House Garden 
“THE BRIARS,’’ BAR HARBOR, 
MAINE. 
THE GARDEN OF MRS. MONTGOMERY SEARS. 
A LONG the northern Atlantic sea coast 
the climate is very favorable to the culture 
of flowers. Many things which but fifty 
miles away eke out a starved existence find in 
its atmosphere an amount ot moisture that 
gives them a radiant perfection dear to the 
lover of flowers. To this rule the Island of 
Mt. Desert is no exception, yet the general 
culture of flowers 
there is a thing of 
recent years. Some 
among the tew who 
visited the island 
twenty-five or 
thirty years ago 
remember how rare 
it then was to see 
even a few blos¬ 
soming plants 
about a cottage 
door, but all that 
has been changed, 
and nowadays the 
island is full of 
brilliant patches 
where flowers are 
grown for pleasure 
or for profit. The 
common flowers 
are there in pro¬ 
fusion ; masses of 
nasturtium, sweet 
peas and larkspur 
are seen near every 
house. But in 
spite of the ease 
with which the 
garden grows, few 
people at Mt. 
Desert have time for gardening in its real 
sense. Haphazard unpremeditated gardens 
which come of putting in a few things here 
and a few things there, outnumber any other 
kind by a hundred to one. 
In delightful contrast to such random 
gardening is the tiny formal garden at “The 
Briars,” tucked away among the dark spruces 
within a hundred yards of the rocks at Bar 
Harbor. Coming from the ocean side, by a 
path shut in by evergreens, one becomes 
conscious of a wealth ot color and of a com¬ 
bination of delicious odors. All this bril¬ 
liancy and sweetness is contained in a plot 
of ground little more than titty by one hun¬ 
dred feet, once used as a tennis-court. The 
wire netting which formerly confined stray 
balls, still remains, 
though quite con¬ 
cealed by a luxu¬ 
riant growth of 
white and purple 
clematis. Beneath 
this blooming 
hedge is a border 
of peren nials,—tall 
phlox, blue lark¬ 
spur and tunkia,— 
and in the midst of 
the garden is a cir¬ 
cular space paved, 
like all the paths, 
with bricks. Its 
center is held by 
an inverted Roman 
capital on which 
sits a great Italian 
pot filled with white 
Marguerites. A 
network ot straight 
paths encloses 
flower-beds of 
varying size,— 
given up tor most 
part to annuals. 
d'he tall evergreens 
surrounding the 
garden ward off 
high winds, and at the same time seem to 
increase the strength of the sunlight. With 
such protection, and with the moisture-laden 
sea air no wonder the flowers bloom so gaily. 
Each bed is in itself a pleasure, whether 
but one kind of plant occupies the space or 
two or three are put together. But this is 
inevitable since the planting is done with 
care and forethought, by one who has the fine 
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