Aug-ust, 1912 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST 



Canadian Gardens— A St. Thomas Beauty Spot 



ONE of the cosiest and loveliest 

 nooks of the many in the Railroad 

 City of St. Thomas, and as far 

 south-west as possible from its converg- 

 ing interests, stands the beautiful home 



A. J. Elliott, Aylmer, Ont. 

 ARTICLE No. 8 



have seen many. It savors of the Old 

 Country, and I believe that stored away 

 in his cranium the thought was estab- 

 lished there by his Highland forbears. 

 There are paths both ways that cut it 



The Verandah and Part of the Front Lawn of Mr. McKay's Residence. 



I 



of Mr. Kenneth W. McKay, the genial 

 county clerk of Elgin, and proprietor of 

 the Municipal World. He is a florist 

 by nature and is ever ready to talk flow- 

 ers to any one who is at all interested 

 in raising them. Neither is it all talk 

 with him for he loves to help out when 

 desired with his advice and his plants, 

 to say nothing of the many bouquets that 

 during the season find their way into the 

 houses of his friends. In the competi- 

 tions of the St. Thomas Horticultural 

 Society he is a constant winner, and as 

 he buys the best seed or plants he can 

 get and gives them unlimited care and 

 attention this is not to be wondered at. 



A fine lawn fronts the house on the 

 two roads indicated, and is as fine a 

 piece of sward as will be seen anywhere. 

 The house fronts on Prince Albert Place, 

 and the garden is at the east end of the 

 lawn, hedged in by spruce, with the en- 

 trance nearest the house hidden by a 

 broad border ablaze with poppies at the 

 time of our visit. 



Passing behind this screen we find a 

 gate and enter the garden. A lover of 

 flowers will involuntarily express a sigh 

 of satisfaction and expectation at the 

 first cursory glance. It is difficult to 

 say exactly why. Probably its unique 

 character is the cause, for never have I 

 seen such a one in this country in all 

 the years of my sojourn here, and yet I 



into teds, each of which is kept where it 

 belongs by a square frame of two by four 

 cypress scantling painted green, which 

 helps to give it a trim appearance. 



As you follow path into cross path 

 you find your expectation fulfilled, for 

 there is everything, there from the mod- 

 est little vinca to the aggressive Alle- 

 ghany hollyhock, mallow marvels, cos- 

 mos, and many others, in fact everything 

 that will make a cut flower. It is here 

 that Mr. McKay draws a line. He will 

 not grow anything that does not come 

 up to this standard. It must be a good 

 bloom to cut. Since his tulips got 

 through, Mr. McKay has taken special 

 pains with his poppies, and his showing of 

 Oriental poppies was simply blazing, and 

 yet he likes to grow the Iceland poppy 

 and others. 



As you open the garden gate, you are 

 struck by the sight of a bed of beautiful 

 pansy blossoms, of many shades and 

 markings that immediately attract atten- 

 tion. Gaillardia is a favorite that was 

 just blooming. It was kept in bounds 

 with hoops, skilfully held in place by 

 painted laths. Digitalis, paeonies, aquil- 

 egia, were also in bloom, making the 

 place a joy to an amateur florist. 



NOT FLOWERS ONLY 



Mr. McKay does not confine himself 

 to, flowers alone. His garden is a mix- 

 ed one, and although a large bed of 

 gladioli may be giving assurance of 

 something good coming, the next square 

 may be asparagus, onions, or any vege- 

 table you may mention. His forte at 

 the moment of my visit was lettuce, and 

 how he transforms the ordinary leafy 

 lettuce into solid heads formed quite an 



A Section of Mr. McKay's Well Planned and Neatly Kept Garden. 



