December, 1915 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



143 



tive of garden ornaments when well cared 

 for, they are however the saddest of failures 

 when neglected. They must be kept scien- 

 tifically fertilized and irrigated with well 

 worked earth basins around them. Lavishly 

 they repay for this care. Of the citrus 

 fruits the most friendly and alluring are the 

 little Mandarines. Their gener- 

 ous crop is a constant invitation 

 to the garden wanderer. It is 

 so easy to eat the pungent sun 

 warmed liliputians; their loose 

 skins have no unsportsmanlike 

 habits of exploding suddenly, 

 giving a baptism of juice. 



Another addition to the fra- 

 grance of a garden is the sage 

 smelling "St. Helena" border 

 hedge. With frequent clippings 

 it keeps the garden looking tidy 

 and well framed, giving just the 

 strengthening touch of formal- 

 ity necessary even to an incon- 

 sequential garden. If Cali- 

 fornia could be said to have a 

 national smell it would be 

 the Sage. It personifies the sun 

 warmed air of trails and canons 

 and deserts. 



Back of these tidy borders 

 taller old fashioned flowers are 

 massed at a respectful distance 

 from the orange trees but con- 

 cealing the necessary bare 

 earth around them and cared 

 for in the same system of ir 

 rigation. The Snapdragons, 

 Gaillardias, Larkspurs, Corn- 

 flower, Flax, etc., of simple 

 decided colors look especially 

 well in the vicinity of garden 

 citrus trees. Another orna- 

 ment of the California garden 

 has lately been banished from 

 the streets. It is the fernlike, 

 drooping, Pepper Tree, gener- 

 ous in shade and exquisitely 

 green even in the driest of 

 dusty summers. Its great 

 crime is the shocking fashion 

 in which it drops its pretty red 

 berries. Unaccustomed to the 

 task of raking leaves, Californ- 

 ians are absurdly intolerant of 

 any trees that are not self re- 

 strained and well groomed. 

 The stiff Palms fill these re- 

 quirements but with the ex- 

 ception of the Phoenix can- 

 adensis offer no hospitality. 

 The most dignified of all 

 garden hosts is the Live Oak, 

 with its tent-like shade and 

 knarled ruggedness of the 

 Apple trees. It has a modest fashion of 

 putting on new leaves before it lets go of 

 the old. It is a pity the beautiful spotted 

 Sycamores are not welcomed often in domes- 

 tic gardens. They are even handsomer 

 bare than when in full leaf. The beds of 

 the wild canon gardens are marked with the 

 decorative white branches where they fan- 

 tastically fling and twist themselves across 



the streams. After the rains, when these 

 noisy aggressive streams are full of their own 

 importance, like loafers that they are, only 

 accustomed to spasmodic periods of real 

 work, then the Sycamores put out their first 

 tiny leaves, thick and soft as if cut from a 

 Jaeger blanket. Later follow the strings 



Beautiful formal gardens in California seem to be sternly reproving the riotous landscape 



of unripe Christmas tree tinsel balls which 

 are the Sycamore's special gift. 



There is great interest in gathering to- 

 gether in an informal garden the native 

 California plants and the many foreign ones 

 we have adopted from all lands. They can 

 be blended harmoniously as a clever hostess 

 manages to establish sympathetic relations 

 in a motley gathering. 



After the winter rains the land breaks 

 into riotous bloom, the most neglected 

 of cottage gardens is smothered in Roses, 

 the foothills are splashed with the orange 

 and blue and purple and white of wild 

 flowers. There is a spring display which 

 excels all anticipation. Unfortunately the 

 tourist sometimes leaves too 

 soon for this and carries with 

 him a sense of disappointment 

 in the wild flowers. 



In consequence of this lux- 

 uriant growth after rains, any 

 one can have a spring garden. 

 The real triumph is an all-the- 

 year-around garden with change 

 of seasons and especially a win- 

 ter one. Its joys are keenest 

 and less often sung. 



In all the flower smothered 

 spring months there is noth- 

 ing to compare with the fresh 

 glory of fine winter days in 

 the garden. It is a pity that 

 the lavishness of growth after 

 the rains makes a Californ- 

 ian rather lazy about plan- 

 ning for early winter flowers 

 during the rainy season. As 

 soon as a deluge of rain has 

 ceased and the sun shines 

 through torn clouds, then is the 

 time to don good rubber shoes 

 and make a tour of inspection 

 in the garden. Was there ever 

 such rapturous congratulation 

 from the earth? She is pre- 

 paring for her plenty and the 

 long drought is over. The 

 birds sing their hearts out and 

 the distant mountains draw 

 near in the clear air until every 

 blue canon is visible. Behind 

 the storm curtain the magic 

 has taken place. The foothills 

 are turning green so fast we 

 rub our eyes at the suddenness 

 of the change. 



In the flower beds one is apt 

 to bog down and the earth 

 paths are slippery as ice. The 

 drenched plants bent with the 

 weight of rain drops, sparkle in 

 the flooding sunshine. It is 

 deliciously warm and smells 

 like a greenhouse. 



The alert lizards he motion- 

 less in the warmest corners, the 

 buzzards sit on tree tops with 

 spread wings drying off, and all 

 the world warms itself to the 

 bones in the generous sun. 



There is such joy in winter 

 basking; there should always 

 be a sunny corner of the garden planned 

 for this purpose. Here can be collected the 

 valiant flowers that bloom through the rains. 

 Experiment in planting seeds in summer 

 will prove the adaptable character of some 

 hardy flowers. They can be tricked into 

 blooming out of season. (California plants 

 are most accommodating; one only has 

 to indicate which thev are to be, tree bush 



