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FLORA AND SYLVA. 



GOURDS IN THE GARDEN. 

 Beauty of form and colour in the gar- 

 den is usually due to foliage and flowers; 

 less often in our country do we owe good 

 efTects to fruit, but I hope to suggest a 

 few ways in which Gourds and their fine 

 fruits may be used with great success in 

 the summer garden. My first experience 

 with them was in an old garden with a 

 rough hedge on its southern boundary, 

 in which a gap suggested the need of 

 some quick-growing creeper to make 

 good the breach. To do this a few Gourd 

 seeds were sown close to the gap, and 

 the summer being fine these grew and 

 spread along the hedge in each direc- 

 tion, and though a very common type 

 of Gourd, the result was such a success 

 as to leave a lasting fancy for Gourds in 

 the garden. The strong rope-like stems 

 with their handsome leaves and spread- 

 ing yellow flowers, the graceful outline 

 of the finer shoots and twining tendrils, 

 succeeded as the summer waned by the 

 richly-coloured fruits, clothed that old 

 hedge with a beauty that set one tank- 

 ing as to how best to employ such means 

 to yet finer effect. Nor is this difficult, 

 for spots are not wanting in gardens 

 which may be just as readily transformed 

 into scenes of beauty, increasing thein- 

 terest of the flower-garden and yielding 

 fine effect in the garden landscape. 



An herbaceous border, 

 Som oour7s S . f ° r whether it be in the 



pleasure-grounds or the 

 kitchen-garden, is made interestingeven 

 to the most casual of visitors by a show 

 of fine Gourds, trained upon rustic poles, 

 their fruits of green and white, yellow, 

 warm brown, and red, giving fine con- 



trasts and unfailing interest right up to 

 the early frosts, and relieving the mo- 

 notony and shabbiness that so often fall 

 upon the herbaceous border in autumn. 

 Or again, the rustic arches, arbours, 

 and summer-houses so common in our 

 flower-gardens may be beautified by 

 the bold foliage and handsome fruit of 

 the larger kinds, whose rapid growth 

 and bold outline supply just what is 

 wanted to clothe these structures quick- 

 ly and with good effect. Summer-houses 

 are often covered with Roses and peren- 

 nial climbers, but these hold the damp 

 more than is good in many places and 

 they would be better covered with the 

 quick-growingGourds,all that is wanted 

 being good soil and sturdy well- har- 

 dened plants of kinds suited to the sur- 

 roundings. Coarse varieties, and those 

 too suggestive of the Vegetable-Marrow 

 should be avoided in the flower-garden. 

 The smaller kinds bearing the many- 

 coloured pear-shaped fruits, and the 

 Apple, Orange, Egg, and warted Bell- 

 shaped Gourdsare bestfor arches, poles, 

 and light fences or trellis-work. Cucur- 

 bita pepo can now be had in great variety, 

 and the lightest and most refined kinds 

 are very good for such work. For sum- 

 mer-houses, arbours, or covering out- 

 buildings, Gourds of stronger growth 

 may be used, such as the Stradella, Large 

 Golden Bell, the white and striped 

 Turk's Cap, Bishop's Hat, the Bottle 

 Gourd [Lagenaria vulgaris Siphd), the 

 miniature Bottle Gourd (L. vul. minor) , 

 and the Malabar Gourd [Cucurbito Jici- 

 folid) with its large oval fruits of green 

 and white, and very handsome. This 

 kind is also a strong grower with foliage 



