Jahuaiy  21,  189'?. 
JOURNAL  OP  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
5? 
A  GARDEN  IN  THE  ISLE  OF  WIGHT. 
[An  Address  (amplified)  by  Rev.  H.  Ewbank  to  the  members  of  the 
Horticultural  Association  at  Newport.] 
Gardens  differ  very  much  ;  indeed,  there  are  not  two  quite  alike. 
You  may  tell  something  of  the  character  of  a  man  from  seeing  his 
garden,  and  the  way  in  which  its  operations  are  carried  on.  Now  what 
I  object  to  very  strongly  is  sameness — red  Geraniums  and  yellow 
Calceolarias  weary  you — they  are  no  better  than  a  Turkey  carpet  or  a 
mosaic  floor ;  it  is  a  question  of  colour  with  them,  and  nothing  else. 
Gardening  is  very  different  now  from  what  it  was  twenty  or  five  and 
twenty  years  ago,  and  I  think  a  passage  which  was  written  about  twenty 
years  ago  will  explain  to  you  what  I  mean. 
“  For  some  years  past,”  Dr.  Wallace  says,  “the  severe  style  of  high 
art  has  invaded  our  gardens,  and  everything  has  been  sacrificed  to  the 
ribbon  and  pattern  border — where  diversity  of  tint,  no  doubt  often  very 
skilfully  combined,  and  regularity  of  outline  have  had  unlimited  sway: 
Doubtless  the  effect  at  first  both  pleased  and  surprised,  bright  and  gay 
combinations  delighted  the  eye  ;  everything  was  neat  and  in  order.  But, 
alas  !  as  nothing  in  this  world  is  perfect,  so  after  a  time  it  was  found 
that  eternal  regularity  of  colour  and  outline  grew  tiresome,  and  that  the 
scarlet  Geraniums,  blue  Lobelias,  and  yellow  Calceolarias  repeated  in 
every  garden  failed  to  please,”  and  so  the  passage  goes  on  at  some 
length,  ending  in  this  way. 
“After  all  this  system  has  the  following  great  objections.  1,  The 
eye  wearies  after  a  while  of  the  eternal  pattern  making,  and  rests  with 
preference  on  irregular  and  diffused  outlines,  as  exemplified  by  Nature’s 
grouping.  2,  The  majority  of  plants  used  for  pattern  borders  are 
entirely  devoid  of  fragrance,  and  the  sense  of  smell  is  not  gratified. 
3,  Under  the  pattern  system  for  eight  months  of  the  year  the  beds  are 
devoid  of  beauty,  and  except  such  few  as  are  filled  in  with  spring  bulbs 
all  is  bare  and  desolate.” 
This  seems  to  me  a  very  formidable  indictment  against  this  kind  of 
gardening,  and  I  for  my  part  take  no  interest  in  it  ;  and  again,  while 
everybody  is  free  to  have  his  own  opinion,  and  though  I  fear  I  am  in  a 
hopeless  minority,  as  a  rule,  I  must  say  I  do  ndt  care  very  much  for 
flower  Bhows.  There  is  so  much  that  is  very  ufinatural  about  them,  and 
they  leave  out  of  sight  the  freshness,  the  variety,  the  many-sided  look 
with  which  all  Nature  abounds.  A  few  points  are  fixed  upon  to  the 
exclusion  of  everything  else,  and  very  often  what  I  should  call  an  utter 
monstrosity  wins  the  day — e,g.t  a  prize  PanBy  is  a  very  artificial  thing 
indeed,  and  I  should  say  an  ugly  one. 
