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CHAPTER X. 



SUBTROPICAL PLANTS FOR THE FLOWER GARDEN. 



The teiTQ subtropical is popularly given to flower- 

 gardens embellished by plants having large and hand- 

 some leave s_, noble habit or graceful outlines. It simply 

 means the introduction of a rich and varied vegeta- 

 tion^ chiefly distinguished by beauty of form^ to the 

 ordinarily flat and monotonous surface of the garden. 

 The system had its origin in Paris^ where it was first 

 carried out on a small scale around the old Tour St. Jacques,, 

 and is now adopted to a greater extent there than anywhere 

 else. Indeed^ the presence of great numbers of fine-leaved 

 plants is one of the most marked featm^es in the parks and 

 public gardens of that city. Mr. Gibson^ the able and 

 energetic superintendent of Battersea Park^ undaunted by 

 the popular nonsense about the great superiority of the 

 climate of Paris over that of London^ boldly tried the 

 system^ and with what a result all know who have seen his 

 charming subtropical garden '''' in Battersea Park. 



This system has taught us the value of grace and ver- 

 dure amid masses of low^ brilliant^ and um^elieved flowers^ 

 or rather has reminded us of how far we have diverged 

 from Nature''s ways of displaying the beauty of vegetation. 

 Previous to the inauguration of this movement in Eng- 

 land^ our love for rude colour had led us to ignore the ex- 

 quisite and inexhaustible way in which plants are naturally 

 arranged — fern^ flower^ grass^ shrub, and tree, sheltering, 

 supporting, and relieving each other. We cannot attempt 

 to reproduce this literally, nor would it be wise or con- 

 venient to do so j but assuredly herein will be found the 

 source of true beauty in the plant world, and the more the 

 ornamental gardener keeps the fact before his eyes, the 



