GEOMETEIC GARDENS. 



129 



GERANIUM. 



had on it nearly two hundred 

 heads of flowers, which look like 

 miniature tulips ; this gay appear- 

 ance being however only the involucre 

 or floral leaves, which conceal the 

 real flower. It is a hardy green- 

 house plant. 



Geni'sta. — Legumindsce. — There 

 are above fifty distinct species of 

 Genista, most of which will live in 

 the open air in British gardens, but 

 some of which are greenhouse shrubs. 

 They all are very handsome, from 

 the profusion of their bright yellow 

 pea-flowers. The greenhouse kinds 

 should be grown in peat and loam, 

 and are propagated by cuttings 

 under a glass, which should be 

 taken off frequently and wiped, or 

 they will damp off. 



Gentian. — See Gentia^na. 



Gentia'na. — Gentianacece. — 

 Well-known plants, generally with 

 pretty flowers and tonic properties. 

 G. acaidis is frequently used as an 

 edging plant, and it is remarkable 

 for the brilliant colour of its flowers, 

 which are large, and of a deep maza- 

 rine blue. All the Gentians require 

 abundance of free air, and will not 

 grow well in the smoky atmosphere 

 of a town. They should be grown 

 in a light rich soil, and do best in a 

 mixture of loam and peat, enriched 

 with a little vegetable mould. G. 

 acaulis does best in peat alone. 

 The perennial kinds are increased by 

 dividing the root, and the annual 

 ones by seeds, which should be sown 

 as soon as ripe, as, if left till spring, 

 they will not come up till the second 

 year. 



Geometric Gardens. — This 

 style of gardening is that in which 

 the shape of the ground, of the beds, 

 of the walks, and even of the shrubs, 

 is regular or symmetrical ; such as 

 may be formed on paper by a rule 

 and compass. The gi-ound, if origi- 

 nally flat, is reduced to a general 



level surface, over which the beds, 

 or borders, are distributed so as to 

 form figures either simply regular, — 

 such as squares and parallelograms, 

 repeated one after another — or 

 squares and parallelograms, and 

 circles or ovals, or other curvi- 

 linear figures, — so arranged as to be 

 symmetrical ; that is to say, that 

 one half of the figure formed by the 

 whole shall correspond with the 

 other half. "When the surface is 

 naturally irregular or on a slope it 

 is thrown into different levels, which, 

 are joined by steep slopes called 

 terraces, generally covered with 

 turf, and ascended and descended 

 by stone steps. Each of the levels 

 is laid out either regularly or sym- 

 metrically in the same manner as if 

 the whole were only one bed ; but 

 the figures are of course smaller. 

 Small trees or evergreen shrubs are 

 distributed among the figures, and 

 especially on each side of the main 

 walks ; and these trees or shrubs 

 ought, in strict accordance with the 

 style, to be cut or clipped into 

 regular shapes ; such as cones, pyra- 

 mids, balls, candelabra, statues of 

 men or animals, arcades, columns, 

 or other architectural figures. In 

 modern practice, this is generally 

 neglected ; but its omission is a 

 defect, for cut trees are as essential 

 to the geometric style, as having 

 the gi'ound cut or shaped into arti- 

 ficial surfaces. For the mode of 

 cutting trees and shrubs into regular 

 shapes, see Topiary ; and for laying 

 out the beds so as to form a regular 

 figure, see Parterre. 



Gera'nium. — Geraniacece. — 

 There are few plants more easily 

 grown, or that better repay the care 

 of the cultivator, than Geraniums, 

 or, as they are more properly called, 

 Pelargoniums. All the half-shrubby 

 kinds require a light rich soil, 

 composed of well-rotted manure, 