I  have  before  me  some  of  the  requisitions  taken  from  a  book  on 
florists’  flowers  which  are  as  follows,  “It  must  be  perfectly  circular, 
flat,  and  have  a  sn&ooth  edge  ;  the  petals  should  be  thick  and  of  a  rich 
velvety  colour  ;  whatever  the  colour,  the  three  lower  petals  should  be 
alike  ;  the  two  upper  should  be  uniform,  and  there  should  be  no 
notched  edges,  no  crumpled  petals,  &c.,  &c.”  I  may  be  quite  wrong, 
and  I  daresay  I  am,  but  I  would  not  grow  a  flower  under  such  bondage 
as  that,  and  I  dispute  its  being  beautiful  altogether ;  more  than  that, 
flowers  look  so  uncomfortable  at  a  show.  Wordsworth  has  said,  “  ’Tis 
my  belief  that  every  flower  enjoys  the  air  it  breathes,”  but  I  am  certain 
I  have  been  at  exhibitions  on  a  hot  summer’s  day,  when  the  tents  were 
so  stuffy  that  it  seemed  very  probable  that  we  should  all  be  asphyxiated, 
and  the  poor  flowers  looked  as  if  they  were  crucified. 
In  nothing  of  this  sort  my  delight  in  a  garden  is  found.  My  aim  is 
the  following.  I  desire  first  and  foremost  to  have  flowers  with  me  all 
the  year  round,  and  never  to  be  without  them,  excepting  in  the  time  of 
severe  frost.  From  January  to  December  the  ceaseless  round  goes  on, 
and  then  I  think  that  these  flowers  become  one’s  friends,  and  the  closest 
tie  is  formed.  Secondly,  we  should  get  to  know  as  much  as  possible 
about  these  plants— e.g.,  so  far  as  it  is  compassable  to  do  it ;  the  order 
and  the  family  to  which  they  severally  belong,  the  affinities  and 
relationships  they  have,  and  where  each  one  fits  into  the  great  pro¬ 
cession  of  Nature,  and  the  exact  place  it  has.  I  do  not  say  that  I  can 
do  this  in  my  garden  half  so  much  as  I  should  like  to  do  it,  but  it  is  a 
point  to  aim  at  nevertheless,  and.  very  especially  as  connected  with  a 
garden  (for  it  is  not  a  studio  or  laboratory  of  which  I  tell)  one  desires, 
unless  it  be  about  a  very  common  thing  indeed,  to  find  out  something 
about  the  habitats  and  surroundings  of  all  these  flowers,  the  kind  of 
way  in  which  each  one  manages  to  live  at  home,  for  this  gives  the  clue 
more  or  less  to  the  best  method  of  growing  them.  Let  me  only  add  that 
we  must  never  servilely  copy  what  we  find,  for  there  would  be  certainly 
a  mistake  in  doing  that.  One  screw  loose,  so  to  say,  would  throw  the 
whole  thing  out  of  gear  ;  but  still  we  must  have  some  general  ideas,  or  no 
progress  can  be  made  at  all.  It  would  not  do  to  put  a  water-loving 
plant — e.g.,  a  Ksempferi  Iris  on  a  rockery,  nor  an  Oncocyclus  Iris  from 
the  plains  of  Central  Asia,  and,  therefore,  accustomed  to  drought,  in  a 
pond.  We  must  more  or  less  find  out  what  each  of  our  favourites 
requires,  and  copy  it  here  in  a  way,  or  (which  is  very  often  the  better 
plan)  give  it  something  which  will  do  instead  of  that  which  it  has  been 
accustomed  to  receive. 
There  is  a  wonderfully  accommodating  power  in  plants,  but  you 
must  not  drive  it  too  far,  and  should  rather  follow  than  force ;  and  I 
venture  to  think  nothing  in  the  province  of  a  gardener  is  of  more 
importance  than  sympathy.  If  he  has  it  he  gets  to  see  into  the  wishes 
and  the  desires  of  the  creatures  whom  he  is  tending.  Constant  use  and 
familiarity  give  him  a  sort  of  second  sight,  and  he  can  oftentimes  treat 
a  plant  off-hand  to  just  what  it  requires.  So  I  should  think  it  is  with  an 
experienced  doctor,  whose  power  for  diagnosis  must  increase.  I  was 
reading  an  account  the  other  day  by  Mr.  Dolling  of  his  Church  work  in  1 
Landport,  and  I  came  across  an  assertion  with  which  I  am  heartily  in 
accord.  He  says  that  “flowers  sooner  than  men  find  out  those  that  love 
them,”  and  nothing  can  be  truer  than  that.  More  even  than  this,  there 
is  often  the  greatest  satisfaction  and  pleasure  in  finding  out  about  some 
very  diffRult  subject — perhaps  after  repeated  failures  with  it — just  what 
it  requires.  It  comes  to  you  like,  a  shot  by  some  sudden  inspiration, 
sometimes  from  an  accidental  cause,  and  it  satisfies  you  and  pleases 
you  in  a  way  which  cannot  be  exaggerated. 
