GARDEN LORE 



BY CLIFFORD ALBION TINKER 



17' NGLISH landscape architecture, so natural in its con- 

 ^-* ception, so generally perfect in its execution, is a 

 delightful adjunct to the semi-formal British civic cen- 

 ter; a glorifying feature of the vast and ancient baronial 

 estates; and a harmonious addition to the rustic country- 

 side. Framed in by skilfully arranged trees and shrubs, 

 or sweeping away in undulating richness, are the be- 

 guiling lawns, forever inviting a romp, or suggesting a 

 Maypole and happy, beribboned children. 



Each lawn has its own peculiar beauty; but the grass 

 of all is the greenest, the clover is the most deliciously 

 crisp, and the wayward, dotting little blooms are the 

 sweetest of any in the world. The only rival of this 

 verdant loveliness is found in the green swards of the 

 fog-bedewed New England Coast. 



There is a climatic similitude which is the heritage of 

 Old and New England alike, for Dame Nature, pe- 

 culiarly generous, by her handmaiden, the Gulf Stream, 

 dispenses with a grand and misty flourish her loving 

 favors equally on both the Briton and his Yankee cousin. 

 This similarity of climate finds its most impressive ex- 

 pression in a similarity of verdure which is most strong- 

 ly marked among the deciduous shrubs and trees, giving 

 New England and the British Isles their characteristic 



and beautiful natural landscapes, and the indigenous 

 herbaceous annuals and perennials so dear to the New 

 Englander have been at home in England for centuries. 



While the English landscape architect has an abundance 

 of deciduous trees at his disposal, which he uses with 

 ttlling effect, he finds himself more or less handicapped 

 by lack of native conifers. The Scots' pine and the 

 juniper, together with the yew, which last is possibly not 

 a conifer at all, make up the list of natives, the list, how- 

 ever, being somewhat expanded by importation of coni- 

 fers from other lands. 



In the language of the botanist, the yew is a dioecious 

 tree or one having the peculiarity of bearing male and 

 female blossoms on separate trees, although sometimes a 

 yew is found which has one or several branches whose 

 flowers are of the sex opposite to those which cover the 

 greater part of the tree, while added to this are other 

 peculiarities which make yew trees one of the most char- 

 acteristic of all the trees of Britain. 



The yew attains great size and unconscionable age; 

 one in the church-yard of Fortingal, Perthshire, is over 

 two thousand five hundred years old, while another in 

 Hedsor. Buclas. measures twentv-seven feet around and 



A COTTAGE HOME, SET LIKE A JEWEL IN A LOVELY GARDEN 



The English landscape architect by accepting nature as his guide has made a bower of his "tight little isle" and given to tne 

 world the most perfect example of intimate little gardens for the cottager. 



