328 TROPICAL EFFECTS 



belong larkspurs, globe flowers, anemones, aconites, and other 

 perennials. 



Among trees the horse chestnut is a noble example; also the 

 sweet gum, which has a starry suggestion. But the maples have 

 more palmate beauty than any other hardy trees. The Japanese 

 kinds are doubtless the favourites for subtropical effect, but our 

 own red and sugar maple look more at home than any other trees 

 with palmate leaves, and therefore ought to be planted on a larger 

 scale than any other. 



In other words, I should never use palms in a Northern land- 

 scape. Instead I should use hardy plants with palmate leaves, 

 for these have the spirit of tropical beauty in bodies that are tough- 

 ened to our climate. 



BAMBOO EFFECTS 



But we make a great mistake if we suppose that palms are all 

 fan-shaped. Many, if not most, belong to the feathery, or pin- 

 nate, type of beauty. The Northern florist sells more plants of 

 the feathery Kentias and Areca than of the fan-shaped Latania. 

 And we find this feathery grace highly developed in another great 

 tropical family the bamboos. (See plates 107 and 67.) So 

 full are bamboos of tropical suggestion that people are always 

 surprised to learn that there are any which will survive a Northern 

 winter. Yet a better rule of action would be to assume that every 

 tropical type has its Northern representative. And in my experience 

 the Northern plant is often more beautiful than anything of the 

 kind in the tropics. What maidenhair can the tropics boast that 

 has the beauty of our own Adiantum pedatum ? And is there any 

 plant in the immense family of aroids which has so innocent and 

 boyish a prettiness as our own Jack-in-the-pulpit? 



