THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



77 



THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



The Love and Culture of Flowers. 



Notliiii;^ is 80 i^U-nsaiit iiiiil fin'(nirny;iiii; iih fluceese, 

 and no success (luilp so satisl'yiiit' us success In the 

 culture of (lowers. It is n pleasure witli no eonipen- 

 satiuL' pain — one wliiili purities while it pleasi'S. We 

 f;aze u;Hin the lieautilul plants ami lirilliant llowcrs 

 with a ilelicious eoniiniiiuiint: of ailniiration and 

 love. They are the olVsprini: of our forcthouirht, 

 taste and eare — a new, mysterious anil irlorious crea- 

 tion. Tliey i;rew — truly, Imt very like the stars and 

 the rainliow. A few sliort weeks ai;o the l>roH n 

 oarllily lulls were hare and lifeless; now they are 

 peopled with the fairest and frailest of earth's ehil- 

 dren. We have created all this ;rraec ; niouldecl tlie 

 earth, the sunshine an<l the rain into forms of nniteh- 

 lees beauty, and crystallized the dewdrops into j;:eins 



of loveliness. There is no sreater jjleasurc than this 

 in all the earth, save that sweetest and uoblcst of 

 pleasure, the fruit of <rood deeds. 



There may he hard-hearted, .seltlsh people who 

 love flowers, we suppose ; for there were had ansels 

 in heaven, and very unreliable peoi)le in the lirst and 

 best of all gardens ; but it has never been our ill- 

 fortune to meet with one such, and if by accident we 

 should discover a monstrosity of this kind, we would 

 he more friirhtcned than we were a lonir time ai^o at 

 what we thoui;ht a frhost sittins on a cemetery gate. 



To i.oviv Howers, however, because of their sweet- 

 ness and beauty and companionship, and as the won- 

 derful work of a Kather's lovini; hand, is what we 

 mi'an when we speak of the love of llowers. Many 

 cultivate llowers from a desire to excel thi:ir iiciL'h- 

 bors, or as an evi<lence of their rcHnement and cul- 

 ture, who know nothiii'r of the ab.sorbins lovi' that 

 causes a man alnii>sl involuntarily to raise the hat 

 and bow the head in the presence of so niueh heaven- 

 lent loveliness. This love of llowers is contined to no 

 afTi" or stati(m ; we see it in the prince and peasant; 

 it is shown by the asred father totti'rinu near the 

 p:rave, who seems almost to adore the fratrrant liower 

 in his button-hole, and by the little ones, who, with 

 childish irlce, search the meadows for the Uiiudelions 

 of early sprinir. The love of flowers, we fancy, is the 

 most imre and ahsorbintr with the younsr. The unio- 

 ccnt and i>ure can love the jmre llowers, we think, 

 with an earnestni'ss and devotion unknown to some 



of us thai uiL older. A beauiULil --i;;l]t ;;rectcd us 

 not loni; since, whi<-h we will endeavitr to (Mirtray 

 with pencil and graver, but perha|)s without nuu-li 

 success, as the spirit of such scenes is not easily cop- 

 ied. A jtlant stood on the sill of the window, which 

 attracted more than ordinary admiration fntm a little 

 girl whose parents were pnibably the owuers of bolli 



hottse and i)laiit. l*leasure was expressed in every 

 featin-e; and when we saw the gentle kiss imprinted 

 on each (lower and 0[H'ning bud, we came nearer 

 breaking that command which forbids <-oveting than 

 we ever did before — and we didn't want the [ilant 

 either. This little girl had bci'n brought up in an at- 

 niospheri' (d' love and llowers an<I plants, and you 

 think her tastes wonlil havi^ been diil'ercnt with less 

 fa\orabh' surroundings. 



