FLOWERS AND GARDENS OF JAPAN 21 



The flora of Japan is very rich in ornamental trees and shrubs 

 and the majority of the deciduous plants and nearly all the Coni- 

 fers have proved perfectly hardy and amenable to cultivation in 

 the gardens of New England. 



In Japan the Pine, the Bamboo, and the Plum-blossom {Prunus 

 mume) are emblematic of long life, strength, and happiness, and a 

 love of flowers is a dominant characteristic of the people. This 

 love is spontaneous and fundamental and is one of the virtues of 

 the race which appeals forcibly to the most casual visitor. The 

 arrangement of flowers for house decoration is one of the three 

 essential parts of every lady's education, and be it said it is an 

 accomplishment in which the whole people excel in a manner most 

 artistic. At no season of the year is any dwelling, be it peasant's 

 hut or merchant's house, prince's castle or emperor's palace, with- 

 out its flowers or sprig of fruit or foliage, and the graves of the 

 departed are decked with floral decorations the year round. The 

 Chrysanthemum is the chosen crest of the Imperial Household; 

 three Asarum leaves found the crest of the first Shogun; one of 

 the highest Imperial Orders is that of the Paulownia. The blossom- 

 ing of the Cherry is made the occasion for a great national holiday. 

 In the temple grounds are magnificent trees, and for old trees the 

 love of the Japanese amounts to a veneration akin to worship. 



Here and there throughout the land are places famous for their 

 Plum trees. Cherry trees. Wistarias, Irises, Peonies, Azaleas, Maples, 

 Chrysanthemums, Pines, Cryptomerias, and so forth, and in 

 season people flock from far and near to feast on their beauty. 

 These different floral seasons are kept as festivals of amity and 

 rejoicing. Families in all their ramifications from great-grand- 

 mother to the youngest great-grandchild assemble together for a 

 right merry time. In and near cities and where the sake-bowl 

 flows too freely the merriment may be a little boisterous, but it 

 is always the exuberance of good fellowship. When in Japan I 

 found peculiar pleasure in the spirit of joyousness so manifest at 

 these festivals. 



With a few exceptions it is on trees and shrubs that the Japanese 

 lavish their attentions. The Iris, Chrysanthemum, Lotus Lily, 

 Rhodea japonica, Liriope spicata, and the Morning Glory are the 

 only herbs that they are really fond of. The Morning Glory 



