138 



AMERICAN HOMES AND 



GARDENS 



April, 1907 



A Cottage Decorated with White Roses 



Those who are only famihar with the rose of the East 

 can form little conception of these flowers in Southern Cali- 

 fornia, which can be made to grow all the time, and many 

 of them to bloom, by pro\iding constant irrigation and 

 dressing. 



There is an endless variety of roses, but a greater number 

 of them are unsatisfactory for the purpose of house decora- 

 tion. Some are "shy" bloomers; others bloom only a short 

 period, while others again are in blossom the year round. 

 While the "Glory of Gla/enwood" as it is called in some 

 places, but the "Gold of Ophir" in California, is not a per- 

 petual bloomer, it makes so splendid a display for a month 

 or more, from March to June, according to conditions, the 

 early or late rains, that it is perhaps more often used in house 

 decoration than other roses. It grows thick, and bushy, is a 

 rapid climber, and in a short time covers the side of a house 

 with a light green hue, and in Februarv, March or April 

 suddenly springs into bloom and converts 

 the house into a blaze of color which dif- 

 fers in different localities. In all prob- 

 ability the most remarkable display is seen 

 on the home of the late Rev. A. Moss 

 Merwin, of Pasadena, often called the 

 house of ten thousand blossoms. The 

 reader can judge from one of our pictures 

 whether this is an exaggeration. Only a 

 portion of the rosebush is seen and only 

 the full-blown blossoms. A more beautiful 

 picture can not be imagined than this ag- 

 gregation of bloom that has been visited by 

 tourists from all over the world. 



Ranking next to the Gold of Ophir as 

 a house decoration is the Lady Banksia, 

 that has completely covered the side 

 of a Pasadena home and climbed up over 

 the house onto the roof. The effect is 

 even more startling than the Gold of Ophir, 

 as it is pure white or yellow, and is especial- 

 ly adapted for decorative purposes, falling 

 like the willow in long slender branches 

 every few inches, marked by a group of 

 blossoms which hang from the wall or roof 

 in a particularly graceful manner. 



This rose is not a constant bloomer, but 

 as an early harbinger of spring is one of 

 the most attractive of flowers. It is a double 

 rose, and while the white variety is the best 

 known, the yellow is a charming flower. 

 The effect of the white Banksia in the late 

 winter, while the summits of the mountains 

 are covered with snow, is very striking, 

 and from a distance a roof covered with 

 them appears to be massed with snow. 



Often enough one may see a shed, 

 shanty, or even a cheap stable rendered 

 beautiful by masses of Reine Maria Hen- 

 riette, a most splendid perpetual blooming 

 red climber. This rose is a cross between 

 the Madame Berard and the well known 

 General Jacqueminot. The leaves are large 

 and lustrous, and the roses often the size 

 of a man's closed hand, rich in shade and 

 shape, both in bud and flower. 



In my own garden the beautiful Reve 

 d'Or rose has taken possession of an orange 

 tree and covered it with bloom; and I have 

 -5 ^^^"^ small houses, crude and bare at the 



building, covered with this splendid mass of 

 bloom, that in a remarkably short space of 

 time will climb to the top of a two storied 

 house and ultimately cover it. 



Among many other roses often seen in house decoration 

 in Southern California are the climbing Wootton, Safrano, 

 Malmaison, Madame Alfred Carriere, Marechal Niel, Wm. 

 Alfred Richardson, and Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, the lat- 

 ter a white rose of vigorous growth, the blossom large, pure 

 white and very beautiful. I have seen an inexpensive lath 

 house, used for potting plants, covered with these magnificent 

 white roses; also the Lamarque, a most vigorous climber and 

 bloomer here. 



While roses constitute the principal decoration for many 

 inexpensive homes in California they are also seen about the 

 iiKJSt pretentious ones, and other flowers as well. About 

 such places will be found fences of the small Cherokee and 

 the Ragged Robin, the latter blossoms a beautiful red that 

 contrasted with white makes a most effective hedge, all 

 being important features in the landscape. 



A House Covered with Ophir Roses 



