Subtropical Gardening, 3 



Nature, as the best landscape artists do, not imitate her basely. 

 We may have all the shade, the relief, the grace, and the beauty, 

 and nearly all the irregularity of Nature seen in every blade of 

 grass, in every sea-wave, and in every human countenance; and 

 which may be found too, in some way, in every garden that affords 

 us lasting pleasure either from its contents or design. Well, then, 

 subtropical gardening has taught us that one of the greatest mis- 

 takes ever made in the flower garden was the adoption of a few 

 varieties of plants for culture on a vast scale, to the exclusion of 

 interest aud variety, and too often of beauty or taste. We have 

 seen how well the pointed, tapering leaves of the Canna carry the 

 eye upwards; how refreshing it is to "cool the eyes" in the deep 

 umbrage of those thoroughly tropical Castor-oil plants with their 

 gigantic leaves; how grand the Wigandia, with its wrought-iron 

 texture and massive outline, looks after we have surveyed brilliant 

 lines and richly painted leaves; how greatly the sweeping palm- 

 leaves beautify the British flower garden; — and, in a word, tlie 

 system has shown us the difference between gardening that interests 

 and delights all the public, as well as the mere horticulturist, and 

 that which is too often offensive to tlie eye of taste, and pernicious 

 to every true interest of what Bacon calls the " Purest of Humane 

 pleasures." 



But are we to adopt this system in its purity ? Certainly not. 

 AU practical men see that to accommodate it to private gardens an 

 expense and a revolution of appliances would be necessary, which 

 are in nearly all cases quite impossible, and if possible, hardly desi- 

 rable. We can, however, introduce to our gardens much of its 

 better features ; we can vary their contents, and render them more 

 interesting by a cheaper and a nobler system. The use of all 

 plants without any particular and striking habit or foliage, or othei 

 distinct pecuharity, merely because they are "subtropical," should 

 be tabooed at once, as tending to make much work, and to return 

 — a lot of weeds; for " weediness" is all that I can write of many 

 Solanums and stove plants of no real merit which have been em- 

 ployed under the name subtropical. Selection of the most heauti- 



