THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA. 



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banked in the corners, while from the back of each, on 

 rows of shelves (for the plants were all grown in potsj 

 trained fruchsias were growing. Just the common ever\'- 

 day fuchsias, both single and double, trained up the sides 

 until they reached the roof and then grown along a trellis 

 to the center of the roof. The green foliage massed 

 against the glass and the great trusses of purple and rose 

 bloom hanging down. 



There were greenhouses for grapes, figs, strawberries 

 and nectarines, all showing the same expert cultivation. 

 The kitchen gardens were most interesting, and here as 

 in every garden of any size, we saw the fruit trees trained 

 against the garden walls. Peaches, cherries, apples and 

 plums, immense trees and all heavily fruited. For pro- 

 tection against what frost they have, large hooks were 

 fastened into the wall, from which canvases were hung 

 when needed. The pear tree pergola, surrounding a 

 portion of the vegetable gardens was a feature. Pear 

 trees, with trunks measuring a foot or more in diameter, 

 were trained over an iron trellis about five feet high, and 

 the trees were set full of fruit. In the hot beds, we 

 found our sweet corn, growing as a "specimen," which 

 would soon be transplanted to the flow'er garden. In 

 several other localities we saw it growing in this environ- 

 ment, as we would use the tall ornamental gras.'^es. 



The grounds about the castle are kept most immaculate, 

 and as we walked toward the Long Walk, we had glimpses 

 on all sides of the two hundred and forty acres of hand- 

 mown lawn, mown either by hand or horse machines. 



Gatton Park, the home of Sir Jeremiah Coleman, is 

 considered one nf the most naturally beautiful places near 

 London. Historically famous even before it was given 

 to Anne of Cleves after her divorce from Henry the 

 Eighth, and later the home of the Countess of Warwick, 

 the beauties and attractiveness are not easily described. 

 Three thousand acres given up to such an artist in land- 

 scape gardening as was "Capability Brown" would of 

 necessitv be productive of magnificent elTects, but any 

 one looking for formal landscape effects would be dis- 

 appointed. Many minds and hands have had a share in 

 achieving the present natural beauties, which have always 

 been the prominent motive. The noble clumps of trees 

 on a distant hill, the massed foliage and the sweeping 

 lines of the surrounding country, give an unusual beauty 

 to this country seat. 



As we stood on the broad terraces in front of Gatton 

 Hall and looked across to the wonderfully green wooded 

 hills, Sir Jeremiah told us the history of three lakes, 

 which were in our line of vision. The river Mole runs 

 through the estate and "Capability Brown" caused the 

 water to be piped under ground to the first lake, then 

 again under ground to the lake in the Japanese Garden 

 and still under again to ajipear in another much larger 

 lake far oft' to our left. Looking across this lake, we 

 saw the hills from which the world's supply of fuller's 

 earth is taken. 



One might wander for hours through the diiiferent 

 paths and walks, either to the typical English chapel, 

 where the family attend church each Sunday or to the 

 greenhouses where the famous Coleman orchids are 

 grown, to the Japanese Garden, or to the walled in Rose 

 Garden, but everywhere the same tone of natural beauty 

 would impress you. \^'hatever had been done, wdiatever 

 device used to produce the desired effect, the result w-as 

 purely natural. 



In the lightly wooded parts of the park, as in so many 

 of the park-like estates, we came upon such pictures of 

 naturalization, here a perfect sea of blue bells and peasant- 

 eyed narcissus, or sheets of purple crocus near great 

 patches of pink hepatica. Honesty, with its rich violet 

 and white blossoms was prominent in many places and 



the hardy yellow- allyssum made a fine carpet beneath 

 the purple Iris. 



Ruskin said that gardens as well as houses should 

 harmonize with the surrounding country, certain hues 

 for the simple blue country of England, others for the 

 glorious country of Italy, and in an Oxford lecture we 

 find this sound advice — "bluish purple is the only color 

 wdiich nature ever uses in masses of distant eft'ect, with 

 the pale shades of rose or primrose to give undulations 

 of color." This seems everywhere to be the key-note 

 of most English plantings. Even the shadows are 

 English shadows, blurred, uncertain, blue. To be sure 

 there are many exceptions, but one sees such an array 

 of these blue flowers, that envy vies with admiration, for 

 not many l.ilue flow'ers thrive with us. 



In the R. H. S. Gardens at Wisley, the deep blues of 

 the Larkspur, with long lines of Madonna lilies, made a 

 picture well worth copying. Here also the Iris Orientalis 

 with spirea and day lil}', planted around a natural pond, 

 was ideal. Madonna lilies along a pergola, over which 

 climbed deep red roses, gave an admirable suggestion. 



Gardens of one color require a deal of thought in the 

 planning, but one lovely riot of color was produced by 

 shades of mauves, purples, cool pinks and white. That 

 of Lord Brownlow at Ashridge, purple and blue of 

 Delphiniums, with later summer blooming of blue salvias, 

 purple clematis, purple phlox, purple gladiolus. 



This combination of purple and blue does not appeal to 

 some, but a garden in yellow, pink or rose might be 

 worked out, avoiding any possibility of monotony. 



At the mention of Iris, an endless range of color 

 pictures conies to mind. Lavenders, blues, bronzes and 

 yellows. One beautiful border planting was made up of 

 these shades of Iris, and the columbine in the same shades, 

 with tufted purple pansies carpeting the foreground. 

 The columbines blossomed above the Iris and gave the 

 planting a li.ght airy look. 



The marvels of lilacs which the late \'ictor Lemoine 

 gave to the world, provide a sumptuous background for 

 all the late fiowering tulips, and were well used in English 

 gardens and parks. Ikishes laden with lilac blooms, sur- 

 rounded at the base with plantings of cottage or Darwin 

 tulips in jiink, lavender or light yellow, were seen in 

 the Hampton Court gardens. 



Leaving England for Germany, the direct route to 

 Hamburg has very little of interest from Flushing, Hol- 

 land, across miles and miles of flat country, acres and 

 acres of grass land with very few settlements. These 

 tracts of land are traversed in many directions by road- 

 ways, long and straight as turnpikes, and bordered on 

 each side by poplars. The effect of these long avenues 

 was most unusual, for there were few other trees in 

 sight. We could tell wdien we were approaching any 

 citv or tow-n, by the large plots of small settlement gar- 

 dens, which were intensely interesting. Apparently the 

 ground was set apart by the city governments, for the 

 use of the laboring classes, on which to grow their 

 vegetables. Xearlv every plot had on it some sort of 

 shelter, either a rude shack, or a really artistic little 

 garden house. Flowers were growing in many of the 

 plots, and the tree roses were seen everywhere. In these 

 rural districts, the fruit trees, planted along the highways, 

 as are our shade trees, are under municipal control, and 

 when ripe, the fruit is sold, on the trees, at auction. 



Horticultural interest at Hamburg was mainly centered 

 in the suburban districts. At Halstenbeck, about nine 

 miles from Hamburg, are the largest tree nurseries in 

 Europe, and it looked as if here might be grown trees 

 enough to reforest the world, but the United States takes 

 practicallv the entire stock grown on these 20,000 acres 



