The Beeches — A Garden Beautiful 



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«HE Beeches" is the fitting title 

 of the lovely home, on Grand 

 Avenue, London, Ont., of Mr. 

 R. W. Puddicombe, manager of the 

 I-ondon Loan Society. A fine home it is. 



Mr. Puddicombe's Garden, Looking North 

 Toward the House 



This was revealed during a visit when 

 the grounds and garden were at their 

 best. Embowered in grand old beeches, 

 evergreens, and deciduous trees and 

 shrubs, and draped in its summer suit of 

 close-fitting Virginia Creeper and Am- 

 pelopsis Veitchii, the house reminded one 

 of the southern colonial home because of 

 its wide and hospitable, pillared veran- 

 dah, garnished everywhere with boxes, 

 pots and other receptacles for flowers. 

 It might easily be passed by a person on 

 the road without ever imagining that so 

 large a home was so near. 



As you enter the gate from the avenue 

 the driveway describes a circle through 

 the ancient forest, and returns to the 

 gateway. Passing up a rather sharp 

 elevation, and arriving at the top and 

 I)assing the front elevation of the house 

 on the left, you find the primeval and 

 modern hand in hand in great beauty. 

 The only connecting link between the 

 two is a single rank of Scottish firs, 

 [)lanted by a former resident, which seem 

 to stand on tiptoe to make themselves as 

 lall and grand as the lordly beeches they 

 .ire guarding. 



At their feet stretches a large tennis 

 court, level as a billiard table, closely 

 shaven and well kept, surrounded by 

 lawn, till cut off from the garden by a 

 fine row of syringas, backed by a border 

 of perennial plants. The driveway is left 

 here, and walking across the small pla- 

 teau, on which the house stands, the 

 beauty of the place bursts upon you. 



THE EOSB GARDKN 



The ground dips from your feet as 

 rapidly as it rose at the entrance. On 



A. J. Elliot, Aylmer, Ont/ 



this decline is situated the rose garden. 

 At the bottom of this descent the lawn 

 proper commences. It is embellished in 

 the centre with a bed of magnificent 

 paeonies. The lawn still rises till the full 

 height of the ascent is reached on the 

 top of which is planted a grand row of 

 pampas grass. Then some eight feet 

 more, and a row of spruce ends the 

 scene. The general view is lovely. 



Descending to the path at the bottom 

 of the incline, and turning, the full 

 beauty of the roses struck me forcibly. It 

 was a glorious day in June when I first 

 was there, and an ideal day for roses. 

 There they stood, some five hundred 

 bushes, all of strong and vigorous 

 growth, fairly bending under the load 

 of blossoms they bore, from the purest 

 white through all the shades of pink, 

 cream, and scarlet, to the darkest shades. 

 It was a panorama of beauty. I could 

 not see a bug, worm, or aphis in the 

 garden. Questioning Mr. Puddioomlx' 



The Middle of the Garden, Looking South 



as to their absence, he told me that he 

 had used tobacco water and helebore, 

 but his panacea for rose enemies was no- 

 thing more than the garden hose. The 

 rich clay soil is where the rose luxuri- 

 ates, and the only manure given is in 

 the fall when strawy manure is put on 

 deep for their protection and raked off in 

 the spring, the fine humus left being dug 

 in. 



A good lesson might be learned by 

 rose growers as to pruning. The severe 

 winter two years ago froze about all the 

 wood grown the previous year. Yet the 

 following season the roses never blos- 

 somed finer nor were more prolific. Mr. 

 Puddicombe's favorites are La France, 

 Marvel de Lyons, Baroness Rothschild, 

 Gen. Jaqueminot, Polonnaise, and Gen. 

 Grant, all of which are well represented 

 in his garden, besides a great many 

 others. 



Now, as the rose unfortunately gets 

 through blossoming soon after the month 

 of June is out, the beds would have ra- 

 ther a deserted look ; so in the diamond 

 centre bed, geraniums are planted, and 

 the other beds are filled in with Japanese 

 Pinks, Phlox Drummondi, asters, scabi- 

 osa, salvia, heliotrope, and on either side 

 liberal perennial borders run the whole 

 length of the enclosure, rioting in bloom. 

 Here was found sweet rocket, the lark- 

 spurs, corn flowers, perennial phloxes, 

 garden heliotrope. Sweet William, col- 

 umbine, hollyhocks, paeonies, and many 

 other flowers. 



This enclosure is in its turn cut off 

 from the vegetable garden by a lattice 

 fence covered with clematis, entrance be- 

 ing gained through arched ways, where 

 the paths command. Entering by the 

 south path a surprise was exjjerienced . 

 Another lawn met the view. It was sur- 

 rounded on three sides with perennials 

 and on the fourth by rows of currants 

 and gooseberries, while a"centre bed was 

 a mass of splendid cannas. 



North of this was the vegetable gar- 

 den proper in which in profusion is grown 

 in rows currants, gooseberries, beans, 

 tomatoes, beets, carrots, peas, sweet 

 peas, and asparagus, and all around this 

 part, under the spruces that mark the 

 line of property, are grown raspberries. 

 Adjoining this section is the greenhouse, 

 in which some fine chrysanthemums were 

 showing good work for late fall blos- 

 soms. 



I stated at the out.set that the front 

 was a mass of trees and shrubs. Mr. 

 Puddicombe has spared neither expense 

 nor trouble to gain his desired effect. 

 He has the Mahonia Aquafolia, the seeds 

 of which he got while on a visit to Hei- 

 delberg in Germany ; the Retinospora, 

 Barberry, Thunbergia, Juniper, Azaleas, 

 and the Sciadopitys Virticillata, besides 



The Ea*t End, Looking West 



