i68 



IRISH OAUnKNING 



NOVKMRFR 



Tiijer Lilios ; first they aio but occasional 

 sleppiiii,'- stones, level with the i^rouiul. \erv 

 slowly risinj^ to a i,^iven point, when at last tlie 

 sii^htseer is at the top ot a ininiatiue landscape 

 mountain, slandiiii^- beneath one of those quaint 

 Japanese s^-ateways. looUini;- suddenly upon a 

 vast sea of yflowini^ eolour, maybe a land o\ 

 Iris, so arranijed as to i^i\e an appearance 

 of a never-endiiii;' scape of Iris, colour suc- 

 ceeding- colour in such a wa\ that the >k\- 

 line seems to join hands with the llowers, ov 

 maybe instead oi' this a still stream rolls by 

 overluuii^- with i^lorious Wisteria reflecting- 

 in the water, making believe that the long 

 tails of flowers were actually kissing the 

 water, or again, if at midnight, this might 

 assume an entirely different caste. Just over 

 yonder mountain shines the harvest moon, 

 casting its rays up the silent stream, giving off 

 many glittering gleams of gold, one of those 

 effects so beloved by the Japanese ; then, 

 again, if the still waters of lakes are used, they 

 are not extensively covered with aquatics. A 

 lantern, long slabs of stone forming bridges, 

 to give the reflection of persons passing 

 over, and a few Iris may nest against a large 

 rock, or the Lotus may throw its stately 

 flowers up beside a bridge, but the chief 

 use of water is for reflection, and in this 

 the Japanese are pastniasters. A small 

 house with a large roof, a life to the land- 

 scape ; quaint knarled trees give ghostly 

 visions, and Wisteria, Peach and Azalea give 

 bright reflecting shades across the water, 

 showing the work of a master-hand. The sides 

 of their lakes are in natural style; massive 

 stones, drooping Azalias, weird Pines, and 

 pebbled shores form the water-sides. 



The artist, in designing a garden, is most care- 

 ful to select a site in true proportion w^ith his 

 scheme — proportion being the leading- rule of 

 the Japanese landscape. Large stones are 

 never used in small gardens and likewise small 

 ones in large gardens. Balance of water and 

 land are most jealously guarded. Colour effect 

 is a secondary consideration ; in fact, they make 

 it possible to have beauty in the garden with- 

 out floral aid, and for that reason the western 

 ideas never quite fit in with the eastern ideals. 

 It may be a bold statement to make, but I fear 

 that there is not a truly Japanese garden within 

 the British Isles, and it is safe to say there 

 never will be, because the local surroundings 



are so niunistakably alien to the idea, and how- 

 ever true oin- conception oi' Japanese gardens 

 may lie some fateful touch of westernism creeps 

 in and casts its damaging influence over the 

 entire scape. \-'ov instance, a large tree may 

 o\ eihang oui- liig'-hest mountain, and its impcising 

 influence is at once (.lestroyed ; the tree should 

 be planted on the mountain in proportionate 

 scale, knarled and u ind-beaten and subservient 

 to the landscape undulation. We often plant 

 trees in our gari.len \alle_\s which take auay 

 the meaning oi ouv hills and dales, but the 

 Japanese would dress and clip his vegetation in 

 accordance to the position which any particular 

 plant holds. 



And for the reason of endless laws which 

 go\ ern the garden ailist in the Last, we in oiu' 

 haste cannot, even if we would, produce a thing 

 of beauty from the Japanese standpoint. The 

 romantic and poetical peace which dwells w ithin 

 the g-ardens amid reflecting waters and the 

 flowing ripple of streams is not understood by 

 any other people. Even the stones have their 

 meanings and possess some national name, 

 gods are represented, legions portrayed, re- 

 ligious inspiration moulded into a garden, or 

 poems written in stone and foliag-e ; and these 

 things are only understood by the Japanese 

 themselves, which shows how very impossible 

 it is to even attempt their reproduction in 

 Eastern style. 



f Tu be ('(Ditinucd. ) 



Shrubs for Pergolas, Arches 

 and Screens 



Hy J. W. Besant. 



ONE of the most effective ways of using 

 trailing and rambling shrubs is to train 

 them over supports placed in positions 

 where some amount of shade in summer will 

 be found grateful and refreshing — that is to 

 say, in sunny places. Such positions are ad- 

 mirably adapted to the cultivation of many 

 shrubs, and if the necessary supports are suit- 

 ably arranged an effective screen from the hot 

 sun is readily formed, and the shrubs too can 

 be view^ed with greater facility. 



A favourite erection in gardens of some size 

 is a pergola. This should be placed in a sunny 

 position, leading, perhaps, from the residence to 



