JANUARY I, 1903. 
AGarden in Spite of Drought 
=oeee= 
There is one section of the gardening 
world whose lines are cast beyond the 
radius of the water supply, and there is an- 
other section whose limited means keep 
them continually 
“Dreading that climax of all human ills, 
The inflammation of the weekly bills.” 
The water bill more especially. In the face 
of the dire misfortune, scarcity of water, 
they continue to garden during the summer 
with a sublime faith in Providence. They 
seem determined to grow the plants that 
are grown successfully by those more for- 
tunately situated, or none at all. After 
a brief and brilliant: period of bloom in the 
spring they have to face the perplexing 
problem how to maintain a semblance of 
brightness and verdure during the long hot 
dry months that follow. With the same 
blind faith they put out their summer an- 
‘nuals ,and fill the garden with their favo- 
rite herbaceous plants and shrubs, without 
any regard for their drought-resisting capa- 
city and their voracious appetites for food 
and water, and trust to summer showers to 
do the rest. Before the summer is half 
over the garden is a ruin, the grass is) brown, 
and the soil is white and hungry, while 
dead twigs and dying vegetation. disfigure 
what should be the flower beds. This is 
not an exaggerated picture. I have seen 
such failures often. If a garden is to be 
the boon it should be it must in summer 
of all seasons refresh the eye with cool 
greenness and healthy growth. What is a 
garden? An enclosed area, consisting of 
paths and flower beds geometrically or 
otherwise arranged? 
den is a garden by virtue of its contents, 
their variety and arrangement, its pleas- 
ing combinations of color and form, its con- 
formity to Nature’s principles, the diver- 
sity of its tints, the shade it yields, the re- 
freshing sense of rest it affords, the har- 
mony and congruity of the whole. How 
delicious it is after the glare of the dusty 
road to turn into a garden that is a cool 
bower of green, with glimpses of smooth 
lawns, pleasing curves, giraceful outlines 
and cool vistas to greet the tired eye. <A 
garden should. be formed in faithful, but 
not slavish, imitation. of Nature, on no mat- 
ter how small a scale, her ruggedness and 
sweet simplicity happily blended. Nor is 
the drought-stricken garden prohibited 
from these pleasures. They are for all and 
sundry who are possessed of a garden plot 
and sufficient intelligence to make the best 
of adverse conditions. If he would have 
trees—and who would not considering the 
shade and protection they afford and tlie 
precious autumnal deposit of leaves from 
the deciduous varieties? The beautiful im- 
ported trees will not exadtly withstand 
drought, but when once they have become 
_ well established should not be dependent 
on surface moisture, but if encouraged to 
do so will send their roots down into the 
permanently moist lower strata, and thus 
Surely not! A gar- 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
5 
can be grown with some measure of suc- . 
cess in any but absolutely barren soils. 
This applies also to shrubs. Many of the 
native acacias and other hardy evergreens 
are ornamental and highly desirable. 
Pines and other large conifers and the 
Moreton Bay trees should be strictly pro- 
hibited on a small area. The best way is to 
consult a reliable catalogue, and, benefiting 
by the experience and advice of authori- 
ties on the subject, to make a selection of 
trees and shrubs that are sufficiently orna- 
mental and in every way suited to local 
conditions. If they will grow luxuriantly 
or flower profusely and make themselves 
happy and quite at home they will prove 
the bulwark of the garden, defending it 
from the depredations of marauding gales 
and the wholesale plunder of that mighty 
robber the sun. 
Coming, then ,to smaller plants, why do 
people persist in the vain endeavor to grow 
such things as balsams, zinnias, dahlias, 
and delphiniums where the conditions are 
manifestly adverse? Year after year their 
hopes are blighted by successive droughts. 
Would it not be better to accept defeat? 
Nature is so strong, so merciless when she 
pits her strength against our puny efforts. 