I  have  many  plants  in  my  garden  which  used  to  give  me  a  great 
deal  of  trouble,  and  now  give  me  no  trouble  at  all.  It  has  all  turned  on 
very  little  points.  Some  unsuspected  cause  has  been  at  work,  and  the 
wonder  is  that  one  never  thought  before  of  what  is  so  simple  at  last. 
Max  Leichtlin  showed  me  the  other  day  at  Baden  Baden  a  plant  which 
had  bothered  him  I  think  for  eighteen  years,  but  at  last  by  growing  it 
in  close  connection  with  another  plant  the  whole  difficulty  has  been 
overcome.  There  is  a  vastly  great  difference  between  these  tricks  of 
cultivation  with  plants  and  experiments  on  living  animals.  No  tortures 
of  vivisection  are  required  to  find  out  the  secrets  which  it  is  desired  to 
lay  bare,  and  if  a  great  mistake  has  been  made — as  too  often  occurs — 
there  are  no  very  dreadful  consequences  to  ensue.  If  I  do  lose  a  plant  I 
hope  for  better  luck  next  time  ;  the  loss  is  repaired  as  soon  as  possible, 
and  I  begin  again  quite  complacently.  Mutisia decurrens  is  an  instance 
of  a  plant  which  used  to  be  very  troublesome  to  me,  but  has  now  ceased 
to  be  so.  Many  others  might  be  given. 
Let  me  say  that  I  don’t  believe  all  the  world  over  there  is  a  much 
better  little  spot  for  the  cultivation  of  plants  than  the  Isle  of  Wight, 
and  the  north  side  is  better  than  the  south,  the  reason  being  that  we 
have  better  soil,  and  we  are  not  nearly  so  much  exposed  to  the  ravages 
of  wind  as  they  are  in  the  Undercliff.  I  should  say  that  about  Ryde 
the  advantages  for  growing  plants  and  shrubs  are  very  great  indeed ;  the 
soil  and  the  sunshine  are  in  their  favour,  and  the  moisture-laden  atmo¬ 
sphere,  which  some  of  us  do  not  like  for  ourselves,  suits  them  exactly. 
It  is  often  wonderful  to  me  to  reflect  how  in  my  little  bit  of  a  flower 
garden  which  is  about  three-quarters  of  an  acre  in  size,  the  denizens  of  so 
many  climes  agree  to  live  together,  and  somehow  to  a  certain  extent  to 
lay  aside  their  own  peculiarities,  and  to  be  willing  to  do  well  in  my 
hands.  I  would  name  at  random  the  following,  which  are  apparently 
quite  happy  under  my  care.  Rubus  arcticus,  from  northern  regions  of 
course  ;  Gerbera  Jamesoni,  from  the  Transvaal  ;  Iris  Gatesi,  from  Asia 
Minor ;  Campanula  Allini,  from  the  Appennines ;  Oxalis  braziliensis, 
from  Brazil  ;  0.  enneaphylla,  from  the  Falkland  Isles  ;  Sparaxis  pul- 
cherrima,  from  the  Cape  ;  Rhododendron  Aucklandi  and  R.  Thompsoni, 
from  the  Himalayas ;  Rosa  berberidifolia,  from  Persia  ;  Poinciana 
Gillesi,  from  South  America  ;  Ramondia  pyrenaica,  from  the  Pyrenees  ; 
Morisia  hypogma,  from  Sardinia  ;  Cypripedium  spectabile,  from  North 
America,  &c.,  &c. 
