74 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



keep the roots of the roses cool during the hot Summer 

 months. Furthermore, if suitable plants are chosen their 

 flowers will contrast pleasantly with those of the roses, 

 provide beauty and interest when the roses are out of 

 bloom and hide the bare ground. Of course careful se- 

 lection of plants must be made for this purpose and only 

 those kinds used which have a shallow root system, 

 otherwise they will compete with their neighbors for 

 moisture and food and the roses will sufifer in conse- 

 quence. It is advisable, also, to use those that may be 

 cleared out annually, thus affording unhampered oppor- 

 tunity to fertilize and till the soil about the roses. Plants 

 that have been recommended are the bedding Violas in 

 variety; Viola papilio ; Myosotis for Spring eiifect ; and 

 that charming Southern California annual, Phacclia cam- 

 panitlaria. In the Cambridge Botanic Garden, it was 

 customary to plant the bed containing the hybrid perpet- 

 ual roses with mignonette. If the roses and mignonette 

 should happen to be in bloom at the same time, one might 

 imagine that the conflicting perfumes would be objec- 

 tionable, but, as a rule, mignonette when sown out-of- 

 doors, does not come into bloom until the main crop of 

 roses is over. 



A feature at Kew is the beds of hybrid perpetuals of 

 strong growing kinds such as "Frau Karl Druschki," 

 ■'Clio,'' and "Gustave Regis," grown under the "pegging 

 down" system. Instead of pruning back the long strong 

 growths, almost as vigorous as those produced by the 

 ramblers, the tips are bent over and pegged down to 

 the ground. This system insures such a profuse display 

 of bloom and the beds present the appearance of billowy 

 mounds of blossom and give an acceptable variant to 

 the usual rose bed. 



The climbing roses at Kew are cared for on a simple, 

 inexpensive, and yet effective pergola made of iron pipe 

 with the uprights linked lengthwise and across by means 

 of chains, thus forming a continuous line of garlands. 

 This pergola extends for a distance of two or three hun- 

 dred yards and is a ravishing sight in June when the 

 roses are in full bloom. It is the practice to plant a 

 strong grower and a weaker grower opposite each other 

 with the intention that the strong grower should furnish 

 the upright on one side and the transverse support, while 

 the weaker kind covers the upright on the opposite side. 

 There are many who claim that roses sufifer when their 

 branches are fastened to metal, as in this case, because 

 of the great fluctuation in its temperature, but experience 

 at Kew has shown that no ill effects are discernible from 

 this cause. 



The methods of displaying the ro.ses at Kew are not 

 stereotyped and the rose dell offers a suggestion that 

 might be cojjied to advantage in many gardens. This is 

 formed in an extensive hollow, the site of an old gravel 

 r|uarrv. The hanks of the excavation were shaped to pro- 

 vide pleasing contours, and suitable soil introduced which 

 was held in ])lace. in a series of irregular terraces, by enor- 

 mous tree stum])s. The whole area, with the exception 

 of a winding grass walk down the center, was then 

 jjlanted witli rambler roses of various kinds, the tree 

 stumps forming su])ports over which they clambered. 

 Many of the roses have now found their way into trees 

 which surround the site, greatly adding to the beauty of 

 this valley. For this is indeed a valley of roses, growing 

 in a most pleasing and natural way. with no trace of arti- 

 ficiality, and it presents a most attractive picture through- 

 out the whole of the year. 



There is a rose at Kew, raised from a bush that grows 

 on the grave of r)mar Khayyam, that is of great interest 

 to lovers of the Persian poet, and calls to mind his quat- 

 rain : 



"/ sometimes tliink that )icirr blows so red 

 The Nose as where soDie buried Caesar bled ; 

 That every Hyaeiiith the Cardeii iK'ears 

 Dropf ill ;7.v Lap from some oiiec lovely Head." 



Whatever this rose may. do in its native country, it 

 refttses to thrive very .satisfactorily at Kew, and, as we 

 remember, it was always infested with green lice. A 

 ■bush propagated from the one at Kew has been planted 

 on the grave of Edward Fitzgerald, the first to translate 

 the Rubaiyat into English. This interesting rose is 

 R. dam-aseena, a variety of which is used largely in the 

 Balkans in the production of attar of roses, probably the 

 most expensive perfume known. From this species many 

 of our favorite garden roses have been developed. 



;■: :!: ^ 



The Cambridge Botanic (iarden contains a representa- 

 tive collection of rose species and some of these are note- 

 worthy, either for the size that they have obtained, or for 

 their adaptability to some form or other of ornamental 

 planting. In the latter group comes the Scotch rose, Rosa 

 s'piiiosissivia. This, as its name implies, is tremendously 

 spiny and it is well to wear stout leather gloves when 

 working amongst its branches. At Cambridge a large 

 bed was planted with this rose and many of its varieties. 

 Although they did not present an especially striking dis- 

 play, yet they were interesting and possessed a quiet 

 beauty all their own. This rose is found in the wild 

 state in Europe, Western Asia, and China. It is per- 

 fectly hardy and is well worth growing by those who are 

 interested in wild roses. 



One of the most striking features when in bloom is an 

 enormous specimen of Rosa moschata, or 7?. Briiiwnii. 

 This clambers all over an Austrian pine and reaches a 

 height of about 50 ft. with a diamet,er of almost 40 ft. 

 It iDlooms quite freely in June, its flowers are white, and 

 have the fragrance of musk. This species is found wild 

 in Southern Asia and Abyssinia; but tmfortunately is 

 not hardy in the north. According to some authorities, 

 it is also found wild in Europe and India, which gives it 

 an extensive range in the wild state. 



Incidentally, planting some of these strong growing 

 roses so that they mav clamber over old trees, is an ad- 

 mirable way of displaying their beauty. In Miss Jekyll's 

 book, "Roses for English Gardens," there are many illus- 

 trations showing roses clambering over trees. For ex- 

 ample, there is a photograph of a splendid specimen of 

 climbing "Aimee Vibert," i5 ft. high and about 10 ft. 

 in diameter, literally smothered in blooms : and the blush- 

 white .\vrshire rose, the "(^larland," provides a charming 

 effect supported by an old Catalpa. And then there is 

 a picture of the famous P.anksian rose, taken on the 

 Riviera, which shows it ^igxjrously doing its best to 

 smother olive trees and cypresses. One may readily 

 imagine the glorious effect of its pale yellow flowers 

 seen against the somber background. 



In most gardens there are trees, living or dead, that 

 could be spared for the jnirpose of sujiporting climbing 

 roses and nothing could be more beautiful than a pic- 

 tures(|uc old tree when garlanded with sprays of fragrant 

 rose blossoms. 



There is another remarkable ro^e in this garden, a 

 liusli rose this time, R. maerophylla. It is notable mainly 

 on ;iccount of its size, fjir it is over IS ft. high and more 

 than 2.T ft. in diameter. This rose has one feature that 

 commends it to gardeners in that it is ])ractically si)ine- 

 less and docs not ])rcsent such a thorny problem to the 

 |)runer as do most of the roses. This is another .Asiatic 

 plant, cnming from the llimalayas and China, and is a 

 ]irofnsc ;incl c^n^lanl lilndiiirr. 



