GARDEN LORE 



683 



But the crotchety old chap was really stealing his song 

 from the Greek poet Philostratus, who, twenty cen- 

 turies before the bucolic Ben was born, wrote this : 



"Although I send a perfume rare, 



'Tis not of grace to you I send it ; 

 The gain is to the gift I swear. 



Although I send a perfume rare ; 

 'Twill earn a sweeter fragrance there, 



Than any power but yours could lend it ; 

 Although I send a perfume rare, 



'Tis not of grace to you I send it." 



Ancients and moderns all peoples when wishing to 

 laud their wives, sweethearts, and mistresses compared 

 them to or exalted them above the loveliness of the rose. 

 Dionysius, in the year 190 B. C, waxed eloquent and 

 wrote his beloved the following: 



"Which roses do you offer me, 



Those on your cheek, or those beside you? 

 Since both are passing fair to see. 

 Which roses do you offer me? 



Did not Meleager the Greek, in his "Garland," liken 

 the beautiful lines of Sappho's lyrics to the "Rose petals 

 of song"? And many appreciative musicians have given 

 us sweet songs of roses ; recall the melting, plaintive 

 melody and the haunting words of "The Last Rose of 

 Summer"; and the quick-witted composer who wrote 

 the ballad of the "Wild Irish Rose" gave us no mean 

 pleasure; history, romance, song, the deepest sentiments 

 of religion and life, are all affected by the rose, and to 

 it we pay homage. Legends in untold numbers crowd 

 the folklore of all lands in which the rose is always the 

 symbol of beauty, goodness, and gracious loveliness. 



But enough of particularization ; one can multiply ad 

 iniinitum references of the rose's beauty, and of the sweet- 

 ness of the violet, too, and the idyllic purity of the lily, 

 and the countless virtues of one's favorite flower; all 

 flowers have their appeal, as the Creator intended. 



And other trees than the oak and yew possess much 

 beauty and find a worthy place in the English landscape ; 

 the beech, the plane, the glossy-leaved red-berried holly, 

 the dignified elm, maples, pine, birch, thorn, chestnut, 

 Kme, locust, many varieties of willow, and other trees 

 common to our own hillsides and valleys thrive in foggy 

 England. The shrubs are many and of singular beauty, 

 they correspond very closely to our own species, and 



great is the variety of coloring, both leaf and flower, and 

 the British architect has cunningly used their various 

 differences for brilliant and alluring effects in his mass 

 plantings and his borders and covers. Annuals and per- 

 ennials, such as the bronzy-leaved hollyhocks and old- 

 fashioned plants of striking color and proven hardiness. 

 are used prodigally, and aquatics are plentifully indulged 

 in, especially in the more formal work of the large estates. 



With all the wealth of naturally grown herbage and 

 hot-house hybrids at his disposal, it is small wonder that 

 the English landscape architect, by accepting Nature as 

 his guide, has made a bower of his "tight little isle" and 

 given to the world the most perfect example of intimate 

 little gardens for the cottager, as well as the glorified 

 creations of his art which surround the huge manor 

 houses and estates. 



Again, in the architectural and sculptural embellish- 

 ments of the garden, the Briton has surpassed most of 

 his competitors; the stone walls which give privacy and 

 dignity, the immense gates which invite hospitality, the 

 fountains, the statuary, the pools, the dials, the hedges 

 sheltering the garden seats, the inviting arbors, the tea 

 houses, the bird shelters, and all the ingenious schemes for 

 entertaining and resting the host and his guests are found 

 in abundance and beauty in the English garden; those 

 quiet nooks where lovers find seclusion, where the student 

 may pore over his books without interruption, and 

 where the bird lover may seek his feathery friends. 



The landscape architecture of England is entirely 

 suited to our own country, and many portions of the 

 United States have even more favorable landscapes and 

 climate for the English style of natural planting and for 

 formal architectural treatment and embellishment than 

 England herself. Can we not have more of this beautiful 

 work? It is as natural for us as for the Briton, just as 

 natural for us to use and profit by the work of the Eng- 

 lish landscape artists as for us to speak the English 

 language. Certain portions of the West and South are 

 more suited to French and Italian gardening than that 

 of the English, but the greater part of our country, 

 with its varied flora and diversified countryside, is ripe 

 for the gardens of Old England ; and when we plant, 

 let it be tree or shrub or flower, we will derive a more 

 intimate pleasure from our finished park or garden if 

 we, like the Briton, make an effort to know the his- 

 tory and romance of the species used, for the plant, 

 like a good Samaritan, gives more than it receives. 



Wky Scientists Use Latin Names 



The oaks afford an excellent illustration of the need 

 of a system of nomenclature of plants and animals uni- 

 form throughout the world. In Germany the oak is 

 known as Eiche, in France as Chene, in Spain as Roble, 

 in Denmark as Eg; but throughout scientific literature 

 whether written in New Zealand or Scandinavia, the 

 genus is designated as "Quercus." On the other hand 

 some South American and Australian woods not classed 

 by botanists under the genus "Quercus" have had the 

 common name of "oak" applied to them because they 



are heavy and strong. 



The confusion among common names is still further 

 increased when designating individual species. About 

 250 species of oak are known throughout the world. The 

 name black oak is applied to at least six different spe- 

 cies, yellow oak to two, and tanbark oak to three dis- 

 tinctly different oaks. Among scientists Quercus velu- 

 tina Lam. (the last word referring to Lamrack who 

 first named and described it) means but one species and 

 obviates any confusion that might result by referring 

 to the species as black oak. The Log. 



