen acres, that has all the appur- 

 tenances one finds on a well kept private estate. This area 

 was formerly a country estate and, in adapting it for the 

 needs of the girl workers, very few radical changes have 

 been made. The number of tennis courts has been grcatlv 

 augmented and an outdoor theatre constructed, but apart 

 from this and the fact that provision for its upkeep is 

 made in a manner that is seldom seen on private estates 

 in England at the present time, there is little to distin- 



guish it from a private garden. The old, walled, kitchen 

 garden, which occupies about four acres, has in part been 

 changed over to a flower garden, although many of the 

 old fruit trees, both in the open and on the walls, have 

 been left standing. This garden contains well laid out 

 herbaceous borders, and the less prominent parts of it are 

 devoted to the production of cut flowers which are used 

 in the decoration of the various dining rooms. Here we 

 saw sweet peas with all the laterals pinched out, grown 

 to a single stem, each tied to an individual stake, towering 

 up in the air, and comparable to anything rather than 

 sweet peas. One cannot help feeling that sweet peas 

 were never meant to be treated in this way, even though 

 it may be possible by this means to get extra long and 

 stout flowering stems. 



In this part of the garden are located the greenhouses, 

 which are used for growing decorative material, mainly 

 flowering plants for use in reception halls, dining rooms, 

 and rest rooms in the factory. Later on, when making 

 an inspection of the factory we saw some of this material 

 in the shape of tuberous Begonias, which weve of superb 

 excellence, and fit to grace the tables of any floral ex- 

 hibition. 



In England no garden seems to be complete unless it 

 has provision made for the growth of alpine and rock 

 plants, and this garden was no exception. Here a steep 

 slope is utilized, faced with rocks and planted with alpine 

 and other rock plants, forming a pleasant adjunct to the 

 general ensemble. Near by is a formal lily pool, which 

 occupies the site of the former mansion. In this pool is 

 a large collection of hardy water lilies. 



Passing from the pool, we come to the open air stage 

 with its amijhitheatre of closely mown turf. The stage is 

 approached by steps in the classic style, and is surrounded 

 by a pergola clothed with vines. This whole area is en- 

 circled with gracefully overarching trees, and altogether 

 fomis an ideal setting for pastoral and other plays, which 

 are produced by the employees of the factorv. 



The ,g)-mnasium, which is also used as a lunch room, 

 presents a blaze of color to the observer coming in from 

 the garden, for its veranda is beautified by the use of 

 enormous hanging baskets, furnished with such plants 

 as fuchsia and ivy-leaved geranium. The pillars of the 

 veranda and other vantage points are utilized to support 

 various flowering vines, and one of these. Clematis King 

 Edward VII. was making a wonderful display at the 

 time of our visit. The garden is open for the use of 

 girl employees from " a. m. to p, ni., of course exclusive 



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