558 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
December  19,  1901. 
Mr,  S.  Arnott  and  his  Flowers. 
Happily,  no  words  of  introduction  between  reader  and  sub¬ 
ject  are  necessary  in  the  case  now  before  us.  For  twelve  years 
past  we  and  our  readers  have  delighted  in  the  charmingly- 
written  articles,  chiefly  on  flowers  of  the  hardy  plant  garden, 
that  have  appeared  in  the  pages  of  “  Our  Journal,”  from  the 
facile  pen  of  Mr.  Arnott.  His  is  the  record  of  one,  consistent  in 
his  love  to  a  special  section  of  flowers,  and  he  pursues  the  vein 
of  his  choice  seemingly  with  ever-increasing  ardour  and  single- 
heartedness.  So  warm  is  his  affection  for  the  hardy  flowers,  and 
also  so  wide  and  thorough  is  his  knowledge  of  them  and  experi¬ 
ence  in  their  cultural  needs,  that  his  writings,  while  eminently 
fresh  and  entertaining,  are  at  the  same  time  essentially  prac¬ 
tical.  Recently  he  has  become  a  book-author,  the  “  Book  of 
Bulbs,”  of  which  we  give  a  short  review  on  page  559. 
Although  not  a  professional  gardener,  Mr.  Arnott  manages 
the  flower  department  of  his  beautiful  garden  at  Carsethom, 
near  Dumfries,  almost  without  assistance.  From  his  maternal 
parent  he  inherited,  or  acquired,  the  love  of  flowers  he  possesses. 
Born  in  Dumfries — a  famous  old  Scottish  town — in  the  year 
1852  his  life  has  been  spent  within  hail  of  the  Solwrny  Firth. 
He  was  engaged  in  business,  but  retired  in  1884  to  the  village 
of  Carsethorn,  on  account  of  his  health.  The  open-air  pursuit 
of  gardening  has  been  of  physical  benefit  to  Mr.  Arnott,  and 
from  a  small  beginning — from  having  a  limited  collection — his 
plants  and  his  love  for,  and  interest  in  them,  have  grown  to  the 
extent  that  this  Carsethorn  garden  and  its  owner  are  both  con¬ 
spicuous  in  the  horticultural  world.  Mr.  Arnott  is  a  recognised 
authority  on  hardy  plants,  and  his  garden  is  a  repository  of  the 
best  border  and  Alpine  flowers,  including  the  most  recent 
novelties. 
The  Royal  Caledonian  Horticultural  Society,  founded  in 
1809,  four  years  after  the  Royal  Horticultural  of  London,  claims 
him  on  its  scientific  committee.  He  is  also  a  Fellow  of  the 
R.H.S.  Besides  these  connections  Mr.  Arnott  is  an  acting 
director  of  the  Dumfriesshire  and  Galloway  Horticultural 
Society,  acting  also  as  joint  secretary  in  promoting  the  annual 
Kirkbean  and  District  Flower  Show.  In  the  higher  public 
matters  Mr.  Arnott  occupies  the  honoured  position  of  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  for  Kirkcudbrightshire,  is  Chairman  of  Kirkbean 
Parish  Council,  and  furthermore  takes  an  active  part  in  several 
local  institutions. 
We  refer  with  satisfaction  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Arnott’s  first 
contribution  to  horticultural  literature  appeared  in  “  Garden 
Work,”  now  incorporated  with  the  Journal  of  Horticulture.  This 
was  in  the  latter  half  of  the  year  1887,  under  the  title  of  “  Notes 
from  a  Scottish  Seaside  Garden.”  "  The  first  article  for  the 
Group  of  Squills,  Rhododendrons,  and  Poet’S1  Narciss. 
Group  of  Olearia  stellata  and  other  shrubs. 
