750 



OPEN FLOWER-GARDEN. 



These, with the exception of a portion of 

 Conifers, and the genera Juglans, Carya, and 

 a section of Quercus, form the chief Ameri- 

 can trees and shrubs. The majority of the 

 others have been already referred to. It is, how- 

 ever, only in the milder parts of Britain that 

 the oaks, hickories, and walnuts of America 

 ripen their wood sufficiently — a circumstance 

 the more to be regretted, as their whole charac- 

 ter during summer, and the beautiful autumnal 

 tints produced by them, render them amongst 

 the most ornamental of decorative trees. The 

 liquidamber, (Platanus occidentalis), and tulip 

 tree, the American rusty-leaved beech {Fagus 

 ferruginea), are also highly ornamental, and 

 form fine specimens when planted on lawns, or 

 as leading features in producing effect in the 

 American garden scenery. These are also less 

 dependent on a peaty soil, and will prosper in 

 most ordinary sandy loams. The hardier spe- 

 cies should form the boundary of the American 

 garden, and afford shelter to those of more deli- 

 cate growth. The majority of American shrubs 

 can only be grown to perfection when grouped 

 by themselves, and hence planting them pro- 

 miscuously amongst other plants in shrubberies 

 is one of the principal causes of that total want 

 of success and effect so frequently met with in 

 all cases where such an arrangement is followed. 



§ 2. — ROSARY. 



Many ages ago Anacreon sung the praises of 

 the rose. He calls it " the most beautiful of 

 flowers," " the delight of the gods," " the fa- 

 vourite of the Muses ;" and since that time it 

 has not inaptly been denominated the Queen of 

 flowers. Two thousand years ago Sappho wrote, 

 " If Jupiter wished to give to the flowers a queen, 

 the rose would be that queen." It is frequently 

 spoken of in Holy Writ ; and Homer uses the 

 rose figuratively both in the Iliad and Odyssey. 

 Yet while the rose was the most popular of all 

 flowers both amongst the ancient Greeks and 

 Romans, the time and the means employed to 

 install it an inhabitant of the garden remain 

 perfectly unknown. In regard to its natural 

 geographical distribution, it may be said to be 

 confined to the northern hemisphere, none hav- 

 ing yet been found wild very near to or south of 

 the equator. It was long thought that America 

 did not possess a rose naturally, — such, however, 

 is not the fact ; but the vast continent of 

 Australia, rich in botanical treasures as it is, 

 has not as yet revealed to us a single species. 

 Siberia, Iceland, Greenland, and Kamtschatka 

 have their roses ; and one of those indigenous 

 to Britain (Rosa spinosissima) is the type from 

 which two or three hundred varieties, under the 

 denomination of Scotch roses, have sprung. 

 Warmer climates, however, have afforded us a 

 much finer class, as China, Persia, India, &c. ; 

 and the art of man has from such materials as 

 the above created those innumerable varieties, 

 which only a reference to the catalogues of such 

 eminent cultivators as Rivers, Paul, Wood, &c, 

 can give us a correct idea of. The cultural his- 

 tory of even our most common roses is so little 



generally known that the following brief re- 

 marks may be at least interesting : — 



The Provence or Cabbage rose (Rosa centifolia), 

 although supposed to be the hundred-leaved 

 rose of Pliny, was only introduced to British 

 gardens in 1596. Mount Caucasus, Languedoc, 

 and Provence, all claim it as their own. Many 

 fine hybrid varieties have been produced both 

 by the French and English growers between this 

 and Rosa gallica, and are known under the gene- 

 ral name of Provence roses. 



The Unique Provence is supposed to be of Eng- 

 lish origin, having been observed for the first 

 time in 1777 growing in a cottage garden in 

 Suffolk ; supposed, however, not to be a seedling 

 of the old Provence rose, which, on account of 

 its plenitude of petals, is incapable of produc- 

 ing seed in our climate. The supposition is, 

 that the shoot which produced it had departed 

 from the character of the original plant by one 

 of those unaccountable deviations which some- 

 times take place in plants — one branch, shoot, 

 or sucker, producing striped or variegated 

 flowers, while the original remains self-coloured. 

 This section contains some of the finest globular 

 roses in cultivation, and most of them are also 

 exceedingly fragrant. To grow them in the 

 highest state of perfection, they require a rich 

 soil, and to be pruned very freely. There is a 

 sub-section which includes the miniature Pro- 

 vence, or Pompon roses, admirably adapted for 

 forming edgings, as elsewhere noticed. They 

 are of dwarf growth, producing flowers in great 

 abundance. Rose de Meaux may be taken as an 

 example of this sub-section. 



The moss rose (Rosa centifolia muscosa). — The 

 history of this rose is somewhat obscure ; it is 

 most probably an accidental sport from the com- 

 mon Provence rose. The earliest notice we 

 have of the moss rose is, that it was imported 

 from Holland in 1596. Of its origin we have 

 met with no satisfactory account. Mr Rivers 

 throws out the following conjectures : " The 

 origin of the old double moss-rose, like that of 

 the old double yellow rose (Rosa sulphurea), is, 

 therefore, left to conjecture ; for gardeners, in 

 those days, did not publish to the world the 

 result of their operations and discoveries. As 

 regards the moss rose, I regret this, for it would 

 be very interesting to know how and where this 

 general favourite originated. Probably when 

 first noticed gardening was of such small con- 

 sideration, that the discovery of a rose, however 

 remarkable, would not be thought worth regis- 

 tering. That it is merely an accidental sport of 

 the common Provence rose, is strengthened by 

 the fact, that plants produced by the seed of the 

 moss rose do not always show moss ; perhaps 

 not more than two plants out of three. Those 

 that are not so, are most evidently pure Pro- 

 vence roses, possessing all their characters. To 

 show also the singular propensity of the varie- 

 ties of Rosa centifolia to vary, I may here men- 

 tion that the common moss-rose often produces 

 shoots entirely destitute of moss. In the sum- 

 mer of 1836 I also observed a luxuriant branch 

 of the crimson or damask, which is generally 

 more mossy than the old moss-rose, having a 

 remarkable appearance. On examination I 



