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diff --git a/old/50764-0.txt b/old/50764-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d528ab7..0000000 --- a/old/50764-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5644 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's Colour in the flower garden, by Gertrude Jekyll - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Colour in the flower garden - -Author: Gertrude Jekyll - -Release Date: December 24, 2015 [EBook #50764] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN *** - - - - -Produced by Shaun Pinder, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - COLOUR IN THE - FLOWER GARDEN - - -[Illustration: _WHITE LILIES._] - - - - - _THE "COUNTRY LIFE" - LIBRARY_ - - - COLOUR IN THE - FLOWER GARDEN - - - BY - GERTRUDE JEKYLL - - - [Illustration: A bunch of flowers.] - - - PUBLISHED BY - - "COUNTRY LIFE," LTD. GEORGE NEWNES, LTD. - 20, TAVISTOCK STREET 7-12, SOUTHAMPTON ST. - COVENT GARDEN, W.C. COVENT GARDEN, W.C. - - 1908 - - - - -INTRODUCTION - - -To plant and maintain a flower-border, _with a good scheme for colour_, -is by no means the easy thing that is commonly supposed. - -I believe that the only way in which it can be made successful is to -devote certain borders to certain times of year; each border or garden -region to be bright for from one to three months. - -Nothing seems to me more unsatisfactory than the border that in spring -shows a few patches of flowering bulbs in ground otherwise looking -empty, or with tufts of herbaceous plants just coming through. Then -the bulbs die down, and their place is wanted for something that comes -later. Either the ground will then show bare patches, or the place of -the bulbs will be forgotten and they will be cruelly stabbed by fork or -trowel when it is wished to put something in the apparently empty space. - -For many years I have been working at these problems in my own garden, -and having come to certain conclusions, can venture to put them forth -with some confidence. I may mention that from the nature of the ground, -in its original state partly wooded and partly bare field, and from -its having been brought into cultivation and some sort of shape before -it was known where the house now upon it would exactly stand, the -garden has less general unity of design than I should have wished. The -position and general form of its various portions were accepted mainly -according to their natural conditions, so that the garden ground, -though but of small extent, falls into different regions, with a -general, but not altogether definite, cohesion. - -I am strongly of opinion that the possession of a quantity of plants, -however good the plants may be themselves and however ample their -number, does not make a garden; it only makes a _collection_. Having -got the plants, the great thing is to use them with careful selection -and definite intention. Merely having them, or having them planted -unassorted in garden spaces, is only like having a box of paints -from the best colourman, or, to go one step further, it is like -having portions of these paints set out upon a palette. This does not -constitute a picture; and it seems to me that the duty we owe to our -gardens and to our own bettering in our gardens is so to use the plants -that they shall form beautiful pictures; and that, while delighting -our eyes, they should be always training those eyes to a more exalted -criticism; to a state of mind and artistic conscience that will not -tolerate bad or careless combination or any sort of misuse of plants, -but in which it becomes a point of honour to be always striving for the -best. - -It is just in the way it is done that lies the whole difference between -commonplace gardening and gardening that may rightly claim to rank as a -fine art. Given the same space of ground and the same material, they -may either be fashioned into a dream of beauty, a place of perfect -rest and refreshment of mind and body--a series of soul-satisfying -pictures--a treasure of well-set jewels; or they may be so misused that -everything is jarring and displeasing. To learn how to perceive the -difference and how to do right is to apprehend gardening as a fine art. -In practice it is to place every plant or group of plants with such -thoughtful care and definite intention that they shall form a part of a -harmonious whole, and that successive portions, or in some cases even -single details, shall show a series of pictures. It is so to regulate -the trees and undergrowth of the wood that their lines and masses come -into beautiful form and harmonious proportion; it is to be always -watching, noting and doing, and putting oneself meanwhile into closest -acquaintance and sympathy with the growing things. - -In this spirit, the garden and woodland, such as they are, have been -formed. There have been many failures, but, every now and then, I am -encouraged and rewarded by a certain measure of success. Yet, as the -critical faculty becomes keener, so does the standard of aim rise -higher; and, year by year, the desired point seems always to elude -attainment. - -But, as I may perhaps have taken more trouble in working out certain -problems, and given more thought to methods of arranging growing -flowers, especially in ways of colour-combination, than amateurs in -general, I have thought that it may be helpful to some of them to -describe as well as I can by word, and to show by plan and picture, -what I have tried to do, and to point out where I have succeeded and -where I have failed. - -I must ask my kind readers not to take it amiss if I mention here that -I cannot undertake to show it them on the spot. I am a solitary worker; -I am growing old and tired, and suffer from very bad and painful sight. -My garden is my workshop, my private study and place of rest. For the -sake of health and reasonable enjoyment of life it is necessary to -keep it quite private, and to refuse the many applications of those -who offer it visits. My oldest friends can now only be admitted. So I -ask my readers to spare me the painful task of writing long letters -of excuse and explanation; a task that has come upon me almost daily -of late years in the summer months, that has sorely tried my weak and -painful eyes, and has added much to the difficulty of getting through -an already over-large correspondence. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - INTRODUCTION v - - - CHAPTER I - - A MARCH STUDY AND THE BORDER OF EARLY BULBS 1 - - - CHAPTER II - - THE WOOD 8 - - - CHAPTER III - - THE SPRING GARDEN 21 - - - CHAPTER IV - - BETWEEN SPRING AND SUMMER 32 - - - CHAPTER V - - THE JUNE GARDEN 39 - - - CHAPTER VI - - THE MAIN HARDY FLOWER BORDER 49 - - - CHAPTER VII - - THE FLOWER BORDER IN JULY 58 - - CHAPTER VIII - - THE FLOWER BORDER IN AUGUST 65 - - - CHAPTER IX - - THE FLOWER BORDERS IN SEPTEMBER 78 - - - CHAPTER X - - WOOD AND SHRUBBERY EDGES 83 - - - CHAPTER XI - - GARDENS OF SPECIAL COLOURING 89 - - - CHAPTER XII - - CLIMBING PLANTS 106 - - - CHAPTER XIII - - GROUPING OF PLANTS IN POTS 112 - - - CHAPTER XIV - - SOME GARDEN PICTURES 121 - - - CHAPTER XV - - A BEAUTIFUL FRUIT GARDEN 127 - - - CHAPTER XVI - - PLANTING FOR WINTER COLOUR 133 - - - CHAPTER XVII - - FORM IN PLANTING 138 - - INDEX 143 - - - - -LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS - - - WHITE LILIES _Frontispiece_ - - IRIS STYLOSA _To face page_ 4 - - MAGNOLIA CONSPICUA " " 5 - - MAGNOLIA STELLATA " " 6 - - FERNS IN THE BULB BORDER " " 7 - - THE BANK OF EARLY BULBS " " 7 - - DAFFODILS BY A WOODLAND PATH " " 10 - - WILD PRIMROSES IN THIN WOODLAND " " 11 - - THE WIDE WOOD PATH " " 12 - - CISTUS LAURIFOLIUS " " 13 - - A WOOD PATH AMONG CHESTNUTS " " 14 - - A WOOD PATH AMONG BIRCHES " " 15 - - CISTUS CYPRIUS " " 16 - - CISTUS BY THE WOOD PATH " " 17 - - GAULTHERIA SHALLON IN FLOWER " " 18 - - GAULTHERIA SHALLON IN FRUIT " " 19 - - WHITE IRISH HEATH " " 20 - - THE SPRING GARDEN FROM =D= ON PLAN " " 21 - - PLAN OF THE SPRING GARDEN " " 23 - - THE FERN-LIKE SWEET CICELY " " 24 - - THE SPRING GARDEN FROM =E= ON PLAN " " 25 - - "FURTHER ROCK" FROM =G= ON PLAN " " 28 - - "FURTHER ROCK" FROM =H= ON PLAN " " 29 - - "NEAR ROCK" FROM =F= ON PLAN " " 30 - - THE PRIMROSE GARDEN " " 31 - - STEPS TO THE HIDDEN GARDEN " " 32 - - PHLOX DIVARICATA AND ARENARIA MONTANA " " 33 - - MALE FERN IN THE HIDDEN GARDEN " " 34 - - EXOCHORDA GRANDIFLORA " " 35 - - PLAN OF THE HIDDEN GARDEN " " 35 - - EUPHORBIA WULFENII " " 36 - - IRISES AND LUPINES IN THE JUNE GARDEN " " 37 - - PART OF THE GARLAND ROSE AT THE ANGLE " " 39 - - ROSE BLUSH GALLICA ON DRY WALLING " " 42 - - SPANISH IRIS " " 43 - - PLAN OF THE JUNE GARDEN " " 44 - - PLAN OF IRIS AND LUPINE BORDERS " " 44 - - WHITE TREE LUPINE " " 46 - - CATMINT IN JUNE " " 47 - - SCOTCH BRIARS " " 48 - - GERANIUM IBERICUM PLATYPHYLLUM " " 49 - - THE FLOWER BORDER IN LATE SUMMER " " 50 - - THE CROSS WALK " " 51 - - THE EAST END OF THE FLOWER BORDER " " 52 - - PLAN OF THE MAIN FLOWER BORDER " " 53 - - GOOD STAKING--CAMPANULA PERSICIFOLIA " " 54 - - CAREFUL STAKING OF MICHAELMAS DAISIES " " 55 - - WHITE ROSE LA GUIRLANDE; GREY BORDERS - BEYOND " " 60 - - CLEMATIS RECTA " " 61 - - DELPHINIUM BELLADONNA " " 62 - - CANTERBURY BELLS " " 63 - - ROSE THE GARLAND IN A SILVER HOLLY " " 64 - - ERYNGIUM OLIVERIANUM " " 65 - - TALL CAMPANULAS IN A GREY BORDER " " 66 - - YUCCA FILAMENTOSA " " 70 - - THE GREY BORDERS: STACHYS, &C. " " 71 - - A LAVENDER HEDGE " " 74 - - ÆSCULUS AND OLEARIA " " 75 - - PLAN OF GARDEN OF CHINA ASTERS " " 77 - - SOME OF THE EARLY ASTERS " " 78 - - THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN " " 79 - - THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN " " 80 - - THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN " " 80 - - BEGONIAS WITH MEGASEA FOLIAGE " " 80 - - EARLY ASTERS AND PYRETHRUM ULIGINOSUM " " 81 - - PLAN OF SEPTEMBER BORDERS " " 81 - - GARLAND ROSE, WHERE GARDEN JOINS WOOD " " 84 - - POLYGONUM AND MEGASEA AT A WOOD EDGE " " 84 - - LILIES AND FUNKIAS AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE " " 84 - - OLEARIA GUNNI, FERN AND FUNKIA " " 85 - - FERNS AND LILIES AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE " " 86 - - GYPSOPHILA AND MEGASEA " " 87 - - LILIES AND FERNS AT THE WOOD EDGE " " 88 - - SMALL WIRE-STEMMED ASTER; SECOND YEAR " " 88 - - SMALL WIRE-STEMMED ASTER; THIRD YEAR " " 88 - - STOBÆA PURPUREA " " 89 - - THE GREY BORDERS: GYPSOPHILA, - ECHINOPS, &C. " " 92 - - OCTOBER BORDERS OF MICHAELMAS DAISIES " " 92 - - A SEPTEMBER GREY GARDEN " " 92 - - THE GREY BORDER: PINK HOLLYHOCK, &C. " " 93 - - PLANS OF SPECIAL COLOUR GARDENS " " 93 - - A DETAIL OF THE GREY SEPTEMBER GARDEN " " 100 - - YUCCAS AND GREY FOLIAGE " " 102 - - A FRONT EDGE OF GREY FOLIAGE " " 103 - - HARDY GRAPE VINE ON SOUTH SIDE OF HOUSE " " 106 - - HARDY GRAPE VINE ON HOUSE WALL " " 107 - - VINE AND FIG AT DOOR OF MUSHROOM HOUSE " " 108 - - CLEMATIS MONTANA AT ANGLE OF COURT " " 108 - - CLEMATIS MONTANA OVER WORKSHOP WINDOW " " 108 - - CLEMATIS MONTANA TRAINED AS GARLANDS " " 108 - - CLEMATIS FLAMMULA AND SPIRÆA LINDLEYANA " " 108 - - ABUTILON VITIFOLIUM " " 108 - - IPOMŒA "HEAVENLY BLUE" " " 108 - - SOLANUM JASMINOIDES " " 108 - - CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON ANGLE OF COTTAGE " " 108 - - CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON COTTAGE " " 109 - - CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON A WOODEN FENCE " " 110 - - SWEET VERBENA " " 111 - - POT PLANTS JUST PLACED " " 112 - - PLANTS IN POTS IN THE SHADED COURT " " 112 - - MAIDEN'S WREATH (FRANCOA RAMOSA) " " 112 - - MAIDEN'S WREATH BY TANK " " 113 - - GERANIUMS, &C., IN A STONE-EDGED BED " " 116 - - MAIDEN'S WREATH IN POTS ABOVE TANK " " 116 - - FUNKIA, HYDRANGEA AND LILY IN THE SHADED - COURT " " 116 - - FUNKIA AND LILIUM SPECIOSUM " " 117 - - LILIUM AURATUM " " 120 - - A TUB HYDRANGEA " " 120 - - STEPS AND HYDRANGEAS " " 120 - - THE NARROW SOUTH LAWN " " 121 - - HYDRANGEA TUBS AND BIRCH-TREE SEAT " " 124 - - HYDRANGEA TUBS AND NUT WALK " " 124 - - WHITE LILIES " " 124 - - THE STEPS AND THEIR INCIDENTS " " 125 - - PLAN--THE BEAUTIFUL FRUIT GARDEN " " 129 - - PLAN--A WILD HEATH GARDEN " " 139 - - - - -COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN - - - - -CHAPTER I - -A MARCH STUDY AND THE BORDER OF EARLY BULBS - - -There comes a day towards the end of March when there is but little -wind, and that is from the west or even south-west. The sun has gained -much power, so that it is pleasant to sit out in the garden, or, better -still, in some sunny nook of sheltered woodland. There is such a place -among silver-trunked Birches, with here and there the splendid richness -of masses of dark Holly. The rest of the background above eye-level -is of the warm bud-colour of the summer-leafing trees, and, below, -the fading rust of the now nearly flattened fronds of last year's -Bracken, and the still paler drifts of leaves from neighbouring Oaks -and Chestnuts. The sunlight strikes brightly on the silver stems of the -Birches, and casts their shadows clear-cut across the grassy woodland -ride. The grass is barely green as yet, but has the faint winter green -of herbage not yet grown and still powdered with the short remnants -of the fine-leaved, last-year-mown heath grasses. Brown leaves still -hang on young Beech and Oak. The trunks of the Spanish Chestnuts are -elephant-grey, a notable contrast to the sudden, vivid shafts of the -Birches. Some groups of the pale early Pyrenean Daffodil gleam level on -the ground a little way forward. - -It is the year's first complete picture of flower-effect in the -woodland landscape. The place is not very far from the house, in the -nearest hundred yards of the copse; where flowers seem to be more in -place than further away. Looking to the left, the long ridge and south -slope of the house-roof is seen through the leafless trees, though the -main wall-block is hidden by the sheltering Hollies and Junipers. - -Coming down towards the garden by another broad grassy way, that goes -westward through the Chestnuts and then turns towards the down-hill -north, there comes yet another deviation through Rhododendrons and -Birches to the main lawn. But before the last turn there is a pleasant -mass of colour showing in the wood-edge on the dead-leaf carpet. It -is a straggling group of _Daphne Mezereon_, with some clumps of red -Lent Hellebores, and, to the front, some half-connected patches of the -common Dog-tooth Violet. The nearly related combination of colour is a -delight to the trained colour-eye. There is nothing brilliant; it is -all restrained, refined, in harmony with the veiled light that reaches -the flowers through the great clumps of Hollies and tall half-overhead -Chestnuts and neighbouring Beech. The colours are all a little "sad," -as the old writers so aptly say of the flower-tints of secondary -strength. But it is a perfect picture. One comes to it again and again -as one does to any picture that is good to live with. - -To devise these living pictures with simple well-known flowers seems -to me the best thing to do in gardening. Whether it is the putting -together of two or three kinds of plants, or even of one kind only in -some happy setting, or whether it is the ordering of a much larger -number of plants, as in a flower-border of middle and late summer, the -intention is always the same. Whether the arrangement is simple and -modest, whether it is obvious or whether it is subtle, whether it is -bold and gorgeous, the aim is always to use the plants to the best of -one's means and intelligence so as to form pictures of living beauty. - -It is a thing that I see so rarely attempted, and that seems to me so -important, that the wish to suggest it to others, and to give an idea -of examples that I have worked out, in however modest a way, is the -purpose of this book. - -These early examples within the days of March are of special interest -because as yet flowers are but few; the mind is less distracted by -much variety than later in the year, and is more readily concentrated -on the few things that may be done and observed; so that the necessary -restriction is a good preparation, by easy steps, for the wider field -of observation that is presented later. - -Now we pass on through the dark masses of Rhododendron and the Birches -that shoot up among them. How the silver stems, blotched and banded -with varied browns and greys so deep in tone that they show like a -luminous black, tell among the glossy Rhododendron green; and how -strangely different is the way of growth of the two kinds of tree; -the tall white trunks spearing up through the dense, dark, leathery -leaf-masses of solid, roundish outline, with their delicate network of -reddish branch and spray gently swaying far overhead! - -Now we come to the lawn, which slopes a little downward to the north. -On the right it has a low retaining-wall, whose top line is level; -it bears up a border and pathway next the house's western face. The -border and wall are all of a piece, for it is a dry wall partly planted -with the same shrubby and half-shrubby things that are in the earth -above. They have been comforting to look at all the winter; a pleasant -grey coating of Phlomis, Lavender, Rosemary, Cistus and Santolina; -and at the end and angle where the wall is highest, a mass of _Pyrus -japonica_, planted both above and below, already showing its rose-red -bloom. At one point at the foot of the wall is a strong tuft of _Iris -stylosa_ whose first blooms appeared in November. This capital plant -flowers bravely all through the winter in any intervals of open -weather. It likes a sunny place against a wall in poor soil. If it is -planted in better ground the leaves grow very tall and it gives but -little bloom. - -[Illustration: _IRIS STYLOSA._] - -Now we pass among some shrub-clumps, and at the end come upon a -cheering sight; a tree of _Magnolia conspicua_ bearing hundreds of -its great white cups of fragrant bloom. Just before reaching it, and -taking part with it in the garden picture, are some tall bushes of -_Forsythia suspensa_, tossing out many-feet-long branches loaded with -their burden of clear yellow flowers. They are ten to twelve feet high, -and one looks up at much of the bloom clear-cut against the pure -blue of the sky; the upper part of the Magnolia also shows against the -sky. Here there is a third flower-picture; this time of warm white -and finest yellow on brilliant blue, and out in open sunlight. Among -the Forsythias is also a large bush of _Magnolia stellata_, whose -milk-white flowers may be counted by the thousand. As the earlier _M. -conspicua_ goes out of bloom it comes into full bearing, keeping pace -with the Forsythia, whose season runs on well into April. - -[Illustration: _MAGNOLIA CONSPICUA._] - -It is always a little difficult to find suitable places for the early -bulbs. Many of them can be enjoyed in rough and grassy places, but we -also want to combine them into pretty living pictures in the garden -proper. - -Nothing seems to me more unsatisfactory than the usual way of having -them scattered about in small patches in the edges of flower-borders, -where they only show as little disconnected dabs of colour, and where -they are necessarily in danger of disturbance and probable injury when -their foliage has died down and their places are wanted for summer -flowers. - -It was a puzzle for many years to know how to treat these early bulbs, -but at last a plan was devised that seems so satisfactory that I have -no hesitation in advising it for general adoption. - -On the further side of a path that bounds my June garden is a border -about seventy feet long and ten feet wide. At every ten feet along -the back is a larch post planted with a free-growing Rose. These are -not only to clothe their posts but are to grow into garlands swinging -on slack chains from post to post. Beyond are Bamboos, and then an -old hedge-bank with Scotch Firs, Oaks, Thorns, &c. The border slopes -upwards from the path, forming a bank of gentle ascent. It was first -planted with hardy Ferns in bold drifts; Male Fern for the most part, -because it is not only handsome but extremely persistent; the fronds -remaining green into the winter. The Fern-spaces are shown in the plan -by diagonal hatching; between them come the bulbs, with a general -edging to the front of mossy Saxifrage. - -The colour-scheme begins with the pink of _Megasea