.Several years ago we happened to be in one of our 

 imrseries, when two little (tcrinan girls, eoarselj' 

 dressed, and ap|)arently sisters, entered the grounils, 

 and wh<-n first attracting our special attention, had 

 inade their wav to the green-house, anil were en- 

 deavoring to purchase a pol -plant . When one was 

 selected and tlie price asecrtaiued, each one brought 

 a few pennies from the depths o(' lu-r dress [Htcket, 

 and an anxious counting eommcneed. Their united 

 purses dill not seem enough, and another search was 

 made in the corners of the pockets, followed by a 

 more careful counting ; and when the sad truth be- 

 came ajiparcnt that their means were insuflleient for 

 the i>urchase, we watched the sorrowful couiite- 

 nances, the silent tear — a beautiful study for an ar- 

 tist. When the good gardener, with a smile of pleas- 

 ure — the glow of a kindly act — delivered the plant to 

 his anxious customers, taking their little all in pay- 

 ment, their joy shed simshine all around. 



This is the genuine love of llowers that we wish to 

 sec si>reail all overour land. We want to sec flowers in ' 

 the mansion, the cot- 

 tage and the garret ; 

 in the school rooms, 

 the hospitals and 

 the churches. Above 

 all, we wish the 

 young to cultivate 

 flowers. This is why' 

 we write in a simple 

 way of llowers, and 

 of simple How ere, 

 and leave tine writ- 

 ing about rare and 

 costly things to oth- 

 ers. These living 

 preachers, through 

 voiceless lips, are ex- 

 erting an influence 

 for good that few 

 realize, and nowhere 

 greater than in our 

 new-born land, 

 .\merica. It is a 

 pleasure to feel that 

 wc have been en- 

 abled, in .some meas- 

 ure at least, tospeed 

 this good work, 

 which brings retiuement and happiness to so many, 

 and sin and sorrow to none. Perhaps we could not 

 better conclude what we at first designed only for a 

 few introdiu'tory remarks, than by copying some 

 lines of Horace Smith's beautiful " Hymn to the 

 Flowers :" 



" "Neath cloistered houghR each floral hell that B^^ingcth, 

 And tolls its i>ertume on the jiassiiig air. 



Makes .Sabbath in the ticlds, and ever siugetli 

 A call to I'rayer. 



'* Your voiceless lips, O Flowoi h, are living preachers — 

 Each cup a pulpit and each leaf a tiook — 

 Sup])lying to my fancy uuiuerous teacherB 

 from lowliest uook ! 



"Floral Apostles! that in dewy Hlilendor 



Weep without sin, and blush willmut a crime: 

 O, may I deeply learn, and ne'er surrender 

 Your love sublime I 



"In the Bweet-Bcentcd pictures, Heavenly .\rtiHt, 



With which thou painlest Nature's wide-spread hall. 

 What a delightful lesson tliou impartest 

 Of love to all I" 



— Vick'n Floral Gtiuk. 



OUR GARDEN ROSES. 



In our old (lermantown gardens is a rose which 

 does not seem to be known elsewhere, so far as we 

 can judge by catalogues and other formsof literature, 

 hut which is well worthyof culture. Every old gar- 

 den has it; indeid. it is oldy in old gardens that it is 

 found. It is called the " .May rose," as it is the flrst 

 rose to bloom in the spring. The flowers are not 

 large, but very double, of a deep pink color, and r>f a 

 delightful spicy fragrani'c. Indeed, it is probably a 

 double form of the wild cinnamon rose of Kinvipe, 

 and may have 1 n iiUioduecd by our Herman an- 

 cestors, to whom wc are certaiidy indebted for many 

 good things, both among fruits and flowers. It is 

 easily known by its dark red stems, few thorns, up- 

 right, raspberry-like canes, and a |MMuliar pea-green 

 tint about the leaves. It has sonu' rescmblaiu'cto the 

 tall swamp rose which is abundantly wild in wet 

 places in this State, but a little examination soon 

 teaches one the dill'ereuce. A iilace should always be 

 found for the .May rose in gardens, no nuitter how 

 great may be the" claims of any novelty to a place 

 therein. 



