THE GREENING LANDSCAPE COMPANY, MONROE, MICHIGAN 



139 



I INVITE 



1 INVITE anyone who loves trees and plants — and 

 I hope that includes everybody — to visit my gardens 

 and the Greening Nurseries. 



I INVITE, especially, students from the Agricul- 

 tural Colleges to come and study with me " Nature's 

 infinite book of secrecy," and mayhap we shall solve 

 some of her mysteries. 



I INVITE the superintendents of parks and ceme- 

 teries who, above all men, are interested in landscape 

 design and construction, to come and sit in the shade of 

 my trees, and command my personal services, or those 

 of my able assistants, for any information they may 

 desire. 



I INVITE park and cemetery commissioners to 

 come on a junket to Greeniiig's Big Nurseries and learn 

 all about the Greening methods of soil renovation and 

 plant propagation, and I guarantee they will gather 

 many ideas that will benefit them in their work. I do 

 not like the use of the word junket, but it will have to 

 do until Era Elbertus coins one to take its place. Its 

 original meaning has been perverted to such a degree 

 by the abuse of its privileges that, at present, it has a 

 savor of champagne, jack-pots and chorus-girls. For 

 instance it is not unusual for the park commission of a 

 small city to go on a junket to a big city to get infor- 

 mation on the construction and management of public 

 playgrounds, and after counting the teeth of the ostrich 

 in the park and seeing the sights under the guidance 

 and chaperonage of a ''good fellow," the members return 

 home looking wise as owls. At the same time they neglect to 

 visit the nursery, which is the very source and fountain-head of all 

 park impro\'ements. 



I INVITE the council members of towns and villages that 

 have no park boards to come and spend a day with me, or to ap- 

 point a delegation to do so, and I guarantee they will find it a day 

 well spent. 



I INVITE farmers who wish to beautify their home grounds 

 or set out large orchards to make a pilgrimage to Monroe and 

 attend some of the Greening lectures on soil renovation, art gar- 

 dening and plant propagation. 



I INVITE superintendents of schools and other educators 

 who wish to add botanical gardens to their teaching helps and to 

 beautify their school grounds to come and spend a day with me 

 and learn in detail what educators of the old world have accom- 

 plished in this line of study, and how the same results may be 



Plate 200 



ORNAMENTAL PRIVET ARCH 



This is an entrance to a formal garden, but the feature of the picture is the 

 rustic gate and arch of Privet. The plants near the gate were permitted to grow tall 

 and their tops "plashed" in the same way that farm hedges are "plashed" to produce 

 a dense growth. This is a very unusual use of the method, but it shows the possi- 

 bilities of Privet as a hedge plant. 



attained in America. European gardeners are always in demand; 

 why not produce men of equal proficiency in this country? 



I INVITE the owners of large estates whose interest in trees 

 is of the jEsthetic kind to visit my grounds and study the wonder- 

 ful color harmonies that exist in the flowers and foliage of trees 

 and shrubs ; and to learn the infinite variety of hardy plants that 

 winter outdoors without harm, and make permanent gardens. 



I INVITE automobile tourists, as they journey through the 

 country, to take a spin through my grounds and relieve the tedium 

 of travel by a study of flowers that will benefit them when they 

 return home. 



I INVITE all lovers of the beautiful — the genial comrades of 

 nature — all those whose souls have wings, and who can soar to 

 the heights of ecstasy — to come and take with me a walk afield 

 and learn from nature's lips the chemistry of colors and the for- 

 mula of flowers! 



