972 



THE NATURE BOOK 



STANDARD ROSES IN JULY. 



losing altogether. In its season a Standard 

 Rose may be the most exquisite flower 

 picture in the garden, or it may be, as 

 often it is, one of the least attractive. 

 But the Weeping Standard and the free- 

 growing, in contradistinction to the " mop- 

 headed " plants, are fast becoming popular, 

 and soon they will compel greater admira- 

 tion than the old Standard Rose did in 

 its palmiest days. The true Weeping 

 Rose, if not altogether a creation of the 

 latter-day florist, owes its increasing 

 popularity to his endeavours. Imagine 

 a stem five or six feet high from the top 

 of which depend gracefully and sym- 

 metrically long, slender growths that reach 

 to the ground, crowned with lustrous 

 leaves, studded with brilHant bloom, 

 forming a perfect parasol of blossom. 

 Fix in your mind's eye this exquisite 

 portrayal of Rose beauty, and you liave 

 an impression of the rare and singular 

 charm of the Weeping Standard Rose. 

 It is unique ; the garden contains nothing 

 quite like it, and it has been made more 

 characteristic still by the introduction 

 of the new American- Japanese climbing 

 varieties. They depend from the top of 



a Briar six feet high with as fine a grace, 

 as subtle a charm, as they climb about 

 the larch or oak pillars of a pergola. Ten 

 years or so ago few thought of using 

 the Climbing Rose as a standard ; to-day 

 it stands as the type that will save the 

 standard from neglect and possibly 

 oblivion. Such free-growing sorts as 

 Crimson Rambler, W. A. Richardson, 

 Gloire de Dijon, and other favourite 

 climbers, make delightful standards. They 

 do not form Weeping Standards like 

 Dorothy Perkins, Hiawatha, and other 

 extra vigorous Roses, but they are far 

 more beautiful than the prim and proper 

 specimens that were appraised so highly 

 not very long ago, despite the fact that 

 Dean Hole was never tired of condemning 

 them. " Their appearance is unhappy," 

 he wrote, " there is no congruity between 

 stock and scion, no union between horse 

 and rider — an exposition, on the contrary, 

 of mutual discomfort as though the 

 monkey were to mount the giraffe." 



The Roses that fill the greater part of 

 our gardens, with which we plant beds 

 and borders, and upon which we rely for 

 blooms of ])erfect form and exquisite colour 



