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GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



(OF AMERICA) B<rr.v^,CAt 



Devoted to the Science q'^ Floriculture and Horticulture 



Vol. XXVI 



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JANUAKY, 1922 



No. i ■ 



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Things and Thoughts of the Garden 



MONTAGUE FREE 



IT IS. of course impossible to describe Kew in an article 

 such as this, so the attempt will be made only to give 



the impression of a one-time Britisher, now an Amer- 

 ican, on returning- to his Alma Mater after an absence of 

 ten years. 



One striking thing about Kew as viewed in 1921 is the 

 marvellous recovery it has made since the setback due to 

 the war. From pessimistic reports received during this 

 period of its run down condition owing to lack of labor, 

 coupled with the fact that onions were growing in the 

 parterre in front of the palm house and the Palace lawn 

 had been plowed for potatoes, one would be justified in 

 thinking that years must ela])se before it could regain 

 its pre-war excellence. I'.ut apart from the poor appear- 

 ance due entirely to the drought, Kew seemed to be look- 

 ing exceptionally well and there were no evidences of 

 neglect, but the drought certainly worked havoc with 

 many of the plants, and it was interesting to notice their 

 reaction to these dry conditions. The rhododendrons in 

 the wilder section of the garden, where it was impossible 

 to water them, were in a sorry condition. The bamboos, 

 too, were showing signals of distress, but the hollies and 

 holm oaks were apparentlv none the worse. 



One of the important features of the garden and one 

 that might be duplicated to advantage in many gardens, 

 both public and private, was a large group planting made 

 up entirely of trees and shrubs with various foliage. 

 This, of course, is a feature that could easily be overdone 

 and one in which it would l)e easy to get the wrong notes, 

 unless the planter had ]3erfect taste and good knowledge 

 of the color and the texture of the material used. 



.-\ list of some of the plants used in this group max- be 

 of value and provide suggestions for anyone who may 

 ibe sufficiently interested to try out a similar planting 

 scheme. There were: Prunus cerasifcra atropiirpurca iP. 

 Pissardi) . the purple leaved plum ; Japanese maples in vari- 

 etv : the evergreen Euonymits Japonkns, in both gold and 

 silver variegated forms, ( the type by the way, is hardy 

 in Brooklyn in vears when the winters are not too severe) ; 

 Corniis controz'ersa varH\s;ata. a large leaved species with 

 white margins — probablv not hardy in the north : Cornus 

 alba var. Spcrthu. leaves edged with yellow : Artemisia 

 tridcutata and Sa>itoIina cliaiiuccyparissiis. which pro- 

 vide a grey tint in the [jlanting: Catalpa biaiionoidcs 

 aiirca. a form with yellow leaves, very effective: Bcr- 

 hcris ■:idgaris var. atvopnrpurca. the common purple 

 leaved Barberry: Acer Xe^^undn ■zvricgafa. with silvery 



variegation; Acer XeLiimdu aurea. with yellow leaves; 

 Corylus uiaxima atru purpurea, an extremely effective 

 form with large leaves and the coloring of Copper Beech ; 

 Diervilla dorida fariegata; Ligustrum ovalifolium vari- 

 cgatum; L'linus eaiupcstris var. Louis van Houttc, a 

 form of the English Elm having its leaves tinged with 

 yellow and many variegated varieties of Ilex Aquifolimn. 



^ ^ ^ 



The hot Summer and abundance of sunshine evidently 

 proved satisfactory to aquatic plants in general and at 

 Kew as at every other garden we visited, where aquatics 

 were a feature, the water lilies were superb. 



The formal water garden at Kew is indeed beautiful 

 and possesses one or two unusual features. The central 

 part is occupied by a long pool rounded at each end. 

 This is used for the cultivation of hardy water lilies 

 which are planted in baskets of suitable soil. On either 

 side are two rectangular tanks which are filled with soil 

 almost to their brims. In these such plants are 

 grown as require wet soil but which do not need to 

 be submerged. At each corner there are tanks, raised 

 2'i ft. or sn above the level of the central pool and 

 reaching to the height of the terrace which surrounds 

 the water garden. Here may been seen a collection of 

 miscellaneous aquatics, especially those kinds whose 

 beauty is more apparent when subjected to the close 

 inspection afforded by these raised tanks. On the ter- 

 race and serving to enclose the pools is a beautiful hedge 

 of Berberis stcnophylla which is kept sheared, but this 

 apparently does not prevent it from blooming for it is 

 reputed to be a wonderful sight in the Spring. It is a 

 shrub that stands shearing well and forms such an ad- 

 mirable, impenetrable hedge that one regrets that it 

 is not sufficient hardy to stand our climate. In the back- 

 ground one catches glimpses of an old red brick wall 

 clothed with shrubs and climbers, and, back of this, trees ' 

 of varied habit form an interesting skyline to which em- 

 phasis is given bv the spire-like forms of one or two 

 Lombardy Poplars. 



An interesting pool in another ])art of the garden re- 

 ceives its water in the form of condensed steam from the 

 pumping station. As a result of this the water never 

 freezes over and it is possible to grow therein a number of 

 plants which are usually looked upon as being tender. 

 At the time of our visit, this pool was made gorgeous 

 by water lilies of many hues : and its banks were at- 

 tractive by reason of manv plants of subtropical appear- 

 ance such as Thalia dealbahi and Zizania aquatic. 



