April, 19 lo 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



89 



Ornamental Gardening on Vancouver Island 



JzLS. A. Grant, Royal Oak, British Columbia 



THE subject "Ornamental Garden- 

 ing on Vancouver Island'-' is diffi- 

 cult to grasp because of the fact 

 that everywhere are to be found scenes 

 wliich are beautiful in nature, and in the 

 cases where art has lent a hand to im- 

 prove the landscape with lawns, vistas 



spruce, monkey puzzle (Araucaria), flow- 

 ering cedar and holly, juniper (decidu- 

 ous), birch (silver), horse chestnut, pop- 

 lar, mountain ash, weeping willow; and 

 in shrubs — ornamental snowball, lilac, 

 azalea, rhododendron, hydrangea and 

 the rose. The sweet pea here finds its 



H.uvc LMc ■cu^^cipc w,.u aw.,., vista:, -^ .-.^. ^ "- o..... ^..c. ....v, ■'— '" planted in masses or groups in 

 of flowers and evergreens, the scene has home and comes to perfection, also the '.^,., ^„ .,^ ,„u».„ ;. Z^ " 



not more than two or three feet 

 in height. It bears a great profu- 

 sion of large, creamy white, fragrant 

 flowers which appear about the first or 

 second week in June, and in favorable 

 seasons when the weather is not too hot 

 they last for a couple of weeks. 



The Philadelphus when planted alone 

 makes a good shapely specimen plant, 

 but is used to best advantage when 



the 



I 



been intensified and prolonged. It is 

 not uncommon here at Christmas to pick 

 Gloire de Dijon roses and berried hol- 

 lies within a few feet of each other, 

 grown in the open. This shows a glimpse 

 of the possibilities that nature has pro- 

 vided for the ornamentation of the 

 "Gates of the West." 



On the southern end of the island, 

 within a radius of twenty miles of Vic- 

 toria, most of the artificial helps have 

 been given, although its development 

 everywhere is only a matter of time. The 

 climatic conditions and the scenery 

 abound throughout the island. 



Victoria and vicinity may well be 

 known as a city of gardens. From the 

 cottage to the castle, almost everyone 

 has a garden. Unlike other Canadian 

 cities, tenement houses and hotel living 

 is very little in evidence, and even they 

 are surrounded by flowers. 



Everything in evergreen and decidu- 

 ous trees and shrubs can be grown with 

 ease and the rocks produce, from crev- 

 ices ■ and soil deposits amongst them, 

 picturesque oaks and arbutus trees. Or- 

 namentation is limited only to choice 



shrubbery border, where it forms an ex- 

 cellent background for smaller shrubs 

 or hardy perennials. There are a dozen 

 or more varieties of Philadelphus in gen- 

 eral use, some of the smaller ones being 

 not more than two or three feet in 

 height, while the larger ones, such as 

 P. grandiflorus , attains a height of twen- 

 ty feet or more. The latter is much later 

 flowering than P. coronarius. With a 

 good selection of varieties the bloom of 

 this species can be ranged to cover near- 

 ly the whole month of June. 



dahlia, pansy, geranium, lobelia, cle- 

 matis, wisteria, honeysuckle, jasamine 

 and ivy. Bulbs all grow well in the 

 open. 



That ornamental gardening has not 

 reached its maturity can well be under- 

 stood when one considers the evolution- 

 ary state of things. People are coming 

 in very rapidly, far faster than system- 

 atic work can follow, with the inevitable 

 result. It will upset things for a time, 

 but will result in greater order and 

 greater beauty as well as profitable em- 

 ployment to those who make a profes- 

 sion of garden making. One of the most showy shrubs that 



we have is the Japanese quince (Cydonia 



_, . Japonica). Its glossy green foliage and 



Philadelphus Coronarius jts scarlet flowers make it exceedingly 



Prof. H. L. Hutt, O.A.C., Guelph attractive. In autumn it is also attract- 



Among the many varieties of orna- ive when its golden colored, highly per- 

 mental shrubs, none is more worthy of fumed quinces are ripe. Although a 

 a place upon the home grounds than the brilliant subject, this shrub must be used 

 common mock orange {Philadelphus sparingly. One or two specimens on a 

 coronarius), or, as it is sometimes in- small lawn is sufficient. Its planting 

 correctly called, the Syringa. This lat- should not be overdone, 

 ter confusion of 



I 



names is due to, a 

 mistake made by bot- 



and taste. Nature's supply being almost anists 300 years ago 



unlimited. It is not a matter of great in classing the Phil.-i- 



expense to have picturesque surround- delphus or mock 



ings, as many of the trees and shrubs orange with the 



required can be had for the digging, in- Syringa or lilac. But 



eluding the flowering dogwood and ar- whatever confusion 



°utus. there may be in the 



The above mentioned conditions have names, there is no 



been taken advantage of and many mistaking the plant 



and varied are the results. In the Rock- when we are once 



land -Avenue district of Victoria, where familiar with it. It 



the grounds surrounding the residences is a vigorous, upright 



are large, landscape gardening is the grower which, when 



rule. Walks winding amongst the rocks we obtain it from the 



and borders eight to ten feet wide plant- nursery, usually has 



ed to shrubs and flowers backed by remarkably strong, 



spreading oaks, provide a sylvan scene fibrous roots and is 



which visitors delight in viewing from easily transplanted. Il 



the top of a tally-ho coach. Unfor- adapts itself well to 



tunately the owners, English-like, build any well-drained soil, 



high fences around their grounds, and is extremely hardy, 

 although the beautiful flowering and 

 evergreen trees tower over the fences 

 and indicate the beauty within, one has 

 to get up high to admire the otherwise 

 unseen beauty ; hence, the high coach is 

 the outcome of the high fence. 



A few of the leading favorites in 

 trees, shrubs, flowers and bulbs which 

 come to perfection here and are gener- 

 ally favored to supplement the natural 

 product, are : Evergreens, Norway 



and not affected by 

 insects or fungous di- 

 seases, as is some- 

 times the case with 

 many other desirable 

 ornamentals. When 

 full grown the bush 

 attains a height of 

 eight or ten feet. It 

 usually begins bloom- 

 ing, however, when 



The Common Mock Orange —Pbiladelphut Coronariut 