Another  thing  in  a  garden  such  as  mine,  and  on  which  I  lay  great 
store,  is  to  have  room  for  very  many  mementoes  of  friendship.  We  all 
know  what  it  is  to  long  for  the  “  touch  of  a  vanished  hand,”  and  no 
better  reminder  can  be  bad  than  what  comes  from  the  cultivation  of  a 
flower.  It  almost  seems  to  speak  to  you  when  it  comes  into  blossom,  and 
has  many  words  to  say. 
I  have  a  Rose,  Souvenir  de  Malmaison,  which  came  into  my  hands 
about  forty-five  years  ago,  and  which  belonged  to  my  own  mother.  It  is 
quite  as  flourishing  now  as  when  I  first  made  its  acquaintance,  and  bids 
fair  to  live  on  ;  and  if  not  of  relatives  or  friends,  yet  in  many  cases 
flowers  tell  the  story  of  some  adventure  or  journey  one  has  had.  I 
only  came  across  one  plant  when  I  waB  in  Palestine  that  was  actually 
in  seed  ;  the  month  of  April  is,  of  course,  much  too  early  for  that,  but  I 
did  see  one,  an  Anemone,  which  was  not  far  from  Jacob’s  Well,  and  I 
avariciously  gathered -all  the  seed  I  could  find,  from  which  I  raised 
several  plants,  which  I  had  here  for  many  years  afterwards.  In  this 
sort  of  way  everything  is  individualised,  specialised  as  far  as  possible, 
nothing  is  taken  in  the  gross.  I  don’t  care  for  great  breadths  of  yellow 
and  red,  like  the  Tulip  fields  of  Haarlem  or  the  seed  farms  of  Erfurt, 
but  I  love  each  member  of  my  multitudinous  family,  and  I  try  to  do  the 
best  for  it  I  can. 
There  is  one  other  thing  about  which  I  would  say  a  word,  and  that 
is  1  follow  the  teaching  of  Dr.  Forbes  Watson  in  preferring  single  to 
double  flowers,  and  for  this  reason,  there  is  very  much  more  of  character, 
and  I  venture  also  to  ihink  of  beauty,  about  them.  I  know  that  this  is 
rank  heresy  with  some  people ;  and  the  glorious  Roses  which  are 
exhibited  in  the  summer  months  seem  flatly  to  contradict  what  I  say, 
but  I  hold  to  it  nevertheless  about  an  exhibition  Rose.  One  misses  the 
stamens  and  pistil  which  give  the  real  expression  to  the  flower,  and  there 
is  a  sensuousnesB  about  the  wealth  of  colour  in  the  one  case,  I  mean  in 
the  double  flower,  which  I  do  not  like  half  so  well  as  the  refinement 
and  restrainedness  and  naturalness  of  the  other,  the  single  one.  I  con¬ 
sider  Dr.  Forbes  Watson’s  book  on  "  Flowers  and  Gardens  ”  to  be  the 
most  beautiful  gardening  book  I  ever  came  across.  I  advise  anyone 
who  wishes  to  take  the  best  line  about  these  things  to  have  his  mind 
saturated  with  the  teaching  of  Dr.  Watson,  and  then  he  will  not  go  far 
wrong. 
Some  double  flowers  are  positively  ugly,  and  many  are  vulgar  in  the 
extreme.  A  double  Snowdrop  is  very  ugly  indeed,  and  nothing,  I  think, 
is  more  vulgar  than  some  double  Dahlias  of  renown.  It  is  true  that 
double  flowers  hold  on  better  in  water  and  last  a  longer  time  than  the 
others,  and  for  this  reason,  and  this  only  as  a  rule,  I  have  anything  to 
do  with  them.  And  now  I  see  that  I  must  not  waste  any  more  time 
with  the  preface,  and  I  shall  proceed  to  offer  you  a  few  selected 
illustrations,  or  typical  examples  they  may  be  called,  of  the  preceding 