ligulata_, and with -the lower-toned pinks of _Fumaria bulbosa_ and the Dog-tooth Violets -(_Erythronium_). At the back of these are Lent Hellebores of dull red -colouring, agreeing charmingly with the colour of the bulbs. A few -white Lent Hellebores are at the end; they have turned to greenish -white by the time the rather late _Scilla amœna_ is in bloom. Then -comes a brilliant patch of pure blue with white--_Scilla sibirica_ and -white Hyacinths, followed by the also pure blues of _Scilla bifolia_ -and _Chionodoxa_ and the later, more purple-blue of Grape Hyacinth. -A long drift of white Crocus comes next, in beauty in the border's -earliest days; and later, the blue-white of _Puschkinia_; then again -pure blue and white of _Chionodoxa_ and white Hyacinth. - -Now the colours change to white and yellow and golden foliage, with -the pretty little pale trumpet Daffodil Consul Crawford, and beyond it -the stronger yellow of two other small early kinds--_N. nanus_ and the -charming little _N. minor_, quite distinct though so often confounded -with _nanus_ in gardens. With these, and in other strips and patches -towards the end of the border, are plantings of the Golden Valerian, -so useful for its bright yellow foliage quite early in the year. The -leaves of the Orange Day-lily are also of a pale yellowish green colour -when they first come up, and are used at the end of the border. These -plants of golden and pale foliage are also placed in a further region -beyond the plan, and show to great advantage as the eye enfilades -the border and reaches the more distant places. Before the end of -the bulb-border is reached there is once more a drift of harmonised -faint pink colouring of _Megasea_ and the little _Fumaria_ (also known -as _Corydalis bulbosa_) with the pale early Pyrenean Daffodil, _N. -pallidus præcox_. - -The bulb-flowers are not all in bloom exactly at the same time, but -there is enough of the colour intended to give the right effect in each -grouping. Standing at the end, just beyond the Dog-tooth Violets, the -arrangement and progression of colour is pleasant and interesting, and -in some portions vivid; the pure blues in the middle spaces being much -enhanced by the yellow flowers and golden foliage that follow. - -Through April and May the leaves of the bulbs are growing tall, and -their seed-pods are carefully removed to prevent exhaustion. By the -end of May the Ferns are throwing up their leafy crooks; by June the -feathery fronds are displayed in all their tender freshness; they -spread over the whole bank, and we forget that there are any bulbs -between. By the time the June garden, whose western boundary it forms, -has come into fullest bloom it has become a completely furnished bank -of Fern-beauty. - -[Illustration: _MAGNOLIA STELLATA._] - -[Illustration: _FERNS IN THE BULB BORDER._] - -[Illustration: _THE BANK OF EARLY BULBS._] - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE WOOD - - -Ten acres is but a small area for a bit of woodland, yet it can be made -apparently much larger by well-considered treatment. As the years pass -and the different portions answer to careful guidance, I am myself -surprised to see the number and wonderful variety of the pictures of -sylvan beauty that it displays throughout the year. I did not specially -aim at variety, but, guided by the natural conditions of each region, -tried to think out how best they might be fostered and perhaps a little -bettered. - -The only way in which variety of aspect was deliberately chosen was in -the way of thinning out the natural growths. It was a wood of seedling -trees that had come up naturally after an old wood of Scotch Fir had -been cut down, and it seemed well to clear away all but one, or in -some cases two kinds of trees in the several regions. Even in this the -intention was to secure simplicity rather than variety, so that in -moving about the ground there should be one thing at a time to see and -enjoy. It is just this quality of singleness or simplicity of aim that -I find wanting in gardens in general, where one may see quantities of -the best plants grandly grown and yet no garden pictures. - -Of course one has to remember that there are many minds to which this -need of an artist's treatment of garden and woodland does not appeal, -just as there are some who do not care for music or for poetry, or -who see no difference between the sculpture of the old Greeks and -that of any modern artist who is not of the first rank, or to whom -architectural refinement is as an unknown language. And in the case of -the more superficial enjoyment of flowers one has sympathy too. For -a love of flowers, of any kind, however shallow, is a sentiment that -makes for human sympathy and kindness, and is in itself uplifting, as -everything must be that is a source of reverence and admiration. Still, -the object of this book is to draw attention, however slightly and -imperfectly, to the better ways of gardening, and to bring to bear upon -the subject some consideration of that combination of common sense, -sense of beauty and artistic knowledge that can make plain ground and -growing things into a year-long succession of living pictures. Common -sense I put first, because it restrains from any sort of folly or sham -or affectation. Sense of beauty is the gift of God, for which those -who have received it in good measure can never be thankful enough. -The nurturing of this gift through long years of study, observation, -and close application in any one of the ways in which fine art finds -expression is the training of the artist's brain and heart and hand. -The better a human mind is trained to the perception of beauty the more -opportunities will it find of exercising this precious gift and the -more directly will it be brought to bear upon even the very simplest -matters of everyday life, and always to their bettering. - -So it was in the wood of young seedling trees, where Oak and Holly, -Birch, Beech and Mountain Ash, came up together in a close thicket of -young saplings. It seemed well to consider, in the first place, how to -bring something like order into the mixed jumble, and, the better to do -this, to appeal to the little trees themselves and see what they had to -say about it. - -The ground runs on a natural slope downward to the north, or, to be -more exact, as the highest point is at one corner, its surface is -tilted diagonally all over. So, beginning at the lower end of the -woody growth, near the place where the house some day might stand, the -first thing that appeared was a well-grown Holly, and rather near it, -another; both older trees than the more recent seedling growth. Close -to the second Holly was a young Birch, the trunk about four inches -thick and already in the early pride of its silvering bark. That was -enough to prompt the decision that this part of the wood should be of -silver Birch and Holly, so nearly all other growths were cut down or -pulled up. A hundred yards higher up there were some strong young Oaks, -then some Beeches, and, all over the top of the ground a thick growth -of young Scotch Fir, while the western region had a good sprinkling of -promising Spanish Chestnut. - -[Illustration: _DAFFODILS BY A WOODLAND PATH._] - -[Illustration: _WILD PRIMROSES IN THIN WOODLAND._ (_From a Picture by -Henry Moon._)] - -All these natural groupings were accepted, and a first thinning was -made of the smallest stuff of other kinds. But it was done with the -most careful watching, for there were to be no harsh frontiers. One -kind of tree was to join hands with the next, and often a distinct -deviation was made to the general rule. For the beautiful growth of the -future wood was the thing that mattered, rather than obedience to any -inflexible law. - -Now, after twenty years, the saplings have become trees and the -preponderance of one kind of tree at a time has given a feeling of -repose and dignity. Here and there something exceptional occurs, but -it causes interest, not confusion. Five woodland walks pass upward -through the trees; every one has its own character, while its details -change during the progress--never abruptly but in leisurely sequence; -as if inviting the quiet stroller to stop a moment to enjoy some -little woodland suavity, and then gently enticing him to go further, -with agreeable anticipation of what may come next. And if I may judge -by the pleasure that these woodland ways give to some of my friends -that I know are in sympathy with what I am trying to do, and by my own -thankful delight in them, I may take it that my little sylvan pictures -have come fairly right, so that I may ask my reader to go with me in -spirit through some of them. - -My house, a big cottage, stands facing a little to the east of south, -just below the wood. The windows of the sitting-room and its outer -door, which stands open in all fine summer weather, look up a straight -wide grassy way, the vista being ended by a fine old Scotch Fir with -a background of dark wood. This old Fir and one other, and a number -in and near the southern hedge, are all that remain of the older wood -which was all of Scotch Fir. - -This green wood walk, being the widest and most important, is treated -more boldly than the others--with groups of Rhododendrons in the region -rather near the house, and for the rest only a biggish patch of the -two North American Brambles, the white-flowered _Rubus nutkanus_, and -the rosy _R. odoratus_. In spring the western region of tall Spanish -Chestnuts, which begins just beyond the Rhododendrons, is carpeted with -Poets' Narcissus; the note of tender white blossom being taken up and -repeated by the bloom-clouds of _Amelanchier_, that charming little -woodland flowering tree whose use in such ways is so much neglected. -Close to the ground in the distance the light comes with brilliant -effect through the young leaves of a wide-spread carpet of Lily of the -Valley, whose clusters of sweet little white bells will be a delight to -see a month hence. - -The Rhododendrons are carefully grouped for colour--pink, white, rose -and red of the best qualities are in the sunniest part, while, kept -well apart from them, near the tall Chestnuts and rejoicing in their -partial shade, are the purple colourings, of as pure and cool a purple -as may be found among carefully selected _ponticum_ seedlings and the -few named kinds that associate well with them. Some details of this -planting were given at length in my former book "Wood and Garden." - -[Illustration: _THE WIDE WOOD-PATH._] - -[Illustration: _CISTUS LAURIFOLIUS AT THE SUNNY ENTRANCE OF THE FERN -WALK._] - -Among the Rhododendrons, at points carefully devised to be of good -effect, either from the house or from various points of the lawn and -grass paths, are strong groups of _Lilium auratum_; they give a new -picture of flower-beauty in the late summer and autumn and till near -the end of October. The dark, strong foliage makes the best possible -setting for the Lilies, and gives each group of them its fullest value. -Another, narrower path, more to the east, is called the Fern walk, -because, besides the general growth of Bracken that clothes the whole -of the wood, there are groups of common hardy Ferns in easy patches, -planted in such a way as to suggest that they grew there naturally. The -Male Fern, the beautiful Dilated Shield Fern, and Polypody are native -to the ground, and it was easy to place these, in some cases merely -adding to a naturally grown tuft, so that they look quite at home. -Lady Fern, _Blechnum_ and _Osmunda_, and Oak and Beech Ferns have been -added, the _Osmunda_ in a depression that collects the water from any -storms of rain. - -At the beginning of all these paths I took some pains to make the -garden melt imperceptibly into the wood, and in each case to do it a -different way. Where this path begins the lawn ends at a group of Oak, -Holly and Cistus, with an undergrowth of Gaultheria and Andromeda. -The larger trees are to the left and the small evergreen shrubs on a -rocky mound to the right. Within a few yards the turf path becomes a -true wood path. Just as wild gardening should never look like garden -gardening, or, as it so sadly often does, like garden plants gone -astray and quite out of place, so wood paths should never look like -garden paths. There must be no hard edges, no conscious boundaries. The -wood path is merely an easy way that the eye just perceives and the -foot follows. It dies away imperceptibly on either side into the floor -of the wood and is of exactly the same nature, only that it is smooth -and easy and is not encumbered by projecting tree-roots, Bracken or -Bramble, these being all removed when the path is made. - -If it is open enough to allow of the growth of grass, and the grass has -to be cut, and is cut with a machine, then a man with a faghook must -follow to cut away slantingly the hard edge of standing grass that is -left on each side. For the track of the machine not only leaves the -hard, unlovely edges, but also brings into the wood the incongruous -sentiment of that discipline of trimness which belongs to the garden, -and that, even there in its own place, is often overdone. - -Now we are in the true wood-path among Oaks and Birches. Looking round, -the view is here and there stopped by prosperous-looking Hollies, -but for the most part one can see a fair way into the wood. In April -the wood-floor is plentifully furnished with Daffodils. Here, in the -region furthest removed from the white Poets' Daffodil of the upper -ground, they are all of trumpet kinds, and the greater number of strong -yellow colour. For the Daffodils range through the wood in a regular -sequence of kinds that is not only the prettiest way to have them, but -that I have often found, in the case of people who did not know their -Daffodils well, served to make the whole story of their general kinds -and relationships clear and plain; the hybrids of each group standing -between the parent kinds; these again leading through other hybrids -to further clearly defined species, ending with the pure trumpets. As -the sorts are intergrouped at their edges, so that at least two removes -are in view at one time, the lesson in the general relationship of -kinds is easily learnt. - -[Illustration: _A WOOD-PATH AMONG CHESTNUTS._] - -[Illustration: _A WOOD-PATH AMONG BIRCHES._] - -They are planted, not in patches but in long drifts, a way that not -only shows the plant in good number to better advantage, but that is -singularly happy in its effect in the woodland landscape. This is -specially noticeable towards the close of the day, when the sunlight, -yellowing as it nears the horizon, lights up the long stretches -of yellow bloom with an increase of colour strength, while the -wide-stretching shadow-lengths throw the woodland shades into large -_phrases_ of broadened mass, all subdued and harmonised by the same -yellow light that illuminates the long level ranks of golden bloom. - -From this same walk in June, looking westward through the Birch stems, -the value of the careful colour-scheme of the Rhododendrons is fully -felt. They are about a hundred yards away, and their mass is broken -by the groups of intervening tree-trunks, but their brightness is all -the more apparent seen from under the nearer roofing mass of tree-top, -and the yellowing light makes the intended colour-effect still more -successful by throwing its warm tone over the whole. - -But nearer at hand the Fern walk has its own little pictures. In early -summer there are patches of _Trillium_, the white Wood Lily, in cool -hollows among the ferns, and, some twenty paces further up, another -wider group of the same. Between the two, spreading through a mossy -bank, in and out among the ferns and right down to the path, next to -a coming patch of Oak Fern, is a charming little white flower. Its -rambling roots thread their way under the mossy carpet, and every few -inches throw up a neat little stem and leaves crowned with a starry -flower of tenderest white. It is _Trientalis_, a native of our most -northern hill-woods, the daintiest of all woodland flowers. - -To right and left white Foxgloves spire up among the Bracken. When the -Foxglove-seed is ripe, we remember places in the wood where tree-stumps -were grubbed last winter. A little of the seed is scattered in these -places and raked in. Meanwhile one forgets all about it till two years -afterwards there are the stately Foxgloves. It is good to see their -strong spikes of solid bloom standing six to seven feet high, and -then to look down again at the lowly _Trientalis_ and to note how the -tender little blossom, poised on its thread-like stem, holds its own in -interest and importance. - -[Illustration: _CISTUS CYPRIUS IN THE CISTUS CLEARING._] - -[Illustration: _CISTUS BY THE WOOD-PATH._] - -Further up the Fern walk, near the upper group of _Trillium_, are some -patches of a plant with roundish, glittering leaves. It is a North -American _Asarum_ (_A. virginicum_); the curious wax-like brown and -greenish flower, after the usual manner of its kind, is short-stalked -and hidden at the base of the leaf-stems. Near it, and growing -close to the ground in a tuft of dark-green moss, is an interesting -plant--_Goodyera repens_, a terrestrial Orchid. One might easily -pass it by, for its curiously white-veined leaves are half hidden -in the moss, and its spike of pale greenish white flower is not -conspicuous; but, knowing it is there, I never pass without kneeling -down, both to admire its beauty and to ensure its well-being by a -careful removal of a little of the deep moss here and there where it -threatens too close an invasion. - -Now there comes a break in the Fern walk, or rather it takes another -character. The end of one of the wide green ways that we call the Lily -path comes into it on the right, and, immediately beyond this, stands -the second of the great Scotch Firs of the older wood. The trunk, at -five feet from the ground, has a girth of nine and a half feet. The -colour of the rugged bark is a wonder of lovely tones of cool greys -and greens, and of a luminous deep brown in the fissures and cavities. -Where the outer layers have flaked off it is a warm reddish grey, of a -quality that is almost peculiar to itself. This great tree's storm-rent -head towers up some seventy feet, far above the surrounding foliage of -Oak and Birch. Close to its foot, and showing behind it as one comes up -the Fern walk, are a Holly and a Mountain Ash. - -This spot is a meeting-place of several ways. On the right the -wide green of the Lily path; then, still bearing diagonally to the -right, one of the ways into the region of Azalia and Cistus; then, -straight past the big tree, a wood walk carpeted with Whortleberry -and passing through a whole Whortleberry region under Oaks, Hollies -and Beeches, and, lastly, the path which is the continuation of the -Fern walk. Looking along it one sees, a little way ahead, a closer -shade of trees, for the most part Oak, but before entering this, on -the right-hand gently rising bank, is a sheet of bright green leaves, -closely set in May with neat spikes of white bloom. It is _Smilacina -bifolia_, otherwise known as _Maianthemum bifolium_. The pretty little -plant has taken to the place in a way that rejoices the heart of the -wild gardener, joining in perfect accord with the natural growth of -short Whortleberry and a background of the graceful fronds of Dilated -Shield Fern, and looking as if it was of spontaneous growth. - -Now the path passes a large Holly, laced through and through with wild -Honeysuckle. The Honeysuckle stems that run up into the tree look like -great ropes, and a quantity of the small ends come showering out of the -tree-top and over the path, like a tangled veil of small cordage. - -The path has been steadily rising, and now the ascent is a little -steeper. The character of the trees is changing; Oaks are giving way to -Scotch Firs. Just where this change begins the bank to right and left -is covered with the fresh, strong greenery of _Gaultheria Shallon_. -About twenty years ago a few small pieces were planted. Now it is a -mass of close green growth two to three feet high and thirty paces -long, and extending for several yards into the wood to right and left. -In a light, peaty soil such as this, it is the best of undershrubs. It -is in full leaf-beauty in the dead of winter, while in early