CORNISH GARDENS 
ORNISH gardens have a character of their own, and are Character- 
C absolutely dissimilar to such as are generally to be met jstics of 
with over the greater part of England. In the latter the Cornish 
main effect is usually gained by the bedding-out of tender plants, Gardens 
such as zonal Pelargoniums, Calceolarias and Lobelias, which 
have to be kept under glass during the winter months, though 
good herbaceous borders and rock gardens are also often present. 
In the best Cornish gardens bedding-out is practically unknown, 
and carpet-bedding is, fortunately, conspicuous by its absence, 
With the marvellously mild temperature enjoyed by the southern 
shore of Cornwall, along which the warm tide of the Gulf- 
Stream slowly glides, numbers of rare and tender plants from all 
portions of the globe can be grown in the open, unprotected, and 
this possibility is largely taken advantage of in the district, where 
natives of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific 
Islands, Burmah, the Himalayas, Chili and other South American 
countries may be seen growing in the open in the best of health. 
Curiously enough, extremely little is known of Cornish 
gardens in this country, even by flower-lovers. Here and 
there one may be found who is familiar with them and 
their treasures, but to the majority they are a sealed book, 
whose contents are unknown. Many interested in gardening 
read with delight accounts of sub-tropical plants growing in 
their native lands, and experience a wish to make a voyage 
to their homes in order to view them, quite ignorant of the 
fact that by taking a six hours’ journey from Paddington they 
69 
