280 
THE GARDENERS' CHRONICLE OF AMERICA 
CONCERNING GARDEN SEATS. 
A LTHOUGH the present weather does not conjure 
up any pleasant picture of sitting- in the garden, 
we are well on the road to Summer, and even the cold 
wind does not make us forget that warmer days are 
coming. There is little wisdom in deferring thoughts 
of garden seats until we are ready to use them. It is 
not so many years ago that the last word in garden 
seat design was rustic, and the main endeavor was to 
secure enough stout, contorted branches of which to 
build the arms and backs of seats. It must be ad- 
mitted, however, that these seats were often very un- 
comfortable, and certainly they do not accord well 
with the formal sort of gardening which is now almost 
universal. 
With a more conscious sense of design in the out- 
lines of the garden itself, the deliberate use of natural 
iorms in rustic woodwork has rightly gone out of 
fashion. We approach the question rather with the 
intent of producing furniture which is a translatimi ni 
stouter and simpler shapes of the forms used withm 
the home. Corners of the garden now approxmiate 
more to the idea of outdoor rooms, and are to be fur- 
nished accordinglv. One of the principal uses of garden 
furniture is to emphasize the lines of the garden itself. 
Seats and tables should be placed so that they form 
pleasant focussing points in a vista, or help to outline 
the shape of the spot where they are placed. No doubt 
it is ideal from the practical point of view that they 
should be of some hard wood like oak, which grows 
silvery grey under stress of weather, or teak, which is 
even more durable. Nevertheless, the well-seasoned 
.deal, of a sort that does not tend to split on exposure 
to rain and sun, is good enough if carefully and regu- 
larly painted. Green is a doubtful color, as it is likely 
to quarrel with the varied natural greens which are 
near it. On the whole, white is the safest, though it is 
.apt to look rather staring during the seasons when 
there is no brilliant color in the flower garden to re- 
lieve it. 
ORNAMENTAL CATALPAS 
•C INCE the introduction of Catalpa speciosa to culti- 
vation much more attention has been given to 
■Catalpas in general than before. But this has been 
confined chiefly to their relative value as timber trees 
and not to their ornamental character. 
The two species receiving chief attention are C. 
speciosa and C. bignonioides. The first of these is 
recognized as the best for timber, bignonioides lead- 
ing for ornamental purposes. There is a dilTerence 
in their flowering, but it is the tall, straight growth 
of speciosa and the bushy habit of bignonioides which 
-places the former in the lead for timber planting and 
the latter foremost for lawn use. 
Thinking now of lawn planting, it surprises those 
who know of the beauty of bignonioides when in 
flower to find it so seldom listed or praised in nursery 
catalogs. It flowers in June, when flowering trees are 
few, and, moreover, at no time is there a flowering 
tree of more beauty. 
It blooms toward the close of June, bearing large 
panicles of flowers, white, with yellowish throat 
splashed with crimson. Each panicle represents a 
large bouquet, and there is one at the end of every 
new shoot; the whole mass is most beautiful. 
The flowers of speciosa are much like those of big- 
nonioides, but open a week or so earlier, and the tree, 
being taller and less broad of branches, its panicles 
are not as conspicuous as are those of the other. For 
this and various other reasons, if the writer were to 
plant one for ornamental flowering features his choice 
would be bignonioides. 
Catalpas are easily transplanted, and belated tree 
planters like them because their leafing in Spring is 
late ; thus they are often utilized. — Florists' S.vchangc. 
ROSA HUGONIS— ROSA ECAE 
{Coiitiiiiicd from pui^c 273.) 
the Cherokee Rose can only be grown under glass. Rosa 
Hiigonis and R. omeiensis, a tall-growing, white-flowered 
species from Western China, are the earliest roses to 
flower in the Arboretum this year. 
Rosa Ec.'\e. — This is another yellow-flowered Rose 
which is blooming well this year in the Shrub Collection 
and is only a little later than R. Hiigonis. It is a spiny 
shrub with small leaves and pale yellow flowers not much 
more than an inch and a quarter in diameter. It is a 
native of Afghanistan where it is common on dry moun- 
tain ridges, and of Samarkand. Much less beautiful 
than R. Hiigonis, it is worth a place in a collection of 
Roses, for species with yellow flowers which are hardy 
in this climate are few in number. 
TREE PLANTING REWARDED. 
F. L. Ur.vce. 
I ])lanted two elms by the wayside 
In the springtime long ago. 
With never a thought of reward or aught 
But the joy of seeing them grow. 
And now they are tall and stately, 
Great, spreading tents of shade. 
And a cottage fair stands there to share 
The shelter my trees have made. 
Mid their branches the birds were singing 
And beneath, the children played 
As I passed that way but yesterday 
And paused to enjoy their shade. 
And it gave me a thrill of pleasure 
To witness that scene so rare. 
The birds had come, and the happy home 
Tust because the trees were there. 
Of Interest to Estate Owners 
The National Association of Gardeners maintains a Service Bureau 
wliiuh is at tbe rlisposal of all who may i-equire the services of efficient 
ganleners in tlieir various capacities. 
Tlie association seeks tlie co-operation of estate owners in its efforts 
to secure opportunities for tljnse engaged in tlie profession of garden- 
ing who are seeliing to advance themselves. It nialies no charge for 
services rendered. It endeavors to supply men qualified to assume the 
responsibilities the position may call for. 
Through this service the National Association of Gardeners aims to 
bring the Country Estate Owner and the truly efficient men engaged 
in the profession in closer relation to each other, that the interest In 
ornamental horticulture and its greater development in this country 
may thereby be elevated, 
Mnlve your requirements Itnown to 
M, C. EBEL, Sec'jr, National Association of Gardeners, Uadison, N. J. 