.\nother old rose of Germantown gardens, which it 

 always does us good to see, is the Hussian ro.se. It 

 has li terribly ferocious look, as not a particle of the 



stem can be seen for the profusion of long j^rickly 

 spires that everywhere cover it. And then the flow- 

 ers are i|uile single, and that is not a great recom- 

 inendatiou to uutny to whom a flower Is hai*dly a 

 flower iiidess it be a double one. But it is the most 

 dellcioiisly fragrant of any rose grown. The (lowers 

 are over two inches in diameter, of a scarlet crimson, 

 but In the centre a large uuiss of golden-yellow from 

 its long and profusi' aiilhers. It grows only about 

 two (eet high, and is a ragged-looking bush, but widl 

 deserves a |dace in the shrubbery border. The leaves 

 have a very pretty wriidiled a|)p<'araiice, and give the 

 plant some Interest when not in (Uiwit, It is not 

 ipiite so coinnion in the old places as the .May rose. 

 Then we have the old rose of all roses, tlie old 

 Ilundred-leaveil rose, which Is now no more in any 

 rose catalogue, and which, though it cannot boast of 

 bliKuning " all llie time," is, while it is in bloom, 

 eipuiled by none in beauty. In the days when it was 

 famous we had plenty of "rose leavrs " giving a 

 pleasant fragrance to our bonus all the year, a lux- 

 ury which has well nigh departi-d with the new faii- 

 glcd "improvements" of the presi-nl ilay. It was Iho 

 ex|ircssion of all that was ilelightful to " He on a bed 

 id' roses," in the good old time. The Ilundred- 

 leaved rose would give us something worth lying on. 

 Hut now such a rose bed would be hard unopened 

 buds, with little more fragrance or blandishments of 

 of any kind than though they were made by Ah .Sin 

 from' carrots, beefs or white ^uriii|m, and the last 



thing In the work! 

 on which any one 

 could wish to lie. 



Well, we are glad 

 there are still .some 

 sensible i)eoplo 

 about who can once 

 in a while delight 

 us with a glance at 

 t hese good old 

 thi ngs. — (iirman- 

 lou'n Tcleijraph. 



If we are not mis- 

 taken, the " hun- 

 tlreil -leaved rose" 

 referred to, like the 

 beautiful "cabbage 

 rose," still flourish- 

 ing in some old gar- 

 dens around Lancas- 

 ter.is not found in the 

 catalogiu's, because 

 it <annot be grown 

 from cufiugs. New 

 plants can be oli- 

 tained only by sepa- 

 rating young shoots 

 with roots attached. 



THE LITERARY OR CLASSIC SIDE OF 

 GARDEN CULTURE. 

 To those of our readers who have any leaning to- 

 wards the literary and classic sidesof garden culture, 

 wc feel that the following from the .Wic York Svmi- 



Weckly Tribnne, will be read with interest and edifl- 

 cation. In the discussion of any subject, no matter 

 how gross or material it is, Ihire are sland|Miin's 

 from which it niay be viewed, that are above the 

 plane of "Buckwheat cakes and sausages;" and 

 such a stand|>oint, as well as the historical, |if)- 

 ctical and niylhologieal clcnniits which an- involved 

 in the article, we Ulieve will invest the subject with 

 sulUcient interest to make it acceptable to the iutclli- 

 gent reader : 



A GARDEN OF HERBS. 



The Greeks had a proverb, "Many worts and pot 

 herbs in Syria," though Syria was only the heir of 



Babylonia, whose priests knew well the hidden vir- 

 tiH's of herbs, and gathered many of them with ma- 

 gical observations, the traces of which remain in 

 Northern Kuropc until this <lay. Certain it is that 

 on this subject we are fiot the people with whom wis- 

 dom was born, and ci|ually certain that much of the 

 wi.sdom of the ancieius lUcd with them, or has come 

 to us only as the bare tradition of a forgotten lore. 

 I need but name 



" the Bwc«t IjaUamic oil 

 Which wept from UintIis in Juda's fertile soil ; " 



the balm that .lacob thought a noble present for the 

 royal Pharaoh, the jilants of which were so precious 