summer it -bears clusters of good flowers of the Arbutus type. These are followed -by handsome dark berries nearly as large as black currants, covered -with a blue-grey bloom. - -[Illustration: _GAULTHERIA SHALLON IN FLOWER._] - -[Illustration: _GAULTHERIA SHALLON IN FRUIT._] - -Now the path crosses another of the broad turfy ways, but here the -turf is all of Heath; a fourteen-foot wide road of grey-rosy bloom -in August; and now we are in the topmost region of Scotch Fir, with -undergrowth of Whortleberry. - -The wood path next to this goes nearly straight up through the middle -of the ground. It begins at another point of the small lawn next -the house, and passes first by a turf walk through a mounded region -of small shrubs and carefully placed pieces of the local sandstone. -Andromeda, Skimmia, and Alpenrose have grown into solid masses, so that -the rocky ridges peer out only here and there. And when my friends -say, "But then, what a chance you had with that shelf of rock coming -naturally out of the ground," I feel the glowing warmth of an inward -smile and think that perhaps the stones have not been so badly placed. - -Near the middle of the woody ground a space was cleared that would -be large enough to be sunny throughout the greater part of the day. -This was for Cistuses. It is one of the compensations for gardening on -the poorest of soils that these delightful shrubs do well with only -the preparation of digging up and loosening the sand, for my soil is -nothing better. The kinds that are best in the woody landscape are _C. -laurifolius_ and _C. cyprius_; _laurifolius_ is the hardiest, _cyprius_ -rather the more beautiful, with its three-and-a-half-inch wide flowers -of tenderest white with a red-purple blotch at the base of each petal. -Its growth, also, is rather more free and graceful. It is the kind -usually sold as _ladaniferus_, and flowers in July. _C. laurifolius_ is -a bush of rather denser habit; it bears an abundance of bloom rather -smaller than that of _C. cyprius_, and without the coloured blotch. -But when it grows old and some of its stems are borne down and lie -along the ground, the habit changes and it acquires a free pictorial -character. These two large-growing Cistuses are admirable for wild -planting in sunny wood edges. The illustrations (pp. 16, 17) show their -use, not only in their own ground, but by the sides of the grassy ways -and the regions where the wood paths leave the lawn. - -The sheltered, sunny Cistus clearing has an undergrowth of wild heaths -that are native to the ground, but a very few other Heaths are added, -namely, _Erica ciliata_ and the Cornish Heath; and there is a fine -patch at the joining of two of the little grassy paths of the white -form of the Irish Heath (_Menziesia polifolia_). - -[Illustration: _WHITE IRISH HEATH._] - -[Illustration: _THE SPRING GARDEN FROM_ =D= _ON PLAN. "NEAR ROCK" IS TO -THE LEFT._] - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE SPRING GARDEN - - -As my garden falls naturally into various portions, distinct enough -from each other to allow of separate treatment, I have found it well to -devote one space at a time, sometimes mainly, sometimes entirely, to -the flowers of one season of the year. - -There is therefore one portion that is a complete little garden of -spring flowers. It begins to show some bloom by the end of March, but -its proper season is the month of April and three weeks of May. - -In many places the spring garden has to give way to the summer garden, -a plan that greatly restricts the choice of plants, and necessarily -excludes some of the finest flowers of the early year. - -My spring garden lies at the end and back of a high wall that shelters -the big summer flower border from the north and north-west winds. The -line of the wall is continued as a Yew hedge that in time will rise -to nearly the same height, about eleven feet. At the far end the Yew -hedge returns to the left so as to fence in the spring flowers from the -east and to hide some sheds. The space also encloses some beds of Tree -Peonies and a plot of grass, roughly circular in shape, about eight -yards across, which is nearly surrounded by Oaks, Hollies and Cobnuts. -The plan shows its disposition. It is of no design; the space was -accepted with its own conditions, arranged in the simplest way as to -paths, and treated very carefully for colour. It really makes as pretty -a picture of spring flowers as one could wish to see. - -The chief mass of colour is in the main border. The circles marked V -and M are strong plants of Veratrum and Myrrhis. Gardens of spring -flowers generally have a thin, poor effect for want of plants -of important foliage. The greater number of them look what they -are--temporary makeshifts. It seemed important that in this little -space, which is given almost entirely to spring flowers, this weakness -should not be allowed. But herbaceous plants of rather large growth -with fine foliage in April and May are not many. The best I could think -of are _Veratrum nigrum_, _Myrrhis odorata_ and the newer _Euphorbia -Wulfenii_. The _Myrrhis_ is the Sweet Cicely of old English gardens. -It is an umbelliferous plant with large fern-like foliage, that makes -early growth and flowers in the beginning of May. At three years old a -well-grown plant is a yard high and across. After that, if the plants -are not replaced by young ones they grow too large, though they can be -kept in check by a careful removal of the outer leaves and by cutting -out some whole crowns when the plant is making its first growth. The -Veratrum, with its large, deeply plaited, undivided leaves is in -striking contrast, but the two kinds of plants, in groups as the plan -shows, with running patches of the large form of _Megasea cordifolia_, -the great _Euphorbia Wulfenii_ and some groups of Black Hellebore, -just give that comfortable impression of permanence and distinct -intention that are usually so lamentably absent from gardens of spring -flowers. - -[Illustration: _PLAN OF THE SPRING GARDEN._] - -Many years ago I came to the conclusion that in all flower borders -it is better to plant in long rather than block-shaped patches. It -not only has a more pictorial effect, but a thin long planting does -not leave an unsightly empty space when the flowers are done and the -leaves have perhaps died down. The word "drift" conveniently describes -the shape I have in mind and I commonly use it in speaking of these -long-shaped plantings. - -Such drifts are shown faintly in the plan, reduced in number and -simplified in form, but serving to show the general manner of planting. -There are of course many plants that look best in a distinct clump or -even as single examples, such as _Dictamnus_ (the Burning Bush), and -the beautiful pale yellow _Pæonia wittmanniana_, a single plant of -which is marked W near the beginning of the main border. - -For the first seven or eight yards, in the front and middle spaces, -there are plants of tender colouring--pale Primroses, Tiarella, pale -yellow Daffodils, pale yellow early Iris, pale lemon Wallflower, double -Arabis, white Anemones and the palest of the lilac Aubrietias; also a -beautiful pale lilac Iris, one of the Caparne hybrids; with long drifts -of white and pale yellow Tulips--nothing deeper in colour than the -graceful _Tulipa retroflexa_. At the back of the border the colours are -darker; purple Wallflower and the great dull red-purple double Tulip -so absurdly called Bleu Celeste. These run through and among and behind -the first clump of Veratrums. - -[Illustration: _THE FERN-LIKE SWEET CICELY._] - -[Illustration: _THE SPRING GARDEN FROM_ =E= _ON PLAN. "FURTHER ROCK" IS -ON THE NEAR RIGHT HAND._] - -In the middle of the length of the border there is still a good -proportion of tender and light colouring in front: white Primroses and -Daffodils; the pale yellow Uvularia and _Adonis vernalis_; but with -these there are stronger colours. Tulip Chrysolora of fuller yellow, -yellow Wallflowers, the tall Doronicum, and, towards the back, several -patches of yellow Crown Imperial. - -Then again in front, with more double Arabis, is the lovely pale blue -of _Myosotis dissitiflora_ and _Mertensia virginica_, and, with sheets -of the foam-like Tiarella, the tender pink of _Dicentra eximia_ and -pink and rose-red Tulips. At the back of this come scarlet Tulips, the -stately cream-white form of _Camassia Leichtlini_ and a bold tuft of -Solomon's Seal; then Orange Tulips, brown Wallflowers, Orange Crown -Imperial, and taller scarlet Tulips of the _gesneriana_ class. The -strong colouring is repeated beyond the cross-path where the patches -of Acanthus are shown, with more orange Tulips, brown Wallflowers, -orange Crown Imperial and great flaming scarlet _gesneriana_ Tulips. -All this shows up finely against the background of dark yew. At the -extreme end, where the yew hedge returns forward at a right angle, this -point is accentuated by a raised mound of triangular shape, dry-walled -and slightly curved forward on the side facing the border and the -spectator. On this at the back is a young plant of _Yucca gloriosa_ -for display in future years and a front planting of the large growing -_Euphorbia Wulfenii_, one of the grandest and most pictorial of plants -of recent acquirement for garden use. - -The Acanthus and Yucca are of course plants of middle and late summer; -between them are some Tritomas. These plants are here because one of -the most often used of the garden thoroughfares passes the point C, -which is a thick-roofed arch of Rose and Clematis, and, seen from this -point and framed by the near greenery, they form a striking picture of -middle-distant form and colour in the later summer. - -The space marked Further Rock is an upward-sloping bank; the Hollies -standing in rather higher ground. Here the plants are between, and -tumbling over, rocky ridges. Next the large Holly, and extending to -the middle of the rocky promontory, are again the strong reds and -browns, with accompanying bronze-red foliage of _Heuchera Richardsoni_. -This gives place to dark green carpeting masses of Iberis with -cold-white bloom, and, nearer the path, _Lithospermum prostratum_; -the flower-colour here