Journal,  on  “  Colchicums,”  appeared  in  1889,  and  we  trust  the 
same  genial  mind  may  long  be  able  to  continue  the  good  work 
he  is  engaged  in.  The  following  letter  tells  to  us  the  extent 
of  Mr.  Arnott’s  love  for  the  flowers :  — 
The  Garden  at  Carsethorn. 
“  The  Editor  has  asked  me  to  give  him  an  article  about  “  my 
floral  loves.’’  Little,  I  fear,  does  he  know  the  magnitude  of  the 
task  he  has  set  before  me,  or  the  infliction  it  would  entail  upon 
the  readers  of  the  Journal  were  I  to  comply  literally  with  his 
request.  My  tastes  in  the  way  of  flowers  are  too  broad  to  be 
confined  to  hardy  flowers  alone,  and  a  confession  of  my  floral 
likings  would  be  a  surprise  indeed,  seeing  that  I  like  to  see  good 
flowers,  whether  they  grow  in  the  open  ground  or  require  a 
frame,  a  greenhouse,  or  a  stove.  However,  I  presume  that  it  is 
meant  that  I  should  say  a  little  about  my  special  favourites 
which  are  the  flowers  of  the  border,  the  rockery,  and  the  wild 
garden.  Even  this  task  is  a  big  one,  for  it  embraces  the  flowers 
which  usher  in  the  year,  those  which  keep  up  the  succession,  and 
those  which  come  in  the  dreariest  months  of  November  and 
December.  These  flowers  have  been  life-long  favourites,  and 
some,  such  as  the  Hepaticas,  the  Pinks,  the  Carnations,  the 
Larkspurs,  and  others,  almost  without  number,  are  associated 
with  my  earliest  memories,  as  they  were  grown  in  my  mother’s 
garden  as  far  back  as  I  can  remember. 
“  Although  native  of  a  town,  it  was  a  country  one,  and  we  were 
hardly  ever  without  a  garden  which  had  in  it  many  of  the  hardy 
flowers  known  at  that  period,  and  one  can  yet  recollect  the 
admiration  felt  for  their  blossoms  and  the  interest  with  which 
one  looked  for  their  appearing  As  to  what  particular  flower  I 
care  most  for,  I  cannot  venture  to  tell.  I  like  the  Snowdrop, 
which  comes  so  early  in  the  year,  yet  I  can  admire  as  much  its 
associate,  the  Crocus;  or  the  Daffodil;  or  the  Lily,  or  the  Iris; 
or  many  more  too  numerous  to  detail.  There  would  need  to  be 
a  sad  thinning  out  of  many  ‘  dear  charmers  ’  before  one  could 
select  even  a  dozen  of  floral  loves  and  say  that  these  were  the 
dearest  of  all.  My  only  regret  is  that  my  garden  is  too  small 
to  permit  me  to  grow  all  the  plants  I  should  like,  and  that 
latterly  I  have  had  to  part  with  some  of  my  more  familiar  and 
less-appreciated  plants  to  make  room  for  newer  claimants  for 
one’s  admiration.  Yet  old  favourites  are  retained,  some  of 
them  in  large  numbers. 
“  I  have  not  yet  a  complete  catalogue  of  my  plants,  but  there 
are  between  two  and  three  thousand  species  and  varieties,  and 
this  without  growing  many  varieties  of  the  ordinary  florist’s 
flowers,  which  would  soon  make  up  a  long  list  did  one  grow 
them.  I  love  flowers  of  all  seasons,  and  thus  prize  the  Winter 
Aconite  as  well  as  the  latest  Starwort  of  autumn.  Of  Snow¬ 
drops  I  have  a  good  collection,  there  being  nearly  all  the  known 
species,  besides  a  number  of  the  best  seedling  and  hybrid  forms 
of  this  exquisite  flower.  The  Crocus,  too,  is  one  of  my  loves, 
and  I  have  a  collection  of  considerably  over  one  hundred  of  the 
species  and  their  varieties,  exclusive  of  the  named  Dutch 
varieties.  Then  I  like  the  Scillas,  and  these  are  in  strong  force 