Yet they continue to spend rare pennies 
on seedlings, and to put them out with 
jubilant hopes of a good season that never 
comes, while there are families of drought 
resisting plants, whose name is legion, that 
will convert all this barrenness into smil- 
ing vegetation. They come from the land 
of the sun, not in single spies, buf in bat- 
talions, to clothe our arid wastes. Mesem- 
bryanthemums, echeveria, and all the noble 
host of succulents. The mesembryanthe- 
mums present a gorgeous appearance when 
in bloom ; they are almost barbaric in their 
crudity of-color, but wonderfully effective 
and brilliant. It}is not only the flower that 
commends them, but the succulent foliage 
-may I call it? with its richness and variety 
of coloring. M. cauleseus, picturesquely 
called the “stem-leaved morning flower,” is 
one of the very glaucous varieties, and is 
extremely attractive. It has such gentle 
gradations of delicate tones. It will car- 
pet a bed completely or clothe a rockery ; 
it covers itself in the early summer with 
diminutive pink flowers, and is all dainti- 
ness. The more mesembryanthemums 
are starved the more gaily they bloom, the 
more they luxuriate and increase. Another 
that recommends itself highly is commonly 
known as the iceplant; by botanists, M. 
chrystallinum. It sounds deliciously cool, 
and appears so, for on the hottest day it 
scintillates with what appear to be dew 
drops, as though it possessed a secret 
source. We like to think of them as dew 
drops, but botanists tell us in their prosaic 
fashion that it is due to excessive develop- 
ment of all the superficial cells of the plant, 
which are like so many small bags filled 
with limpid water. No matter, it is a 
pleasing peculiarity. The cactus family are 
true friends in need .with the exquisite 
beauty of their blooms. Many of them 
seem to be independent of water artificially 
supplied. The abnormally swollen stem is 
a mass of soft vegetation. 
a reservoir of moisture obtained, we do not 
knew how, except by some occult power 
of capturing moisture from the atmosphere 
with which to swell their tissue. It would 
be impossible to dwell on all the respective 
merits of this varied species; but their 
peculiar beauty should appeal to all. With 
this infinite variety of succulents taste- 
fully grouped and arranged a charming 
and unique effect could be obtained. Rock 
work, if possible, should enter into the 
scheme. There could then be terraces, 
clothed with generous masses of these 
plants; cool recesses, shady grottoes, hil- 
locks, mounds, and green depressions to 
vary the form, rocky heights and bold es- 
carpments, now blazing with color, and 
anon a subdued harmony of tint. Paths 
should wind about, not glaringly conspi- 
cuous, invisible at a distance, and lost amid 
The hungry 
soil must not obtrude itself; trailing tra- 
descantia—green, variegated, and tinted— 
and soft toned mesembryanthemums 
should generously obscure it. Cactus, with 
gorgeous bloom and fantastic stems, will 
twist and turn in all directions, and, fin- 
ally, aloes, agaves, and yuccas of all de- 
scriptions with bold outline to give height 
and strength and dignity to the whole. 
HawrHorn. 
=B6eseseo> 
When Foliage is Scarce. 
I don’t know if your readers are aware 
that the gypsophila, that is now at its beau- 
tiful best, can be easily kept for use in the 
winter. If gathered now and hung in 
bunches by the stalks from the ceiling of 
the toolhouse, it dries easily and naturally, 
making an exceptionally welcome appear- 
ance when flowers and foliage are scarce. 
I kept a good deal in this way last year, 
and had many a prettily decorated table. 
Mixed with the red berries that you can 
gather from the hedges till the autumn is 
well through ,this dried gypsophila arrang- 
ed in tall green glass specimen vases has 
a very pretty effect. It also mixes well 
with chrysanthemums, whose own leaves 
die off much before the flowers are done.— 
“The Gardener.’ ’ 
SSbStSstst > . 
A Novel Hanging Basket. 
A. beautiful effect can be obtained by 
filling rather large hanging baskets in the 
following manner. A. wire centre should 
be placed in the centre. Upon this train 
ivy geraniums. Surrounding these plant 
dark lobelia to grow over the edges of the 
basket. At the foot of the wire that sus- 
pends the basket plant canary creeper ; 
this soon climbs round the wire, and has a 
graceful effect. 
Canary creepers. 
Ivy-leaved geraniums. 
Dark blue lobelia. 
Wire cage for the centre of basket. 
The colors—rose pink, blue, and yellow 
—are showy. The plants employed are 
common, it is true, but the central wire ; 
cage is a rather novel feature. 
