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JOURNAL OF HOETICULTUKE AND COTTAGE GAKDENEB. 



I May 11, 1871. 



want of originality on the part of us gardeners, and ia an in- 

 stance of fashion or slavish imitation which cannot be too soon 

 forgotten. Sorely we have sufficient courage and manliness 

 to owB ourselves to be wrong ! I for one will own I have 

 budded and planted hundreds of standard Eoses, but of my 

 own will I will never plant another, for I am fully convinced 

 that Eoses require no assistance from stocks of any kind, but 

 grow and flower as freely and as well on their own roots as they 

 do when budded or grafted upon Briar or Manetti stocks. The 

 man to whom the use of stocks is really beneficial is the nur- 

 seryman, simply because their use enables him to increase his 

 stock of sorts, new and old, with the greatest expedition and 

 economy, and so to all Eosea not trained to waUs I would im- 

 part the form of a cone or pyramid, knowing from actual ex- 

 perience how easily and quickly this can be done. No stiff- 

 ness, no formality is visible in such plants; their tapering 

 forms, laden with fine flowers from the soil in which they grow, 

 upwards to the tops of the plants, offer to the eye rich masses 

 of floral loveliness, to which the beautiful foliage. Nature's foil, 

 forms a fitliog background. 



There are, of course, many other forms which may be advan- 

 tageously imparted to plantp, according to the respective habits 

 of their growth, which ought always to be carefully studied. 

 Training should really be simply the bringing back of a plant 

 from the unkempt wildness of Niture, so that the growth may 

 be regulated to graceful order. It can serve no good purpose, 

 and is opposed to good taste, to torture any plant into a gro- 

 tesque or unnatural shape ; raiher should we strive to produce 

 objects eombining-simplicify of form with elegance of appear- 

 ance, and to do this so skilfully as to conceal all evidence of 

 the means by which our handiwork has been performed, for 

 every stake, string, or wire visible when the plant is in its full 

 beauty is a blemish. 



Turning now to the study of form in its relation to the 

 design ci a flower garden or fhrnbbery, a knowledge of geo- 

 metry and the effect of a combination of geometrical forms is 

 important. Masses of flowers tastefully arranged impress the 

 mind favourably, whatever be the form of the beds in which 

 they are growing; but I must qualify this with another truth 

 equally weighty, and that is, when the beds of a flower garden 

 have simple and graceful outlines corresponding well with each 

 other, the p'ants growing in the beds will certainly be more 

 admired than others seen in a very complicated design. A 

 severely geometrical pattern composed of angular forms, each 

 fitting to the other with the greatest nicety, must always pos- 

 sess a certain air of formality, no matter how skilfully the 

 colours may be arranged. It must be granted that such a 

 design when placed near a noble mansion, and having such 

 accessories as beautiful statuary, balustrading, and vases, pos- 

 sesses much that is stately and dignified, yet these important 

 features rarely, if ever, atone for or cause one long to forget 

 the harsh uncompromising outlines of the beds, which are only 

 to be viewed favourably as forming part of the grand whole ; 

 for if we venture to dissect such a garden, and seek for amuse- 

 ment in the study of individual beds, our first impression, 

 probably by no means an unfavourable one, would most likely 

 suffer, and be very much weakened — so true is it that to be 

 really and continuously enjoyable a flower garden must possess 

 other charms than those visible at the first glance. It is, 

 doubtless, very gratifying to hear the exclamation, '• How very 

 lovely!" called forth by the first sight of the entire garden, 

 but it is much more so if a closer inspection of the beds sus- 

 tains the interest of the visitor, making a stroll from bed to 

 bed a thing to be cared for and thoroughly enjoyed. One 

 reason for this is because geometrical precision does not al- 

 ways imply beauty. In a kitchen garden we look for and ad- 

 mire this precision because we are impressed with a sense of 

 the importance of economising all available space ; and as 

 angular forms fit best to each other, these are, of course, the 

 right ones to impart to the quarters and borders. Bat in the 

 flower garden, where luxurious enjoyment, amusement, and 

 repose are sought after, and the stern realities of life are for 

 a time softened or forgotten, graceful forms and soft flowing 

 lines should prevail. 



