Elaborate carpet beds are seldom seen in_ this 
country. Some fine examples of this art can be 
seen at the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris. Dwarf 
plants commonly used are Alternantheras, Echever- 
ias, Begonias, Lobelias, Achyranthes and Santolinas. 
Bromeliads (Thecophyllum and Guzmannias} grow in 
profusion on the trunks of Mountain Palms in the 
Sierra Luquillo in Puerto Rico. 
The forerunner of our present day conservatory was 
the Orangerie of the days of Louis XIV. This was a 
high building with large glass doors and windows 
facing toward the South in which every winter the 
tubbed orange trees of the estate were housed. 
Later other ornamental trees were added, and this 
was the beginning of the greenhouse. The picture 
shows the Orangerie at Versailles, with Citrus and 
Palms outside for the summer. 
Belgian Horticulture has been widely recognized for 
its standard of quality in the commercial produc- 
tion of ornamental plants. These well-shaped Bay 
Trees (Laurus nobilis) are grown in Bruges. Julius 
Roehrs had started in business by importing them 
in large quantities and they were widely used in 
the New York area for decoration 
