July, 1907 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



337 



see it. True originality devises new ways 

 of secluding it so that one's friends come 

 upon it suddenly, as a pleasant surprise, or 

 develops the nature-like type of Japanese 

 garden, of which Miss Bartlett's garden is 

 an example although Fig. 6 does not show 

 its generous central lawn which distinguishes 

 this type of Japanese gardening from the 

 kind that is commonly described by travelers. 



Everybody assumes, without thinking 

 about it, that American home grounds must 

 be bare and bleak all winter, yet there is not 

 the slightest excuse for it. Fig. 7 shows a 

 winter garden or outdoor playground for 

 children that would utterly transform the 

 hideous backyards of our greatest cities. 

 Another way which is quicker and cheaper 

 is to plant shrubs with brightly colored bark 

 or bushes with red berries that remain attrac- 

 tive from October to March. Even where 

 there is no land at all, young conifers in tubs 

 and boxes are appropriate, though costly. 

 False originality departs to Florida in Novem- 

 ber and tries to grow Northern plants in sub- 

 tropical surroundings. 



Another city problem that concerns 

 every place which is not absolutely level is 

 what to do with the irregularities left by 

 street grading. Fig. 8 shows a solution that 

 is truly original and American — simply 

 vines and shrubs of arching habit planted 

 in the soil above the wall. False originality 

 has wasted thousands of dollars in manu- 

 facturing grassy terraces, difficult to mow 

 and costly to repair, or in pompous retaining 

 walls where none are necessary, or stone 

 work to match the house. Here is a type 

 of wall garden adapted to the hot American 

 summers. The English wall garden, covered 

 with perennial flowers, is not. 



There are more mistakes made in arranging 

 roses than any other plants. It is usually 

 wrong to put roses in the front yard, either 

 in beds near the house, or as borders for 

 lawns or walks, because the rose bush is not 

 a graceful bush and it has so many enemies 

 that it must be covered more than half the 

 time with unsightly powders or spraying 

 material. Moreover, rose bushes have to 



be heavily manured, or else put in winter 

 overcoats of straw and neither thing is 

 attractive. The rose belongs in a garden 

 where its misfortunes can be hidden from 

 the public gaze and its troubles more easily 

 dealt with. It appeals to the collecting 

 spirit because everybody wants many kinds 

 of roses and only a few bushes of each. 

 Therefore it demands formal treatment and 

 Fig. 9, shows the right kind of rose garden — 

 i. e., a simple design such as any amateur 

 may work out. The wrong kind of formal 

 garden is that which the newly rich affect — 

 a big one composed of standard or tree roses, 

 which do not like our climate. 



Even the newly rich, I suppose, would 

 admire the six great estate gardens pictured 

 on the preceding page. In fact, they would 

 probably exclaim, "Now that's what we want 

 — something different. " The heart is right, 

 but the mind is wrong, because we all natur- 

 ally jump to the conclusion that the "differ- 

 ent" quality in Figs. 10 to 15 is due to bold 

 flights of fancy instead of close study of the 

 environment including the soil and its native 

 vegetation. 



For example, Fig. 10 has no connection 

 with the soil or its vegetation but it is appro- 

 priate to its environment because it provides 

 outdoor privacy and flowers near the country 

 house and this privacy is attained by sur- 

 rounding the garden with trees, informally 

 arranged, so that one wanders into the woods 

 and finds this precious retreat. False origin- 

 ality would have used a high wall, which 

 might be necessary in a city but would be 

 worse than useless in the country because 

 the ideal is seclusion without exclusiveness. 

 The stone wall is always in danger of 

 suggesting the latter idea and therefore 

 snobbishness. 



Radically different is Professor Sargent's 

 meadow filled with poet's narcissus, Fig. 11. 

 This style of gardening produces more 

 flowers for less money than any other, because 

 the bulbs cost only $5 to $10 a thousand 

 and require no care after planting. It is 

 appropriate for meadows, orchards and other 

 places where the grass is not cut with a lawn 



mower. False originality in wild gardening 

 is planting your lawn with left-over hyacinths 

 and forced bulbs that will never look wild; 

 or planting them in rows; or using kinds that 

 cost $40 a thousand just because they are 

 the biggest daffodils, for these are too garden- 

 esque — too obviously the products of man's 

 breeding. 



Fig. 12 shows the right kind of garden for 

 a winter home in the South — something as 

 different as possible from what you have in 

 the North, especially broad-leaved evergreens 

 such as camellias, Indian azaleas and 

 Magnolia grandiflora. It is now the fashion- 

 able thing to have a place in the Carolir.as 

 or Georgia, near Camden, Aiken or Summer- 

 ville, but why employ a Boston landscape 

 gardener for such a place, especially if he 

 has never seen camellias or Indian azaleas 

 except in a greenhouse and the Cherokee 

 rose only in pictures ? Will he not plant 

 lilacs, which will never thrive there, instead 

 of crape myrtle and tea olive ? 



The next picture, Fig. 13, shows an 

 original way of treating a wet spot. This 

 is a bog garden, in which showy pitcher 

 plants abound and where the cardinal flower 

 might make great sheets of red. False origin- 

 ality would drain every swamp. True origin- 

 ality makes a pond for water lilies, puts in 

 fish to eat mosquito wrigglers and selves 

 two problems at once — health and beauty 



The water garden shown in Fig. 14 is a 

 "made pond" but who would know it? 

 Although trees hide it until you come near, 

 they are far enough away from the water to 

 give the lilies the full sunshine they demand. 

 Though made of concrete, the edge of the 

 basin is nowhere visible, being covered with 

 grass. Instead of one square or circular 

 expanse, it consists of an upper and lower 

 pond with stepping stones across the neck, 

 rampant varieties in one pond, rarer sorts 

 in the other and the magic of running water 

 between. False originality builds formal 

 basins on hills, with high cement rims and 

 water above the ground level, or tries to 

 combine fountains with water lilies. 

 (Continued on page 356) 



16. A border of hardy perennials in which three crops 

 of flowers succeeded one another 



17. Water gardening on natural lines. The water is 

 usually higher and the margin does not show 



18, A necessary straight walK enlivened by maKing 

 it a garden of annuals 



THREE SUBURBAN GARDENS WHICH INDICATE APPROPRIATE HOBBIES FOR BACK YARDS 