changing, through white, to blue and bluish; -_Myosotis_ in front telling charmingly against the dark-leaved -_Lithospermum_. At the highest points, next to a great crowning -boulder, is the Common Blue Iris and a paler one of the beautiful -Caparne series. Then down to the path where it begins to turn is -a drift of the bluish lilac _Phlox divaricata_, and, opposite the -cross-path, some jewels of the newer pale yellow _Alyssum sulphureum_. -This rocky shoulder is also enlivened by a natural-looking but very -carefully considered planting of white Tulips that run through both the -blue and the red regions. - -The corner marked Near Rock is also a slightly raised bank. The dark -dots are cobnuts; the dotted line between is where there are garlands -of _Clematis montana_ that swing on ropes between the nuts. The -garlands dip down and nearly meet the flowers of some pale pink Tree -Peonies. Open spaces above the garlands and under the meeting branches -of the nuts give glimpses of distant points where some little scheme -has been devised to please the eye, such as the bit of bank to the -left of Seat A, where there are two little fish-like drifts of palest -Aubrietia in a dense grey setting of Cerastium. - -The point of the Near Rock next the path agrees with the colouring -opposite, but also has features of its own; a groundwork of grey -_Antennaria_, the soft lilac-pink of the good _Aubrietia Moorheimi_ -changing to the left to the fuller pink of _Phlox amœna_, and above -to the type colour of Aubrietia and the newer strong purples such as -the variety Dr. Mules. To the left, towards the oaks, the colouring is -mostly purple, with strong tufts of the Spring Bitter Vetch (_Orobus -vernus_), purple Wallflowers, and, under and behind the nuts, purple -Honesty. Thin streams of white Tulips intermingle with other streams of -pink Tulips that crown the angle and flow down again to the main path -between ridges of double Arabis, white Iberis, and cloudy masses of the -pretty pale yellow _Corydalis ochroleuca_, which spreads into a wide -carpet under the Tree Peonies and Clematis garlands. - -Further along, just clear of the nuts, are some patches of _Dielytra -spectabilis_, its graceful growth arching out over the lower stature -of pink Tulips and harmonising charmingly with the pinkish-green -foliage of the Tree Peonies just behind. The pink Tulips are here in -some quantity; they run boldly into pools of pale blue Myosotis, with -more Iberis where the picture demands the strongest, deepest green, and -more Corydalis where the softer, greyer tones will make it better. - -The space marked Shade, always in shade from the nuts and oaks, is -planted with rather large patches of the handsome white-flowered -_Dentaria_, the graceful North American _Uvularia grandiflora_, in -habit like a small Solomon's Seal but with yellow flowers much larger -in proportion; with Myrrhis and purple Honesty at the back and sheets -of Sweet Woodruff to the front. - -There are Tree Peonies in the long border and the two others. It is -difficult to grow them in my hot, dry, sandy soil, even though I make -them a liberal provision of just such a compost as I think they will -like. I have noticed that they do best when closely overshadowed by -some other growing thing. In the two near beds there are some Mme. -Alfred Carrière Roses that are trained to arch over to the angles, -so to comfort and encourage the Peonies. These beds have an informal -edging of _Stachys lanata_, one of the most useful of plants for grey -effects. Through it come white Tulips in irregular patches. - -[Illustration: _"FURTHER ROCK," FROM_ =G= _ON PLAN_.] - -[Illustration: _"FURTHER ROCK" FROM_ =H= _ON PLAN: IBERIS, PHLOX -STELLARIA AND PHLOX DIVARICATA, WHITE TULIPS AND BLUE IRIS_.] - -The long border has also Tree Peonies planted about two and a half -feet from the edge. Partly to give the bed a sort of backbone, and -partly to shelter the Tree Peonies, it has some bushes of _Veronica -Traversi_ and one or two _Leycesteria formosa_. In the middle of the -length is a clump of _Lilium giganteum_ and a biggish grouping of -_Dielytra spectabilis_. All along the outer border there are patches -and long straggling groups of the pretty dwarf Irises of the _pumila_, -_olbiensis_ and _chamæ-iris_ sections, with others of the same class -of stature and habit. Any bare spaces are filled with Wallflowers and -Honesty in colours that accord with the general arrangement. The narrow -border has mostly small shrubs, Berberis and so on, forming one mass -with the hedge to the left, which consists of a double dry wall about -four feet high, with earth between and a thick growth on the top of -Berberis, _Rosa lucida_ and Scotch Briers. Except the Berberis these -make no show of flower within the blooming time of the spring garden, -but the whole is excellent as a background. - -Red primroses are in the narrow border next to the cross-wall; the wall -here is much lower than the longer one on the right. The Primroses -are grouped with the reddish leaved _Heuchera Richardsoni_, the -two together making a rich colour-harmony. Beyond them are scarlet -Tulips. The small shaded rounds in this border and its continuation -across the path into the near end of the main border are stout -larch posts supporting a strong growth of Rose Mme. Alfred Carrière -and _Clematis montana_. These have grown together into a solid -continuously-intermingling mass, the path at C passing under a low arch -of their united branches. The high wall on the right is also covered -with flowering things of the early year, Morella Cherries, _Rubus -deliciosus_ and _Clematis montana_, some of this foaming over from the -other side of the wall. - -The wall is a part, about a third of the length, of the high wall that -protects the large border of summer and autumn flowers from the north, -and that forms the dividing-line between the pleasure garden proper and -the working garden beyond. - -On the plan are letters with arrows referring to the illustrations. -The letter is at the spot where the camera stood; the arrow points to -the middle of the picture. Thus the one taken from D shows two-thirds -of the longest path with the end of the big wall and the Yew hedge -that prolongs its line on the right and the Nut-trees on the left. The -colouring on the right is of pale purple Aubrietia and double white -Arabis, with pale Daffodils, and, at the back, groups of sulphur Crown -Imperial. - -The more distant colouring is of brown Wallflower and red Tulip and -the bright mahogany-coloured Crown Imperial. The picture from E is -done from among the reds and strong yellows and looks to point C, and -further, through the arch of Rose and Clematis, to the Peony garden -beyond. The other illustrations show groups of colouring more in -detail. The one from F looks at Near Rock from one side. Over the grey -Stachys and its milk-white Tulips is seen the flowery mass of pale and -deep lilac, and pinkish lilac with grey foliage, crowned with pink and -white Tulips near the foot of the Nuts. The picture from G looks at -the bit of bank called Further Rock with its big piece of sandstone -that looks as if it came naturally out of the ground. Here is a mass -of dead-white Iberis with Tulips of a softer white, then the lilac -white of _Phlox stellaria_ and the bluish lilac of _Phlox divaricata_. -The picture from H was done a few days later. It shows the further mass -of _Phlox divaricata_ more fully in bloom, and, among the white Tulips -above, a pretty pale lilac-blue hybrid Iris and some taller stems of -the common Blue Flag Iris just coming into blossom. This picture shows -the value of the dark Yew hedge as a background to the flowers. Just -at the back of the flowery bank are Hollies, and then the hedge. This -has not yet come to its full height and the top still shows a ragged -outline, but in two years' time it will have grown into shape. - -[Illustration: _"NEAR ROCK" FROM_ =F= _ON PLAN: AUBRIETIAS, PHLOX AMŒNA -AND WHITE AND PINK TULIP._] - -[Illustration: _THE PRIMROSE GARDEN._] - -The Primrose garden is in a separate place among Oaks and Hazels. It -is for my special strain of large yellow and white bunch Primroses, -now arrived at a state of fine quality and development by a system of -careful seed-selection that has been carried on for more than thirty -years. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -BETWEEN SPRING AND SUMMER - - -When the Spring flowers are done, and before the full June days come -with the great Flag Irises and the perennial Lupines, there is a kind -of mid-season. If it can be given a space of ground it will be well -bestowed. I have a place that I call the Hidden Garden, because it is -in a corner that might so easily be overlooked if one did not know -where to find it. No important path leads into it, though two pass -within ten yards of it on either side. It is in a sort of clearing -among Ilex and Holly, and the three small ways into it are devious and -scarcely noticeable from the outside. The most important of these, -marked 1 on the plan, passes between some clumps of overarching Bamboo -and through a short curved tunnel of Yew and Ilex. Another, marked 2, -is only just traceable among Berberis under a large Birch, and comes -sharply round a tall Monterey Cypress. The third turns out of one of -the shady woodland glades and comes into the little garden by some -rough stone steps. - -The plan shows the simple arrangement; the paths following the most -natural lines that the place suggests. The main path goes down some -shallow, rough stone steps with a sunny bank to the left and a rocky -mound to the right. The mound is crowned with small shrubs, Alpine -Rhododendrons and Andromeda. Both this and the left-hand bank have a -few courses of rough dry-walling next the path on its lowest level. A -little cross-path curves into the main one from the right. - -[Illustration: _STEPS TO THE HIDDEN GARDEN AT_ =3= _ON PLAN._] - -[Illustration: _PHLOX DIVARICATA AND ARENARIA MONTANA._] - -The path leaves the garden again by a repetition of the rough stone -steps. The mossy growth of _Arenaria balearica_ clings closely to the -stones on their cooler faces, and the frond-like growths of