﻿April, 
  1907 
  

  

  AMERICAN 
  HOMES 
  AND 
  GARDENS 
  

  

  i37 
  

  

  The 
  Use 
  of 
  the 
  Rose 
  for 
  House 
  Decoration 
  

  

  By 
  Charles 
  F. 
  Holder 
  

  

  IOUBTLESS 
  few 
  of 
  the 
  many 
  professional 
  

   house 
  designers 
  and 
  decorators 
  in 
  the 
  East 
  

   ever 
  seriously 
  consider 
  the 
  rose 
  as 
  a 
  factor 
  in 
  

   their 
  plans 
  or 
  schemes 
  for 
  utility 
  and 
  artistic 
  

   effect. 
  In 
  California, 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  charms 
  of 
  

   the 
  country, 
  a 
  charm 
  that 
  gives 
  rise 
  to 
  the 
  

   most 
  enthusiastic 
  comment, 
  is 
  the 
  decoration 
  

   of 
  inexpensive 
  homes 
  with 
  roses. 
  In 
  the 
  cities 
  of 
  Los 
  Angeles, 
  

   Pasadena, 
  San 
  Diego, 
  and 
  many 
  other 
  cities 
  and 
  towns 
  of 
  

   southern 
  California, 
  are 
  seen 
  numerous 
  small 
  houses, 
  many 
  

   the 
  homes 
  of 
  laborers. 
  Some 
  of 
  them 
  may 
  never 
  have 
  been 
  

  

  Everywhere 
  in 
  southern 
  California 
  these 
  modest 
  homes 
  

   are 
  seen; 
  in 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  Los 
  Angeles, 
  in 
  the 
  suburbs, 
  in 
  

   country 
  towns, 
  everywhere 
  roses 
  of 
  some 
  kind 
  bloom 
  the 
  

   year 
  around. 
  I 
  recall 
  one 
  home 
  built 
  by 
  an 
  invalid 
  in 
  the 
  

   suburbs 
  of 
  a 
  small 
  town 
  not 
  far 
  from 
  Los 
  Angeles. 
  This 
  

   man 
  had 
  two 
  hundred 
  dollars 
  with 
  which 
  to 
  build. 
  He 
  put 
  

   up 
  a 
  simple 
  rough 
  board 
  frame 
  house, 
  box-shaped, 
  divided 
  

   into 
  three 
  rooms 
  — 
  a 
  living-room, 
  bedroom 
  and 
  kitchen. 
  It 
  

   was 
  a 
  crude 
  affair 
  on 
  the 
  sun-burned 
  mesa, 
  about 
  as 
  unattrac- 
  

   tive 
  a 
  place 
  as 
  one 
  would 
  care 
  to 
  look 
  at. 
  All 
  the 
  money 
  

   seemed 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  expended 
  in 
  the 
  house; 
  in 
  any 
  event, 
  the 
  

  

  A 
  Pasadena 
  House 
  Covered 
  with 
  Alfred 
  Carriere 
  Roses 
  

  

  dignified 
  by 
  a 
  coat 
  of 
  paint, 
  but 
  over 
  them 
  is 
  drawn 
  this 
  win- 
  

   ter 
  canopy 
  of 
  ineffable 
  beauty 
  transforming 
  them 
  into 
  bowers 
  

   of 
  color. 
  

  

  You 
  see 
  them 
  everywhere. 
  Great 
  clusters 
  of 
  white 
  roses 
  

   nod 
  over 
  the 
  fence 
  or 
  cover 
  an 
  unsightly 
  woodshed; 
  roses 
  

   which 
  if 
  they 
  could 
  be 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  corner 
  of 
  Fifth 
  Avenue 
  

   and 
  Twenty-third 
  Street, 
  New 
  York, 
  in 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  flower 
  

   venders 
  would 
  sell 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  the 
  value 
  of 
  the 
  building. 
  

   It 
  is 
  not 
  necessary 
  for 
  the 
  man 
  of 
  moderate 
  means 
  to 
  build 
  

   an 
  elaborate 
  house, 
  or 
  even 
  paint 
  it 
  if 
  he 
  will 
  but 
  consider 
  

   the 
  rose 
  as 
  a 
  factor; 
  the 
  money 
  that 
  he 
  might 
  expend 
  in 
  paint 
  

   becomes 
  much 
  more 
  effective 
  in 
  water, 
  which 
  in 
  liberal 
  quan- 
  

   tities 
  about 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  roses, 
  paints 
  the 
  humble 
  home 
  in 
  

   marvelous 
  tints 
  and 
  produces 
  an 
  effect 
  at 
  once 
  artistic 
  and 
  

   beautiful, 
  one 
  that 
  might 
  well 
  excite 
  the 
  envy 
  of 
  the 
  wealthy 
  

   dweller 
  in 
  lands 
  where 
  the 
  bloom 
  of 
  the 
  rose 
  is 
  not 
  constant. 
  

  

  builder 
  made 
  no 
  attempt 
  to 
  paint 
  it; 
  instead, 
  he 
  ran 
  up 
  from 
  

   the 
  ground 
  a 
  quantity 
  of 
  wire 
  fencing 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  stood 
  out 
  

   about 
  two 
  feet 
  from 
  the 
  building. 
  Where 
  the 
  windows 
  were 
  

   he 
  left 
  spaces, 
  and 
  at 
  this 
  stage 
  the 
  house 
  had 
  the 
  appearance, 
  

   of 
  a 
  bird 
  cage. 
  The 
  next 
  time 
  I 
  saw 
  the 
  place 
  was 
  after 
  the 
  

   first 
  rains 
  in 
  November. 
  Alfileria 
  and 
  wild 
  grasses 
  had 
  

   painted 
  the 
  land 
  in 
  greens. 
  The 
  barren 
  board 
  shanty 
  had 
  

   disappeared 
  and 
  in 
  its 
  place 
  was 
  a 
  blaze 
  of 
  purple. 
  The 
  in- 
  

   valid 
  wanted' 
  to 
  "paint" 
  his 
  house 
  quickly, 
  so 
  had 
  planted 
  

   the 
  big 
  purple 
  Japanese 
  morning 
  glory 
  and 
  other 
  vines 
  that 
  

   had 
  climbed 
  up 
  over 
  the 
  trellis 
  and 
  covered 
  the 
  unpainted 
  

   wall 
  with 
  a 
  mass 
  of 
  splendid 
  color. 
  But 
  this 
  was 
  only 
  for 
  a 
  

   time. 
  All 
  about 
  the 
  house, 
  he 
  had 
  planted 
  roses 
  that 
  grew 
  

   slowly, 
  and 
  upon 
  my 
  next 
  visit 
  the 
  shanty 
  was 
  a 
  bower 
  of 
  

   roses, 
  literally 
  covered 
  by 
  masses 
  of 
  white 
  and 
  pink 
  climbers 
  

   that 
  made 
  it 
  stand 
  out 
  as 
  a 
  beauty 
  spot 
  in 
  the 
  landscape. 
  

  

  