222 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Notes From an Old Country Garden 



ARTHUR T. JOHNSON, F. R. H. S. 



Ai.'l'HOUGH the term 'wild i^arden" is a some- 

 what cdatradictory cine it serves to indicate a 

 i;hase cif horticulture which is becoming increas- 

 ingly popular over here. It is the "outward and visible 

 sign"' of that inward desire to get away from the old 

 formal stvle of gardening which once engrossed so many 

 of us. The pendulum has swung in the opposite direc- 

 tion and we are borrowing, rather than rigidly excluding. 

 some of that delightful freedom and breadth of treatment 

 which is so characteristic of Nature's own woodland, hill- 

 slope or river-side. 



"\^'hether the same influences are responsible for the 

 advance made in this direction by many .American 

 gardeners I do not know. But I do know that they have 

 often grasped the advantages of existing natural features 

 in the making of gardens, and preserved these in all their 

 pristine loveliness. .\ suitable setting must of course 

 ahvays be considered essential to the satisfactory creation 

 of a wild garden, and that being so a good many of us 

 may be debarred from indulging our fancies in such de- 

 partures. But since the term wild is such an elastic one, 

 embracing the grouping of not only native subjects but 

 suitable exotics, it aftords a very wide and varied field 

 of work. 



At the time of writing (.August) a considerable ])art 

 of our own wild garden is yielding some glorious masses 

 of color, for the heathers are in bloom and it is to these 

 that we look for the most gorgeous display at a season 

 when the rest of the Ljarden is comparatively dull. The 

 majority of these heaths are grouj)ed on a sharp, rather 

 dry slope of light loam which is quite free from lime, 

 and, though they have never been given any peat, they 

 flourish abundantly. 



Those heathers in flower at this season are mostly forms 

 of our native species. The first of these to open is 

 usually the bell heather (Erica cinereal of which E. c. 

 rosea and the dwarfer varieties, E. c. atropurpurea and 

 coccinea, are probably the most attractive, but there is 

 a pure white one with a very dark green foliage which 

 is singularly beautiful. Then comes E. ( Calluna ) vul- 

 garis, the true heather, or ling, of Scotland which, when 

 bearing its fascinating white flowers, is the "\\'hite 

 Heather" — emblem of "Good Luck" wherever the English 

 tongue is s]X)ken. The variety serlei is, I think, the 

 finest of these whites, making a splendid bu.sh some ?i ft. 

 high, but there are many others, and among the colored 

 ones there is a fx-culiar fascination about the very free 

 and robust Calluna vulgaris flore plena, a ])erfectly 

 double variety in a soft lavender tint. 



Then we have the great Cornish heath (i^. vagans) 

 which af?ords a number of superb and distinct kinds 

 ranging from white and cream through blush and rose 

 to crimson, and the very charming Dorset ht;ith i 1-". 

 ciliaris). This last is the f)nly one of our native heathers 

 which may be considered a trifle tender, but it is one of 

 the most beautiful of all, the very large Ik-IIs of rosy 

 purple, or white in the variety alba, being i)roduced in 

 long spikes which stand above the semi-i)rostrate masses 

 of soft emerald green, rather pubescent, foliage, .\nother 

 very attractive species is the cross-leaved heath (E. 

 tetralix) which includes many varieties, the large, almost 

 globular, bells being set in whorls at the ends of the 

 growths. 



In addition to the above there are, of course, a host of 

 others and what makes most of these I-'ricas a])|)eal so 

 strongly to many of us is not onlv their ])ecnliar beauty 



but their abilitv to [nit up with dry soils and the fact 

 that, once established, they never need any attention but 

 go on for manv seasons, increasing in beauty year by 

 vcar. ^loreover. by growing in conjunction with the 

 above a selection of Mediterranean and other southern 

 and al])ine species w-e are enabled to enjoy masses of 

 heather in full bloom at all times from January to 

 December. And some of these Winter bloomers, such as 

 carnea (herbacea) and darleyensis (hybrida) which 

 tlower from the end of the }'ear to Spring, are as hardy 

 as an oak. 



America is well represented in our heath garden by the 

 Brvanthus (Menziesia) empetriformis of the Rockies, 

 which is a gem of the first water, giving us its delightful 

 spravs of rose-pink bells in Spring and again in the later 

 Summer. Another tiny shrub, B. erectus, said to be a 

 hybrid between Rhodothamnus and Kalmia, but bearing 

 a much closer resemblance to B. empetriformis than to 

 either, is a charming little plant with a yew-like foliage 

 and pink, waxen blossoms which might be taken to be 

 those of some diminutive azalea. Menziesia Brewerii, 

 from cool places in the heights of the California Sierras, 

 is another of this fascinating race that the New World 

 has given us, and then there are among other American 

 ericaceous things of dwarf stature which make them- 

 selves at home with our heaths, the semi-prostrate 

 A'accinium ovatum of the Pacific Coast, \. buxifolia for 

 carpeting the more shady spots, Arctostaphylos uva-ursi 

 and californica and others of that clan, and the very 

 choice and dainty Cassiope ( .\ndroitieda ) tetragona 

 which fiourishes so aliuntlantly throughout the more 

 northerly ranges of the Rocky Mountains. 



The North American Sweet Pepper Bush (Clethra 

 alnifolia) also claims attention, since it is now opening 

 its fragrant sprays of white flowers, and near this we 

 have another species, C. acuminata, native I believe of 

 the .Mleghanies, with rather narrow-er leaves and creamy, 

 sweet-scented corymbs of bloom. C. tomentosa is a good 

 and distinct form of the former with white, w-oolly un- 

 dersides to its leaves. These clethras also belong to the 

 ericaceous group and they are happiest in cool, peaty land 

 such as that in which Rhododendrons thrive. Suitable 

 com]ianions for the pepper bushes are the pretty Pieris 

 floribtmda and Zenobia sjjeciosa. a very beautiful s|')ecies 

 from the Southern .States of .\merica, and c|uite hardy 

 here, bearing elegant s])rays of white, globular flowers 

 like lily-of-the-valley. 



In the cooler, more shady, parts of our wild garden 

 the willow gentians (C. ascJepiadea) make a most strik- 

 ing effect. These consist of a variety of forms, the 

 usual type sending up gracefully arched stems set with 

 twin ])airs of leaves at the axils of which are prcnluced 

 the large. bell-shai)ed flowers varying in shade from an 

 ultramarine blue to a clear, luminous azure. In some 

 in'<t;mces the willow gentian will attain a height ot nearly 

 4 feet and there is a very charming pure white variety 

 which always looks its l>est in the half shade of woods 

 associated with hardy ferns and other suitable subjects 

 of the kind. 



Though it needs full exposure C. sei)temfida, the 

 crested-gentian fif the Caucasus, also does admirably in 

 our loamv soil intermixed with a little leaf-mould. This 

 is, indeed, one of the easiest of its fascinating race and 

 it is p.'irlicnlarlv valuable inasnnich as it crratcs fine drifts 

 of rich blue during August and .September wlien .so 

 (Continued on f^af^c 224) 