Solomon's -Seal hang out on either side as a fitting prelude to the dim mysteries -of the wide green wood-path beyond. - -It is a garden for the last days of May and the first fortnight of June. - -Passing through the Yew tunnel, the little place bursts on the sight -with good effect. What is most striking is the beauty of the blue-lilac -_Phlox divaricata_ and that of two clumps of Tree Peony--the rosy -Baronne d'Alès and the pale salmon-pink Comtesse de Tuder. The little -garden, with its quiet environment of dark foliage, forbids the use -of strong colouring, or perhaps one should say that it suggested a -restriction of the scheme of colouring to the tenderer tones. There -seemed to be no place here for the gorgeous Oriental Poppies, although -they too are finest in partial shade, or for any strong yellows, their -character needing wider spaces and clearer sunlight. - -The Tree Peonies are in two groups of the two kinds only; it seemed -enough for the limited space. In front of Comtesse de Tuder is a group -of _Funkia Sieboldi_, its bluish leaves harmonising delightfully with -the leaf-colour of the Peonies; next to them is a corner of glistening -deep green Asarum. No other flowers of any size are near, but there -are sheets of the tender yellow bloom and pale foliage of _Corydalis -ochroleuca_, of the white-bloomed Woodruff, and the pale green leafage -of Epimedium; and among them tufts of Lent Hellebores, also in fresh -young leaf, and a backing of the feathery fronds of Lady Fern and of -the large Solomon's Seal; with drooping garlands of _Clematis montana_ -hanging informally from some rough branching posts. Yew-trees are at -the back, and then Beeches in tender young leaf. - -The foot of the near mound is a pink cloud of London Pride. Shooting up -among it and just beyond is the white St. Bruno's Lily. More of this -lovely little lily-like Anthericum is again a few feet further along, -grouped with _Iris Cengialti_, one of the bluest of the Irises. The -back of the mound has some of the tenderly tinted Caparne hybrid Irises -two feet high, of pale lilac colouring, rising from among dark-leaved, -white-bloomed Iberis, and next the path a pretty, large-flowered tufted -Pansy that nearly matches the Iris. - -But the glory of the mound is the long stretch of blue-lilac _Phlox -divaricata_, whose colour is again repeated by a little of the same on -the sunny bank to the left. Here it is grouped with pale pink Scotch -Brier, more pale yellow Corydalis and _Arenaria montana_ smothered -in its masses of white bloom. At the end of the bank the colour of -the _Phlox divaricata_ is deepened by sheaves of _Camassia esculenta_ -that spear up through it. The whole back of this bank has a free -planting of graceful pale-coloured Columbines with long spurs, -garden kinds that come easily from seed and that were originally -derived from some North American species. They are pale yellow and warm -white; some have the outer portion of the flower of a faint purple, -much like that of some of the patches in an old, much-washed, cotton -patchwork quilt. - -[Illustration: _MALE FERN IN THE HIDDEN GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _EXOCHORDA GRANDIFLORA._] - -[Illustration: _PLAN OF THE HIDDEN GARDEN._] - -The dark trees on the right have rambling Roses growing into -them--Paul's Carmine Pillar and the Himalayan _R. Brunonis_. The red -Rose does not flower so freely here as on a pillar in sunlight, but its -fewer stems clamber high into the Holly and the bloom shows in thin -natural wreaths that are even more pleasing to an artist's eye than the -more ordered abundance of the flowery post. At the foot of the Hollies -hardy Ferns grow luxuriantly in the constant shade. A little later a -few clumps of Lilies will spring up from among them; the lovely pink -_rubellum_, the fine yellow _szovitzianum_, and the buff _testaceum_. - -On the left-hand side, behind the sunny bank, a Garland Rose comes -through and tumbles out of a Yew, and some sprays of an old bush of -the single _R. polyantha_, that has spread to a circumference of one -hundred and fifty feet, have pushed their way through the Ilex. - -The Hollies and Ilexes all round are growing fast, and before many -years are over the little garden will become too shady for the -well-being of the flowers that now occupy it. It will then change its -character and become a Fern garden. - -All gardening involves constant change. It is even more so in woodland. -A young bit of wood such as mine is for ever changing. Happily, each -new development reveals new beauty of aspect or new possibility of good -treatment, such as, rightly apprehended and then guided, tends to a -better state than before. - -Meanwhile the little tree-embowered garden has a quiet charm of its -own. It seems to delight in its character of a Hidden Garden, and in -the pleasant surprise that its sudden discovery provokes. For between -it and its owner there is always a pretty little play of pretending -that there is no garden there, and of being much surprised and -delighted at finding, not only that there is one, but quite a pretty -one. - -The Hidden Garden is so small in extent, and its boundaries are already -so well grown, that there is no room for many of the beautiful things -of the time of year. For May is the time for the blooming of the most -important of our well-known flowering shrubs--Lilac, Guelder Rose, -White Broom, Laburnum, and _Pyrus Malus floribunda_. But one shrub, as -beautiful as any of these and as easily grown, seems to be forgotten. -This is _Exochorda grandiflora_--related to the Spiræas. Its pearl-like -buds have earned it the name of Pearl Bush, but its whole lovely bloom -should before now have secured it a place in every good garden. - -Every one knows the Guelder Rose, with its round white flower-balls, -but the wild shrub of which this is a garden variety is also a valuable -ornamental bush and should not be neglected. It is a native plant, -growing in damp places, such as the hedges of water-meadows and the -sides of streams. The English name is Water Elder. Its merit as a -garden shrub does not lie, as in the Guelder Rose, in its bloom, but in -its singularly beautiful fruit. This, in autumn, lights up the whole -shrub with a ruddy radiance. Grown on drier ground than that of its -natural habitat, it takes a closer, more compact form. - -[Illustration: _EUPHORBIA WULFENII._] - -[Illustration: _IRISES AND LUPINES IN THE JUNE GARDEN._] - -White Broom is in flower from the middle of May to the second week of -June. There is a fine Flag Iris of a rich purple colour called "Purple -King." It is well to grow it just in front of some young bushes of -White Broom. Then, if one of the hybrid Irises of pale lilac colour -is there as well, and a bush of _Rosa altaica_, the colour-effect -will be surprisingly beautiful. This Rose is the bolder-growing, -Asiatic equivalent of our Burnet Rose (_R. spinosissima_), with the -same lemon-white flowers. When any such group containing White Broom -is planted, it should be remembered that the tendency of the Broom is -to grow tall and leggy. It bears pruning, but it is a good plan to -plant some extra ones behind the others. After a couple of years, if -the front plants have grown out of bounds, the back ones can be bent -down and fastened to sticks, so that their heads come in the required -places. It is one of the many ways in which a pretty garden picture may -be maintained from year to year by the exercise of a little thought and -ingenuity. The undergrowth of such a group may be of Solomon's Seal at -the back, and, if the bank or border is in sun, of a lower groundwork -of Iberis and _Corydalis ochroleuca_, or, if it is shaded, of Tiarella, -Woodruff or _Anemone sylvestris_. With these, for the sake of their -tender green foliage, there may well be _Uvularia grandiflora_ and -_Epimedium pinnatum_. - -A wonderful plant of May is the great _Euphorbia Wulfenii_. It adapts -itself to many ways of use, for, though the immense yellow-green -heads of bloom are at their best in May, they are still of pictorial -value in June and July, while the deep-toned, grey-blue foliage is in -full beauty throughout the greater part of the year. It is valuable -in boldly arranged flower borders, and holds its own among shrubs of -moderate size, but I always think its best use would be in the boldest -kind of rock-work. - -One of my desires that can never be fulfilled is to have a rocky -hillside in full sun, so steep as to be almost precipitous, with walls -of bare rock only broken by ledges that can be planted. I would have -great groups of Yucca standing up against the sky and others in the -rock-face, and some bushes of this great _Euphorbia_ and only a few -other plants, all of rather large grey effect; _Phlomis_, Lavender, -Rosemary and Cistus, with _Othonna_ hanging down in long sheets -over the bare face of the warm rock. It would be a rock-garden on -an immense scale, planted as Nature plants, with not many different -things at a time. The restriction to a few kinds of plants would give -the impression of spontaneous growth; of that large, free, natural -effect that is so rarely achieved in artificial planting. Besides -natural hillsides, there must be old quarries within or near the -pleasure-grounds of many places in our islands where such a scheme of -planting could worthily be carried out. - -[Illustration: _PART OF THE GARLAND ROSE AT THE ANGLE._] - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE JUNE GARDEN - - -Beyond the lawn and a belt of Spanish Chestnut I have a little cottage -that is known as the Hut. I lived in it for two years while my house -was building, and may possibly live in it again for the sake of -replenishing an over-drained exchequer, if the ideal well-to-do invalid -flower-lover or some such very quiet summer tenant, to whom alone I -could consent to surrender my dear home for a few weeks, should be -presented by a kind Providence. Meanwhile it is always in good use for -various purposes, such as seed-drying, _pot-pourri_ preparing, and the -like. - -The garden in front and at the back is mainly a June garden. It has -Peonies, Irises, Lupines, and others of the best flowers of the season, -and