

THE virtual closing of the doors to plants from for- 

 eign lands (except in the seed, or in limited quan- 

 tities as stock for purposes of propagation) of the or- 

 dinary runof tradestuff raises once more the question 

 of its actual merits as garden material in com- 

 parison with the plants that grow naturally in our country — 

 the "wild flowers" if you will. The very fact that they are 

 wild, or native, arouses a spontaneous reaction that may have 

 no relation to their real merits as garden material. Some 

 people would ask first of all "is it a native ?" and if, "yes" 

 be the answer, then it is, ipso f ado, desirable or not, according 

 to the school of opinion. 



While it is unquestionably true that the native material 

 is in many instances ignored just because it is native, yet, 

 after all it is the essence of horticulture to find the plant that 

 fits a given site or purpose irrespective of whence it comes. 

 To cite a case that is typical: the Maidenhair-tree (Ginkgo), 

 culturally speaking, stands in the front rank of available 

 trees for ornament; and is equally well adapted to lawn and 

 street purposes. The Oriental Plane is a better tree than 

 our native one horticulturally — even under our own condi- 

 tions. Because a plant happens to be born a foreigner does 

 not seem to offer any reason why it should be excluded from 

 our gardens. If we carried out that rule we would be ex- 

 cluding practically everything that goes into the make up of 

 our gardens in the popular sense; the Roses, Spiraeas, For- 

 sythias, Hydrangeas, and Peonies, to name just a few. Our 

 standard of measurement should be serviceability — those 

 plants that total highest in points of horticultural value, 

 irrespective of their source and origin. 



Of course, when we are dealing with herbaceous material, 

 there is a good deal to be said for the use of the natives, if 

 they are selected with care so that they are not plants that 

 lend a character of wildness to the garden. That is the 

 danger — a native plant may be too much at home. On the 

 other hand, the mere fact that a plant exists in a certain 

 region is not evidence that it is better fitted to that region 

 than to any other on the globe, and could not do better else- 

 where. In fact, we have much evidence on the other side 

 of the case. A plant survives in nature, not entirely because 

 of its adaptation; but equally as much because of the absence 

 of its enemies. The Canadian Pondweed is a good case in 



point — a controllable plant in this country, a rampant and 

 uncontrollable pest in Europe. 



Many exotics are driven to the tops of the mountains or 

 to the tops of trees (some Orchids); but they grow better 

 when brought to the lowlands and in soil; provided they are 

 protected from their natural enemies — which is just what the 

 gardener does in supplying soil, shelter, and special food. 



As horticulturists we must bear in mind that cultural 

 perfection is our standard. A plant that grows vigorously 

 and fits the situation is horticulturally a good plant; and if it 

 happen to be a native also, well and good; that may indeed 

 be a supervening point in its favor. But we must not dis- 

 criminate against a plant that through some cataclysmic 

 force in bygone ages has been permitted to wander into the 

 confines of Asia, while it has been excluded from America. 



THE incentive to gardening has two origins. On the 

 one hand is the strictly utilitarian demands of the flesh 

 for food, hence possibly the first efforts at confining certain 

 plants within prescribed areas and their removal from the 

 conditions of the normal struggle for existence. The other 

 source is the desire to acquire the unusual, or to enjoy pure 

 beauty of form, texture, or color. And this latter is the 

 greater (it would seem) as people turn more and more to the 

 sheer enjoyment of having around their homes the most 

 beautiful products of all the world. And the fact that we 

 may not now enjoy them with the freedom of the past is 

 irksome, to say the least. 



Much human effort has been put into gathering the floral 

 gems of the earth's remote corners, for the purpose of garden 

 and greenhouse embellishment, and fascinating stories lie 

 behind the discovery and introduction of some of the most 

 popularly esteemed garden plants of to-day. Life has even 

 been sacrificed in the effort to achieve the successful gathering 

 of a plant as yet unknown in cultivation. The progressive 

 plant dealers of Europe have in the past, despatched col- 

 lectors to hunt out some plant at the merest hint from another 

 traveller, or even inspired by the painting of a jungle scene 

 in a little travelled part of the world. 



When Miss Marianne North exhibited her Java pictures at 

 Kew Gardens in the gallery presented by herself to house her 

 gift, one plantsman, keen for novelties, sensed a sensational 



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