590 



A GARDEN OF DELIGHTS. 



grant sumac and the Virgilia lulen, the cherry birch, 

 robinias, pines, catalpas, and the choicest magnolias. 



Ced>-ela sinensis is like a sweet-smelling ailanthus, 

 and should be better known. Its growth is rapid, and 

 its large trusses of white flowers are very fragrant. 



He would not be apt to overlook the flowering crabs 

 and peaches, with their many charms, but, if his taste 

 were like mine, he would rigidly exclude the paulow- 

 nia, whose rank odor is so unwholesome as to be unen- 

 durable to delicate olfactories. 



The sassafras should have a place of honor. It be- 

 longs, as all my readers know, to the laurel family, and 

 is first cousin to the camphor tree of Japan and the cin- 

 namon tree of Ceylon ; and how beautiful it is with its 

 expression (for have not trees expression ? ) of healthy 

 cheerfulness. 



Among thorns there are several that are too fine to be 

 omitted, especially the English hawthorn and its fra- 

 grant double varieties. The fruits of some kinds, as 

 well as the blossoms, possess a very fragrant perfume. 



There is a marked difference in the fragrance of the 

 various magnolias. In planting such a garden as I am 

 describing, one should select only the choicest. The 

 cucumber magnolia is the hardiest, but its flowers are 

 only slightly fragrant. It grows to the size of a large 

 tree. Magnolia tripetela, beautiful as it is, should be 

 discarded, as the odor is not pleasant. M. inacrophylla 

 and M. atiricnlata are fragrant ; M. glaiica, M. con- 

 spicua, Tliompsoniana, M. hvpoleiiia , M. Kobtis, M. 

 parvi flora, M, stellata are all delightful, and it would 

 puzzle a magnolia lover whose space is limited to de- 

 cide which to reject. 



Leaving the trees, one comes to a bewildering variety 

 of sweet-scented shrubs, and here again is plenty of 

 room for individual taste to enjoy free scope. I would 

 choose a group of various lilacs, not forgetting the old- 

 fashioned white, which is one of the best, and several 

 of the choicer new sorts, such as the Persian white and, 

 perhaps, Syringa ligustrina , var. Fekinensis , which is 

 said to have the odor of honey, but with which 1 am 

 unfamiliar. After all, there is nothing sweeter than 

 the common purple lilac, whose young leaf-buds early 

 in the spring are as delightfully scented as its bloom. 



Some of the upright honeysuckles would be very 

 desirable, such as Lonicera fragranlissiiiia, L. Xyiosteuin 

 and L. liispida. 



Next might be planted a group comprising all the flow- 

 ering currants with their spicy odors "rich as meth," 

 the calycanthus, clethras, wild azaleas, and some of the 

 hardy improved varieties ; a clump of sweet brier and 

 wild roses, edged with the darling little Daphne 

 cneoi-um. What a medley of sweets, the very thought 

 of which is intoxicating ! 



Some people object to the strength of the aroma of 

 mock orange, but there are varieties with a delicate 

 perfume which will not offend the most fastidious. 



A great pet of mine is Clematis slans, the Japan up- 

 right clematis, which is exquisitely sweet. I would also 

 include the spice bush, which one associates with the 

 first mild days of spring, and which is of the easiest 

 culture ; and I would plant in choice positions speci- 

 mens of such shrubs as Riibiis odoratus, Folhergilli 

 alnifo'ia, Pterostyrax ilispidtiin, and the Japan bladder 

 nut. The wonderfully effective yuccas need not be dis- 

 carded. There is to me a great charm about their per- 

 fume, which resembles that of ripe June apples, and is 

 particularly noticeable at night. 



Embracing the trees, rioting over bushes and adorn" 

 ing the fences, many vines would find appropriate 

 places. The hardy passion vines, the fragrant honey- 

 suckles, the wild grape, the strange Akebia quinala, with 

 its chocolate blossoms and uniquely delicious perfume, 

 the climbing rose and the jessamine, would all lend to 

 the sweet confusion and captivate every sense. 



Some of the honeysuckles, such as the .scarlet 

 trumpet varieties, would here be out of place. Per- 

 haps the best for our purpose are Lonicera Belgica, Z, 

 flava, L. Magtte-'illa , L. tltntsca and L. Halleana. 



Such a garden, with the addition of hardy fragrant 

 perennials, such as lilies of the valley, narcissus, white 

 violets, one or two of the sweetest peonies, many lilies, 

 bee-balm and clove pinks, and, for annuals, mignonette, 

 sweet alyssum and sweet peas, would be delightful for 

 seven months of the year. 



Early in the spring it would be redolent of the first 

 magnolias, the spice bush and flowering currant. Apple 

 bloom would quickly follow with lilacs, upright honey- 

 suckles and daphnes, with beds of lilies of the valley 

 and other bulbs. In late May the yellow lilies {^Hemero- 

 lallis Jlava), the garden heWoivo'ge (Valeriana officinalis'), 

 and in June, honeysuckles and roses and wild grape 

 would vie with each other as to which could most de- 

 light their happy possessors; and, later on, there would 

 be no lack of perfume from the summer-blooming 

 magnolias, clethras and yuccas, and other charming 

 shrubs. In September the Clematis stans would be be- 

 wilderingly sweet, and in October the last faint roses, 

 the monthly honeysuckles, sweet peas and mignonette 

 would enrich the breeze with sweet odors until the cold 

 breath of winter chilled them into sleep. In such a 

 garden the fortunate owner might spend a summer of 

 delights in company with bright butterflies and hum- 

 ming birds, and be as light of heart as they. At its 

 conclusion he might well say : "I have fed on the roses 

 and lain on the lilies of life." 



West Virginia. Danske Dandridge. 



