Gardens of the Luxembourg, 245 



abundantly than we have scarcely ever seen them in our gar- 

 dens. It appears to be the effort of all French gardeners to 

 produce masses of flowers, and dahlias, roses, verbenas, scar- 

 let pelargoniums, as well as all the showy annuals are plant- 

 ed out for this purpose. To our taste, this is carried to excess, 

 and, contrasted with English gardens, there is a want of ver- 

 dure, which is the greatest charm of garden scenery. There 

 is a great want of evergreens in all the gardens we noticed 

 around Paris ; the climate like our own, is, we believe, too 

 severe for the Laurel, lauristinus and similar shrubs, which 

 flourish well in England, and to supply the place of these, 

 greater quantities of flowers are planted out to fill up the 

 ground. 



From the Jardin des Plants many new things have been 

 first introduced to Europe ; it is the especial object of govern- 

 ment to aid and assist in the collection of plants from all 

 parts of the world, and we may name the Morus multicau- 

 lis, and the Bourbon rose, as two of the most valuable objects 

 disseminated from this establishment throughout Europe. 



Gardens of the Luxembourg. — The following day we vis- 

 ited the Garden of the Luxembourg, so long famous for its 

 collection of grapes. It is now under the superintendence of 

 M. Hardy, well known for his success in producing new 

 varieties of roses from seed. 



The gardens are several acres in extent, and are laid out 

 in the geometrical style. In front of the palace there is a large 

 piece of water, surrounded with terraces, terminating at their 

 extremities by stone balustrades, decorated with two groups 

 in marble, representing wreaths, and four small figures sup- 

 porting vases, in which are planted pelargoniums and other 

 flowers. The sloping banks which form the terraces, were 

 planted with a profusion of flowers, particularly of German 

 asters, and ornamented with statues. On the borders of the 

 walks were also placed the large orange trees, which are kept 

 in opaque roofed houses in winter. At the opposite end of 

 this sheet of water, steps from the palace ascend to the broad 

 central avenue, which terminates in an observatory. To the 

 right and left are groves of trees, affording umbrageous re- 

 treats to the immense concourse of people who throng the 

 gardens from daylight to dark. 