A circle, of alt geometrical figures the simplest and most ele- 

 gant, is undoubtedly the best form for a flower bed. It can be 

 made of any size so as to offer a plain circular mass of colour, or 

 may contain within itself a variety of designs, either simple in 

 form or as complicated as may appear best to the taste or fancy 

 of the designer. Therefore, a design composed of circles and 

 curved " lines of grace and beauty " is quite certain to arrest 

 the attention and to impress the mind favourably. In order 



that this impression may not be effaced by a closer inspection, 

 there must be no clashing, either in the forms of the beds or 

 the colours of the flowers. A garden having all its beds of an 

 angular form is more pleasing to look upon than one display- 

 ing a confused assembly of curves and angles. Purity is one 

 of the first principles of design, and such an effect can only be 

 produced in this instance by associating forms of a similar 

 character, or which show by their outlines that they spring 

 from a common parent. — Edwakd Luckhuest. 



FOLIAGE OF THE EPIMEDIUMS. 



I MUSI call your attention to the beautiful foliage of the 

 Epimediums, of which I send a few specimens. They are 

 principally cross-bred varieties of my own raising, but some of 

 the species are equally attractive. 



In regard to Dielytra cucuUaria (page 301), I can assure yoc 

 that it is growing most vigorously. The flowers are concealed 

 by the foliage, which is a defect. Mrs. E. agrees with you 

 about its beauty, so I give in. [Quite right so to do. — Ens.] 

 —A. E. 



[The Epimediums do indeed deserve more notice than they 

 usually receive. The varieties you have raised — whether their 

 leaves are self-coloured of the peculiar Epimedium light tender 

 green, or mottled or margined with bronze — are all very attrac- 

 tive, for not only have they the beauty of colour, but of form, 

 pointed heart-shaped, and suspended on such graceful slender 

 stalks. The first that we remember, Epimedium diphyllum, 

 or Twin-leaved, the exceptionally coloured ones, violaceum and 

 pinnatum, are all graceful and charming in many ways. — Eds.j 



GARDENERS' CAPuES. 



" So yon are going to be a gardener, cousin George, are 

 you ? Think well about it before you begin. There is no turn- 

 ing back when you have started on that journey. I know what 

 it is to be a gardener, having had several years' experience. 1 

 sometimes wish I had chosen any other employment, but it is 

 too late now, I must go on to the end. Don't be alarmed, I 

 am only telling you what you will have to do and put up with, 

 and if you feel that you cannot, now is your time to change your 

 mind. Gardening is all very well for those who are in earnest, 

 for those who can put their heart into their work; who can 

 bear success with moderation, and failure, which is far more 

 likely to be the result, with patience. Never man yet strode to 

 the heights without many a failure. You will have to place 

 much of your time, and strength, and skill at your employer's 

 service, to work hard, to be up early and late, yet often unable 

 to chronicle to-day what you did yesterday, and very often the 

 morrow is only a repetition. Much of a gardener's work is 

 like a woman's in a house— continual coming and going and 

 doing, very tiring, and little to see at the end." 



" It must be less dull than making pins and nails aU the 

 days of your life, cousin Mark. It must be healthier out in 

 the sunshine and fresh air, among flowers, and trees, and sweet 

 grass, than confined in a heated factory with the clang and 

 whirl of noisy machinery. I cannot imagine any life pleasanter 

 than a gardener's, and I hope to try it." 



" But the sun does not always shine, George, and even when 

 it does, its heat is sometimes a burden ; and the trees, splendid 

 enough in their way, cause endless labour on a lawn with their 

 never-ceasing leaf-droppings, and the sweet grass requires more 

 painstaking than a lady's drawing-room carpet, and there is 

 harder and coarser work than tending fiowers. And the fresh 

 air may be healthy, but not very agreeable when it comes over 

 miles of frozen moors, with the mercury dreadfully inclined to 

 fall below zero. I can tell you, also, it is not very comfortable 

 working out all day with an east wind drying up your skin, or 

 small rain soaking through your jacket until you can think of 

 nothing but rheumatism. Often it cannot be otherwise ; your 

 work carries you from place to place, in-doors and out, so that 

 you are exposed to all degrees of heat and cold— often have to 

 pass suddenly from one to the other." 



" I have often heard say, Maik, that it ia the happiest and 

 safest of all apprenticeships, the spring time of_ life spent 

 among spring flowers, no lungs stifled with loul air, no long 

 toiling hours by gaslight." 



" It sounds well in words, George, but there is much to learn 

 about gardening, and, unless you have a natural liking for it, 

 it will take yon long to learn. You will have to dig." 



