AMERICAN 
January, 1911 
HOMES AND GARDENS 33 
Garden Notes 
Conducted by Charles Downing Lay 
The Gardener's Vacation in California 
“OME knowledge of the flora of a new 
land is always a great help to the traveler, 
because to be forewarned is to be fore- 
armed, and the traveler sees, usually, 
only what he is prepared for. Hence it 
is that uncultivated travelers see so little 
in a foreign land. 
The climate of California varies as much as the climates 
of New York and of Florida, with a greater difference in hu- 
midity, due to the effect of mountain ranges, so the visitor 
to California may be prepared to see vegetation of all de- 
grees of hardiness from the alpine plants in the high 
mountains to the orange groves in the southern valleys, 
and he will see, too, vegetation of all degrees of drought 
resisting capacity, from the same alpine plants to the cacti 
of the southern desert. 
It is a climate with local adaptations so great that one 
may see in the mountains the apple trees, hemp, flax, rye of 
the north, and passing down the slopes the grapes and 
prunes of southern France, and in the lower valleys the 
olive, oranges and lemons, figs and pomegranates and 
melons of the Meditteranean shores, cotton and tobacco 
and the acacias and eucalyptus of Australia, all perhaps in 
the space of a few square miles. In fact the number of 
different species successfully grown in California is almost 
as great as that of all the rest of the country. 
To the traveler who is also a gardener and therefore a 
collector of plants, it will be fascinating not only because of 
the remarkable growth of plants we in the east only know 
as pampered specimens in greenhouses, but also because of 
the seed farms where our garden flowers are grown by the 
acre for their seeds. Bulbs, too, are grown in quantities 
as in Holland. 
The native flora of California is perhaps more interest? 
ing than the exotic. The Sequoias and Redwoods we have 
all heard of and marveled at, but one must live with them 
for a time to appreciate their grandeur. ‘The temptation 
to transplant these trees to the east is hard to resist, but 
they will not grow here because of our extremely hot and 
humid summers and because of our cold winter fogs. Few 
of the California trees will grow here, the White Fir 
(Abies concolor) being the best of the California firs in the 
east. The red fir (Abies magnifica) is not very hardy 
here. The Sugar Pine (Pinus Lambertiana), which 
reaches a height of over 200 feet is hardy as far north as 
Massachusetts. The Nut Pine (P. edulis), is also hardy to 
Massachusetts, but the other Nut Pine (P. Parryana) will 
not grow nor will the Monterey Pine (P. radiata). 
One of the most interesting of all California species is 
the calorchortus, the star tulip or Mariposa lily. They 
vary greatly in their liking for soils and climate. They 
grow on the summits of the Sierras, the clay lands of the 
valleys, the volcanic soils of the foot hills and on the desert. 
They will all endure extreme cold, but alternate freezing 
and thawing kills them. The drainage of the bed where 
they are planted must be perfect, both on the surface and 
under ground. They are white, rose, yellow, blue, orange, 
purple, lilac and deep red, with many other shades and 
varied markings. 
They have globular or bell shaped flowers, either erect 
or drooping and varying in height from a few inches to two 
feet. They should be planted in the autumn. 
The traveler might easily secure an interesting collec- 
tion of these and other plants which are little known in the 
east and seldom found in seed stores. The sentimental 
value of such collections is very great and a garden planted 
with the gleanings of a winter trip to California might be 
very beautiful. It would also be well to establish ones 
credit with a San Francisco seed house so that one could 
afterwards order more of the plants that prove success- 
ful here. 
The shook barrels with twisted bamboo hoops which make 
such good plant tubs are easy to buy in San Francisco, 
though the cost of bringing them east is excessive. 
BIRDS 
For the sake of our gardens if for no other reason the 
birds should be cared for and encouraged to feel at home 
around our houses, and January, February and March 
are the times to help them most. 
They should be fed regularly in a quiet spot free from 
the danger of cats. The best feeding place is a platform 
three or four feet in diameter on top of a post about six feet 
high. On this platform should be placed their daily 
rations of cracked corn, oats, rye, buckwheat and chopped 
meat and bones. ‘This is for the smaller birds. ‘he 
