CHAPTER XVI 



ROSES IN ENGLISH GARDENS ON THE RIVIERA 



It is very surprising to find how few kinds of Roses 

 are grown in gardens on this coast, and consequently 

 a mere list is rather disappointing, the fact being that 

 it is the beauty and the abundance of their flowers 

 that constitutes the charm rather than the very great 

 variety of kinds. The cause is very easy to com- 

 prehend. Those who care for their gardens do not 

 as a rule come out much before Christmas, and leave 

 at the latest by the middle of May, so that any Rose 

 that does not flower freely during the late autumn or 

 early spring is of little importance, however beautiful 

 it may be. Moreover, the great sun power and the 

 fatal Rose beetles that tear the petals to ribbons in 

 May prevent the latest Roses being of real value, while 

 the gorgeous blaze of Geraniums, Gazanias, Petunias, 

 and such summer flowers destroys the tender tones of 

 those Roses which bloom late. 



It is the climbing Roses that are the joy of the 

 gardener here. They grow rampantly and flower 

 profusely, whether they be grown trained to walls, 

 pergolas, arches, pillars, and such like, or if they 

 simply are planted near a tree, preferably an Olive 

 or Cypress, and fling their sprays of blossom down 

 from the very highest to the lowest branches, with 



