§ 2. ORNAMENTALS. 



The ornamental gardening of the country is very rapidly 

 undergoing a change, particularly in its application to home 

 or private grounds. The formal and purely conventional 

 features of ornamentation are giving place to the freer use of 

 hardy perennials and native plants. Carpet bedding appears 

 to have passed its zenith, or certainly to have reached it. 

 The interest in native plants has never been so great as now ; 

 and it therefore appears to be an opportune time to compile 

 some statistics of the cultivated plants of our flora, which I 

 have attempted to do in a later part of this volume. Many 

 of the so-called old-fashioned plants are coming again into 

 favor, at least in their improved forms. All this indicates an 

 evolution in taste which must be abiding. 



The national flower discussion, which was so wide-spread dur- 

 ing i88g, has greatl}^ subsided. The California State Floral So- 

 ciety, at its December meeting, 1890, chose the eschscholtzia as 

 the state flower, but beyond this no definite action has been 

 taken by state organizations. The Superintendent of Public 

 Instruction of New York obtained the votes of the school chil- 

 dren of the state, with the following result : Golden-rod, 81,308 

 votes; rose, 79,666; ox-eye daisy, 33,603; violet, 31,176; 

 pansy, 21,202; lily, 16,438; lily of the valley, 11,626; trailing 

 arbutus, 7,888; buttercup, 6,127. 



The interest in flowers is spreading rapidly, especially in 

 the older portions of the country, and flower shows have 

 never been so numerous and never more successful- than 

 during 1890. Exhibitions in the large cities are now patron- 

 ized to such an extent as often to make even the most elab- 

 orate of them self-supporting. Several shows of unusual 

 merit were held during the year. The most notable was that 

 held under the auspices of the Massachusetts Horticultural 

 Society upon the occasion of the meeting of the Society of 

 American Florists. The practice of holding flower shows 

 has extended to many small cities all over the land. 



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