October 2 . 
COUNTEY GENTLEMAN’S COMPANION. 
the plants were confined to the south and the west side 
alone, inoi'e especially as the entrance to the hall is near 
the north-west corner. 
I presume that, from there being a double row in the 
half-parallelogram stand, the ]»lauLs are to stand singly 
on the stand, or stage, in the pots in which they are 
grown. There is mncli in general practice to recom¬ 
mend this; much in refined taste to elfect a revolution 
in the whole afl’air. Instead of the half-parallelogram 
stand, I should have preferred several separate stands, 
circular or otherwise, to be arranged in the body of the 
lobby, so as to all'ord easy access to the hall, and, at the 
same time, give the greatest justice to the plants. I 
have no doubt, that as taste in these matters improves, 
we shall have stands made of zinc, or galvanised iron, 
with a sort of double bottom, so that plants may bo set 
in them and covered up in their pots by moss, or 
planted^ out into the soil at once, the double bottom 
affording an opportunity of drawing off all the surplus 
water, or drainage, without spilling a drop in the room. 
Such baskets, or vases, might bo formed of any pattern, 
or shape, and be painted and varnished to suit any 
room, or boudoir. 
Nothing can be more unsatisfactory than the wTiy 
in which ffowering-plants are now arranged in rooms, 
entrance halls, lobbies, &c. The stage of our corres¬ 
pondent may bo a good exception; and yet the speaking 
of the stand holding two rows of plants, leads me to 
think that these two rows are plants standing in the 
red pots in which they were grown. Now, the more 
finished the lobby is, the more it is ornamented, the 
more out of place will the red pots be. Just place a 
plant on a table in such a place in its own legitimate 
earthenware pot, and another plant, in all respects 
similar, in a vessel in harmony with the colouring and 
furniture of the room, and then no seer’s vision is 
requisite to foretell which you would like best. The 
huddling of plants into rooms, balconies, and lobbies, 
tbe cramming of them, even with cut flowers, when there 
is not a particle of use for them, unless it be to nettle 
the gardener, and keep his cogitating powers ever on 
the rack of invention, are some of the proofs of a 
thorough want of unity of expression and refined taste 
which yet obtain amongst us. 
Not so long ago, I saw some good plants in a 
splendid drawing-room, set upon tables inlaid with 
precious wood, and still more precious and rare stones. 
A huge saucer \vas set beneath the pots, and as if it 
was felt that there was something out of character in 
the huge red pot, it was covered all over with a layer 
of moss, and tlius formed a nice plant, seemingly 
rising out of a moss hill, and this artificial-looking 
moss hill itself rising from the centre of a still more 
artificial splendid inlaid table. Oh! for the pen and 
pencil of Punch to sweep such incongruities from the 
mansions and halls of old England. How shockingly 
stilted the whole affair seems. How different all would 
appear if the plant was encased in a vase, or basket, in 
harmony with the walls and furniture of the room. A 
lady, just to show to what extra refinement would load, 
has had flower pots with their plants elevated on the 
tops of poles some ten feet in height, and thinks the 
idea a grand one, a poor fellow being obliged to shoulder 
a ladder to give refreshers to pots that would have been 
infinitely more at home on f6'rmyima. 
I lately visited a snug little place, and found it in 
first-rate order. The flowers were actually growing in 
at the window', and yet I could perceive the sitting- 
room was filled with cut flowers, which w'ere twenty 
times more at home outside the window. It is high 
time that this Gothicism, that will imagine that sti(!king 
every conceivable bloom in a flower-glass, and in all con¬ 
ceivable circumstances, should have a hint, that instead 
of show'ing extra refinement, there is a decided ten¬ 
dency to the selfish and the barbarous. I have walked 
through rooms beautifully furnisbed, and found them 
extra supplied with flowers in the most vulgar and 
first comeatable-looking vessels; hut the rooms were 
foetid with the putrifying water, because the climate in 
which the cut flow'ers were placed was not changed often 
enough, and the lower part of the ffow'er-slalk was not 
removed every or every other day. A short time ago, I 
saw another place, where the greenhouse was contiguous 
to, or rather a part of, tlie mansion; the flower-garden 
came close up to the windows, and yet in the parlonr- 
window' was a deal, gr 0 en-j)ainted stand, supplied with 
small pots, standing in red saucers, next door neigh¬ 
bours to fine muslin curtains, and the most handsome 
furniture. A relish for natural objects might render 
such things endurable in a crowded city—in a country 
place uotbing, but a defective taste—a total disregard 
to everything like unity of expression—could ever 
enable a man or woman of any reflection to tolerate, 
far less encourage, such incongruity for a moment. 
Just think of the walls of a room covered with damask 
or satin paper, and the tables and chairs formed of 
plain deal," or rustic oak, taking us back to the days 
1 of the hut, or the servants’-hall in a squire’s inan- 
I sion ;—you would at once say, how inconsistent—how 
incongruous; and yet, hundreds and thousands will 
have their elegant rooms defaced and deformed with 
stages of green-painted boards, and plants stuck upon 
! them in dirty, red, unpainted pots, and the possessors 
I all the time imagining that they are giving a tone to 
social progress and elevated refinement. 
I feel much obliged for the trouble our gallant corre¬ 
spondent has taken in sending a plan of his lobby ; and, 
as a proof of that obligation 1 feel, I would advise, that 
when the present stage is worn-out, or disapproved of, 
some half-dozen or more of tasty baskets, or vases, 
some three or four feet in diameter, may be substituted, 
so that they may be moved backwards and forwards at 
pleasure, and means taken that the water should not 
-find its way to the floor. The present stand has too 
much of the common greenhouse character. In my 
humble opinion, the plants in a lobby or in the rooms 
of a house should be arranged quite differently, and in 
each case in unison with the fixed establishments of 
tbe room. In a lobby, zinc baskets of a sober tint 
would do. In a drawing-room, one of tbe very best 
Cbina, or painted to represent it, would not be a par¬ 
ticle too fine. When I have an opportunity of visiting 
a place, the garden, of course, is my hobby. I seldom 
go inside of a mansion unless it would be downright ■ 
discourtesy to refuse, especially if told there are some 
fine plants in some of the rooms. In such cases, I have 
often been gratified; but in most cases the incongruity 
was so painful that I was glad to get outside. 
What a Goth ! some will exclaim. Well, I can’t help it. 
I rest contented and sure that the true Vandalism will ere 
long be apparent, and that, as a consequence, flowering 
plants will appear in drawing and sitting rooms in a 
costume suitable to the circumstances. Some time ago, 1 
mentioned how Mr. Fleming got so far over the difficulty, 
by having boxes with evergreen backs of Ivy—the boxes 
being lifted out at pleasure. There w'as thus an ever¬ 
green background, and that was a great point. But, 
strange as it may appear, these fine mahogany boxes 
I do not consider fine enough for fine plants in fine 
rooms. Get stands and vases in character w’ith the 
rooms, and I guarantee that in the estimation of gar¬ 
deners, at least, the plants will do honour to their ^ 
receptacles. I hope to live long enough to see every 
common pot banished from every lady’s room, or, at i 
least, concealed by one more elegant and suitable. , 
E. Ftsii. I 
