161 
PARK AND CEMETERY 
where climbers had been used to adorn the portico, 
the outhouses, fence, or to screen the back yard, the 
most beautiful and useful resiilts had been attained 
and many good points could be learned, even by the 
professional. 
So varied and so interesting were the many uses to 
which climbers of all kinds had been put, that it is al- 
FIRST PRIZE, WINDOW BOXES, 
W. L. B. Jen 1103 ', 60 Bittersweet PI., Chicatri). 
most impossible to describe them, but I shall never 
forget a house of southern style, entirely covered with 
wild grape vine, the whole looking like one great 
mount of foliage. The house was not a small one, by 
any means, and perhaps the most interesting part of it 
was its venerable owner, showing her southern hospi- 
tality to the tired and dnst-covered judges. At another 
place part of the entire lot had lieen covered over with 
Ampelopsis quinquifolia and used as a playground for 
the children on hot and sunny days. Bittersweet and 
Trumpet creeper held a prominent place in porch dec- 
oration. But little taste was shown in selecting plant- 
ing material for color effect, but perhaps as much skill 
was displayed here as by the average flower-box plant- 
ed by the florist. Here the scarlet geranium and va- 
riegated vinca were in evidence everywhere, and it cer- 
tainly would be a boon to outdoor art to have a change 
from this monotonous planting. The craving for loud 
colors was more evident in the garden of the rich — ■ 
perhaps because the poor could not afford the more ex- 
pensive geranium. So pronounced was the habit of 
planting scarlet geraniums that, especially in one in- 
stance, their number reached the thousands and prac- 
tically made one’s eyes water to look at them. 
Considerable individuality was shown, often tend- 
ing to really pleasing and artistic designs, but also 
showing erratic notions, perhaps not worse than seen 
in many public parks. 
Many a contestant had been first spurred to active 
gardening through the generous offers, and though his 
initial attempt in practical horticulture did look crude 
to the professional, how bright and cheerful did not 
this w^ell cared for spot appear surrounded by piles of 
brick and mortar, breathing dust and soot and air pol- 
luted with poisonous gases, and under such conditions 
well worth receiving the greatest praise. 
Nothing but good can result from this garden con- 
test. Thus in many instances the fences had been low- 
ered or entirely done away with, to permit adjoining 
neighbors a peep into the delightful garden spot of an 
enthusiastic amateur, which in turn showed unmis- 
takable effects on their own yards. Whole blocks had 
gradually changed their environment from weedy 
plots to cheerful gardens. 
In awarding the prizes no inflexible rules or scale 
was used. This would have been almost impossible, 
under the many adverse conditions presented to the 
judges in a city like Chicago. Such facts as the local- 
ity of the garden, its influence on surrounding owners 
and the wealth of its cultivator were always consid- 
ered. Neatness and composition received an equal 
share of attention. 
Window-boxes were judged from an entirely artis- 
tic standpoint, both in the selection of planting mate- 
rial and its arrangement, as well as its effect in relation 
to the house. 
On the South Side of the city the first prize for 
window-boxes was awarded to a porch decoration. 
first prize, GARDEN AND ENTIRE EFFECT OF PLANTING, 
House of John Whiteway, 316 Gidding-s St., Chicago. 
there being no window-boxes worthy of the prize, 
and even the second prize was accorded to a box far 
inferior to those receiving an equal prize on the North 
and West Sides. That green lawns and luxurious 
flower-beds can be cultivated in the very heart of Chi- 
