162 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



April, 1909 



A hardy evergreen bamboo, taller than a man, at Gravetye, the home 

 of "William R.obinson, who originated the ""wild garden" idea. Our equiv- 

 alent for this is Arundinaria Japonica 



The wrong way to arrange rhododendrons, i. e. jamming them in flat, 

 solid masses. The article tells how to get better wild garden effects The 

 " peat garden " is also a better idea 



The effect of this evergreen bamboo is 

 somewhat like that pictured above. To 

 realize the glory of such a mass, you 

 must know that it is considerably taller 

 than a man. Then make the leaves dark 

 and lustrous, like a rhododendron, and 

 you will get some notion of the luxurious 

 abandon with which everything grows at 

 Gravetye, the home of William Robinson, 

 prophet of wild gardening. This particular 

 species Mr. Robinson calls Bambusa pal- 

 mata, and says it is even finer than the other 

 hardy, evergreen bamboo. The reedy effect 

 is noticeable here. The only picture I have 

 of Arundinaria Japonica shows it arching 

 gracefully to the ground. 



THE CITY EFFECT 



New York can never be as beautiful as 

 London because she has no front yards. 

 I saw thousands upon thousands of London 

 yards full of matchless beauty. For they 

 are hedged in by broad-leaved evergreens, 

 especially holly and aucuba. Such gardens 

 contain nothing else save grass, but to my 

 mind they are infinitely more dignified and 

 appropriate than any flower-beds that 

 mind can conceive. May heaven save 

 London from skyscrapers, and may Ameri- 

 can cities of decent size be saved from tall 

 tenements ! I dare say we might grow broad- 

 leaved evergreens in back yards of big cities, 

 but we never will, for there can be no privacy 

 in yards overlooked by tall buildings. In 

 London there are countless brick buildings 

 of two or three stories with lovely gardens 

 front and back. In front yards public 

 opinion compels decency and demands 

 beauty. 



I do not wish to see front yards in America 

 hedged in, but there is a noble effect we can 

 get by massing. Everyone who has noticed 

 the rhododendrons in the yard, of the late 

 Cornelius Vanderbilt, facing the principal 

 entrance to Central Park, in New York, will 

 know at once what I mean. For rhododen- 

 drons, box, holly, and the like make the 

 grandest harmonies with architecture of any 



plants in the world. This is because they 

 have just enough formality, are evergreen, 

 long-lived, never grow too high, and are 

 attractive every day of the year. Conifers 

 cannot stand smoke and are a total failure in 

 London, but Henry Hicks declares that 

 broad-leaved evergreens are good smoke- 

 resisters. However, I should never plant 

 them without providing a scheme for washing 

 them every day, if necessary, since ever- 

 greens are not beautiful when dusty. 



THE WINTER EFFECT 



Before I die I hope to see America 

 redeemed from its present bleakness and 

 ugliness in winter. The chief elements 

 in that reform will be the shrubs with 

 vivid berries and branches (such as the 

 Japanese barberry and the red-twigged 

 dogwood), because they give the cheapest 

 and quickest results. But these bushes, 

 being leafless, show brightest against an 

 evergreen background. This is all the 

 more reason for broad-leaved evergreens 

 at the base of every dwelling house 

 where they will grow. For winter in 

 the North is five-twelfths of the year, 

 or rather the trees are leafless as long 

 as that. 



We must not run too much to rhododen- 

 drons, for in zero weather their leaves 

 hang down, curl in, and look most unhappy. 

 Mountain laurel is one of the cheeriest in 

 winter. We can get superb bronzes from 

 Azalea amcena, arching wands from Leu- 

 cothoe, amazing lustiness from Berberis 

 Japonica, a perfect carpet of running 

 myrtle where grass will not grow, and above 

 all the never-fading glories of American 

 holly. 



FOUR EFFECTS AVE CAN'T HAVE 



We can never hope for any tree effects 

 among broad-leaved evergreens in the North. 

 In England the holm oak, or ilex of Italian 

 gardens (Quercus Ilex), will sometimes 

 attain fifty feet. On the other hand, Eng- 

 land can never rival Magnolia grandiflora 



of the South or the Christmas berry of 

 California. We shall never equal English 

 hedge effects. It is possible to have miles of 

 holly hedging in the North, but practically 

 it is only a rich man's plant. 



We can never have the variegated effects 

 of gold or silver-edged hollies which are said 

 to be highly cheerful in the English winter. 



We shall never have the game-cover effects 

 of England — thousands of acres of English 

 laurel and Gaultheria Shallon. We are a 

 long way yet from being a nation of pheas- 

 ant raisers. 



But why repine? Think of the effects 

 we can have ! Are they not more numerous 

 and beautiful than you ever suspected? 



A MEATY LITTLE BIBLIOGRAPHY 



The best available information is con- 

 tained in back numbers of two magazines. 

 These can be had separately, or one may 

 consult the bound volumes. (G. M. — Gar- 

 den Magazine: C. L. — Country Life in 

 America. The numbers refer to volume and 

 page. 



"The Broad-leaved Evergreens," (G. M. 2: 18.) 

 The best brief all-round article. 



"The Hardy Broad-leaved Evergreens," (C. L. 

 13 : 605,) describes the best sixteen kinds, and gives 

 a key to the forty-nine that are hardy. 



"Moving Century-old Box," (C. L. 10 : 537,) 

 gives practical details. 



"Moving Old Box to New Gardens," (C. L. 

 7 : 56,) gives principles of hardiness and cultivation. 



"The Best Hardy Plants of the Heath Family," 

 (G. M. 3 : 334,) describes materials of the "peat 

 garden." 



"All the Hollies Worth Growing," (G. M. 

 4 = 234)- 



"The Gorgeous Family of Rhododendrons," 

 (C. L. 9 : 429,) gives a list of all the hardy varieties. 



"Rhododendrons Wild and Cultivated," (C. L. 

 11 : 467,) inspiring and practical. 



"A Perfect Combination — Rhododendrons and 

 Lilies," (C. L. 12 : 531,) describes all the peat- 

 demanding lilies. 



"Planting for Winter Comfort and Beauty," 

 (C. L. 9 : 155). 



" The Show Garden of the South," (C.L. 13 : 299,) 

 describes lovely effects with Indian azaleas and 

 camellias. 



"How to Buy Trees and Shrubs Economically," 

 (C. L. 12 : 48). Tells how all beginners get 

 'stung" on evergreens. 



