A GARDEN NOTE-BOOK 



grounds and buildings — an ideal, a gleam to fol- 

 low, which has been and will be followed in the 

 architecture and gardening of that part of the 

 United States. "What fine opportunities there to 

 realize the truth of that sentence from "Stud- 

 ies in Gardening": "A single flowering shrub 

 rightly placed in front of a dark barrier of greenery 

 has your eye to itself, and satisfies it like an altar- 

 piece in a quiet church." When such things are 

 brought to pass commonly, not only in such places 

 as Montecito and others one might mention, there 

 will have sprung into being in that part of the 

 State a true paradise for lovers of the best gar- 

 dening. 



During that winter in southern California many 

 pleasant horticultural experiences befell me. Of 

 these, one of the most exciting was suddenly to be 

 presented with a cluster of enchanting flowers, 

 three varieties, not one of which I had ever seen 

 before, and of not one of which did I know the 

 name. They were Billhergia nutans, Strelitzia, and 

 Lopezia. Never have I had a more singular sen- 

 sation than in seeing these for the first time. It 

 was like meeting with a stranger whose very lan- 

 guage I could not identify. But the language of 

 beauty was clear. What melting rose-color in 



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