Canadian Gardens— An Attractive Spot in London 



A 



MONG the many enticing gardens 

 owned by citizens of London is 

 one on Diindas Street that is char- 



The Entrance to the Gardens 



acteristic of its owner, Mr. Methetall. 

 Having retired from his former pursuits 

 Mr. Metherall is free to enjoy his gar- 

 den to the full. Thus he has become 

 quite expert in his experiments with 

 plants and flowers as well as in the 

 manufacture of rustic work, principally 

 articles made from cedar saplings. 



The first thing that catches one's eye 

 as they approach Mr. Metherall's large 

 brick residence are the rustic arch and 

 fence entrances on both sides of the 

 house. The verandah is also fronted 

 with a long rustic flower box filled with 

 geraniums, fuschias, begonias, and 

 creepers. 



Passing through the archway I found 



I 



The Effect at the Side of the Hou$e 



A. J. Elliott, Aylmer, Ont. 

 ARTICLE No. 9 



that the garden was one large lawn. 

 In this respect it is unique. There is 

 not a path in it. Although Mr. Metherall 

 keeps an automobile and has a garage 

 at the back end of his garden, there is 

 not a roadway even for that. It just 

 runs over the sod to get in and out. 

 When I spoke to him about this, Mr. 

 Metherall asked me what were the use 

 of paths. He contended that they only 

 took up land, and said that he did not 

 need them. On looking around his gar- 

 den I concluded that in his case he was 

 right. 



Dotted all over the lawn are beds of 

 tube-rooted begonias, foliages, hydran- 

 geas, altheas, roses, pansies, geraniums, 

 ageratums, and cannas, while close up 

 to the house were planted beds of ger- 

 aniums, daisies, heliotrope, pinks, ferns 

 and orchids. There were round beds, 

 square beds, oval beds, and beds of geo- 

 metrical and other figures and all alive 



The Center of the Garden 



with fine bloom. Dropped in here and 

 there were isolated shrubs, roses, seats, 

 a dove cot, and a not-to-be-forgotten 

 cast-iron wolf and rabbits. 



In the centre of the lawn, for so I 

 must name it, is a rustic summer house, 

 under climbers, and a row of rustic 

 vases filled with geraniums, nasturtiums, 

 and creepers. This sets off the garden 

 nicely. the BOEDER BEDS 



Down both sides run borders com- 

 posed mostly of perennials, although 

 some annuals have been given a place 

 there. There were: Perennial phlox, 

 petunias, columbine, begonias. Sweet 

 William, peonies, salfraglossis, geran- 

 iums, sweet peas, golden glow, asters, 

 snap draeons, salvia, gladiolus, lark- 

 spur, and shrubs. These borders stop 

 at the lawn where two semi-circular 



215 



beds of cannas make a fine ending to 

 an especially fine stretch of mixed lawn 

 and flower garden. 



Flower Beds and One of the Side Fences 



Considering the soil, which is a light 

 sand, nothing like the clay soil of Lon- 

 don South, that roses delight in, Mr. 

 Metherall has by hard work, the appli- 

 cation of manure, and close attention, 

 obtained some fine bushes, that while 

 they are blooming this year, give hopes 

 for better things next season. His 



choice in this line is Madame Leawood, 

 Mrs. Sharman Crawford, Magna Charta, 

 Frau Karl Druschki, Prince Camille de 

 Rohan, Ulrich Brunner, Mrs. John 

 Lang, General Jacquinimot, Baron 

 Rothschild, though, of course, he has 

 the ramblers Tanschendron and Dorothy 

 Perkins. For manure he uses barnyard 

 manure and the commercial dried man- 

 ure from the stock yards. For the in- 



The Route the Automobile Travels 