a few for later blooming. The entrance to the Hut is through Yews -that arch overhead. Close to the right is a tall Holly with a _Clematis -montana_ growing into it and tumbling out at the top. The space of -garden to the left, being of too deep a shape to be easily got at -from the path on the one side and the stone paving on the other, has -a kind of dividing backbone made of a double row of Rose hoops or -low arches, rising from good greenery of Male Fern and the fern-like -Sweet Cicely. This handsome plant (_Myrrhis odorata_) is of great -use in many ways. It will grow anywhere, and has the unusual merit of -making a good show of foliage quite early in the year. It takes two -years to get to a good size, sending its large, fleshy, aromatic roots -deep down into the soil. By the end of May, when the bloom is over and -the leaves are full grown, they can be cut right down, when the plant -will at once form a new set of leaves that remain fresh for the rest -of the summer. Its chief use is as a good foliage accompaniment or -background to flowers, and no plant is better for filling up at the -bases of shrubs that look a little leggy near the ground, or for any -furnishing of waste or empty spaces, especially in shade. From among -the Ferns and Myrrhis at the back of this bit of eastern border rise -white Foxgloves, the great white Columbine, and the tall stems of white -Peach-leaved Campanula. Nearer to the front are clumps of Peonies. But, -as one of the most frequented paths passes along this eastern border, -it was thought best not to confine it to June flowers only, but to have -something also for the later months. All vacant places are therefore -filled with Pentstemons and Snapdragons, which make a show throughout -the summer; while for the early days of July there are clumps of the -old garden Roses--Damask and Provence. The whole south-western angle is -occupied by a well-grown Garland Rose that every summer is loaded with -its graceful wreaths of bloom. It has never been trained or staked, -but grows as a natural fountain; the branches are neither pruned nor -shortened. The only attention it receives is that every three or four -years the internal mass of old dead wood is cut right out, when the -bush seems to spring into new life. - -Passing this angle and going along the path leading to the studio door -in the little stone-paved court, there is a seat under an arbour formed -by the Yews; the front of it has a Dundee Rambler Rose supported by a -rough wooden framework. On the right, next the paving, are two large -standard Roses with heads three and four feet through. They are old -garden Roses, worked in cottage fashion on a common Dog-rose stock. One -is Celeste, of loveliest tender rose colour, its broad bluish leaves -showing its near relationship to _Rosa alba_; the other the white -Mme. Plantier. This old Rose, with its abundant bunches of pure white -flowers, always seems to me to be one of the most charming of the older -garden kinds. It will grow in almost any way, and is delightful in all; -as a pillar, as a hedge, as a bush, as a big cottage standard, or in -the border tumbling about among early summer flowers. Like the Blush -Gallica, which just precedes it in time of blooming, it is one of the -old picture Roses. Both should be in quantity in every garden, and yet -they are but rarely seen. - -The border next the paving has clumps of the old garden Peonies (_P. -officinalis_). By the time these are over, towards the end of June, -groups of the earlier orange Herring Lilies are in bloom. A thick and -rather high Box edging neatly trims these borders, and favours the -cottage-garden sentiment that is fostered in this region. At the back -of the Yews that form the arbour is one end of the Hidden Garden. -Going along the path, past the projection on the block-plan of the Hut, -which represents the large ingle of the studio, we come to the other -bit of June garden behind the little cottage. Here again, the space -being over-wide, it is divided in the middle by a double border of -Rosemary that is kept clipped and is not allowed to rise high enough to -prevent access to the border on each side. - -On the side next the Hut the flowers are mostly of lilac and purple -colouring with white. Pale lilac Irises, including the fine _I. pallida -dalmatica_ and the rosy lilac variety, Queen of the May, perennial -Lupines, white, bluish lilac and purple--one of a conspicuous and -rare deep red-purple of extreme richness without the slightest taint -of a rank quality--a colour I can only call a strong wine-purple; -then a clump of the feathery, ivory-white _Spiræa Aruncus_, the large -Meadowsweet that is so fine by the side of alpine torrents. There -are also some flesh-pink Albiflora Peonies and lower growths of -Catmint, and of the grand blue-purple Cranesbill, _Geranium ibericum -platyphyllum_; with white and pale yellow Spanish Irises in generous -tufts springing up between. At the blunt angle nearly opposite the -dovecote is a pink cloud of London Pride; beyond it pale yellow Violas -with more white Spanish Iris, leading to a happy combination of the -blue _Iris Cengialti_ and the bushy Aster _Olearia Gunni_, smothered in -its white starry bloom. An early flowering Flag Iris, named Chamæleon, -nearly matches the colour of _I. Cengialti_; it is the bluest that -I know of the Flag Irises, and is planted between and around the -Olearias to form part of the colour-picture. - -[Illustration: _ROSE BLUSH GALLICA PLANTED ON THE TOP OF DRY WALLING._] - -[Illustration: _SPANISH IRIS._] - -Beyond this group, and only separated from it by some pale yellow -Irises, are two plants of the Dropmore Anchusa, marked A on the plan, -of pure pale blue, and another clump of _Spiræa Aruncus_, marked S, and -one of a good pure white Lupine, with some tall clear yellow Irises and -white Foxgloves. Now the colouring changes, passing through a group or -two of the rich half-tones of Irises of the _squalens_ section to the -perennial Poppies; _P. rupifragum_ nearest the path and, next to it, -_P. pilosum_; both of a rich apricot colour. Backing these is a group -of the larger hybrid that nearly always occurs in gardens where there -are both _P. rupifragum_ and _P. orientale_. In appearance it is a -small _orientale_ with a strong look of _rupifragum_ about the foliage. -As a garden plant it has the advantages of being of an intermediate -size and of having a long season of bloom, a quality no doubt inherited -from _rupifragum_, which will flower more or less throughout the summer -if the seed-pods are removed. A plant of Oriental Poppy of the tone of -orange-scarlet that I know as red-lead colour, and some deep orange -Lilies complete this strongly coloured group. - -In the north-western clump, where there are some Thorn-trees and -two Thuyas, the dominant feature is the great bush of an old garden -rambling Rose that looks as if its parentage was somewhere between -_sempervirens_ and _arvensis_. I can neither remember how I came by it -nor match it with any nursery kind. It stands nearly opposite the Hut -kitchen window, and when in full bloom actually sheds light into the -room. I know it as the Kitchen Rose. The diameter of the bush is even -greater than the plan shows, for it overwhelms the nearest Thuya and -rushes through the Thorn, and many of its shoots are within hand-reach -of the back path. The rest of this clump is occupied by plants of tall -habit--the great Mullein (_Verbascum orientale_), the Giant Cow-Parsnip -(_Heracleum_), and white Foxgloves. - -The plan shows how the border of early bulbs, described in a former -chapter (now a mass of hardy Ferns, as shown at p. 7), lies in relation -to this part of the garden. There is also a grand mass of Oriental -Poppy and Orange Lilies in half-shade on the other side of the path, -where it turns and is bordered with Berberis. This makes a fine distant -effect of strong colour looking north-west from the southern end of the -bulb-border. - -I greatly wish I could have some other June borders for the still -better use of the Flag Irises, but not only have I quite as much -dressed ground as I can afford to keep up, but the only space where -such borders could be made has to be nursery-ground of plants for sale. -But though I am denied this pleasure myself, I should like to suggest -it to others, and therefore give plans of two borders of different -colourings. There would be no great harm if they came opposite each -other, though perhaps, as colour-schemes, they would be rather better -seen singly and quite detached from each other. - -[Illustration: _THE JUNE GARDEN._] - - -[Illustration: _IRIS AND LUPINE BORDERS._] - -It must be remembered, as in all cases of planting flower borders, -that they cannot be expected to show their full beauty the year after -planting. Irises will give a few blooms the first season, but are not -in strength till their second and third years. China Roses must have -time to grow. Tree Lupines must be planted young, and, though they make -rapid growth, they also do not fill their spaces till the third year. -Lupine Somerset is a desirable hybrid, not quite a true Tree Lupine, -though it has a half-woody growth. Its best colour is a clear, lively -light yellow, but it readily varies from seed to whitish or washy -purplish tints. As the seedlings often show bloom the first season in -the seed-bed, the colours should be noted and marked, for some of the -light purples are pretty things, with more refinement of character -than the same colourings in the old Tree Lupines. Both the tree and -hybrid kinds may have their lives much prolonged--for if they are not -specially treated they are short-lived things--by judicious pruning. -After flowering, each branch should be cut well back. It is not enough -to cut away the flowers, but every branch should be shortened about -two-thirds as soon as the bloom is over and the seed-pods begin to form. - -The plans show the two schemes of colouring. The upper is of white, -lilac, purple and pink, with grey foliage; the lower of white, yellow, -bronze-yellow and, for the most part, rich green foliage. They will -show mainly as Iris and Lupine borders, and are intended to display -the beauty of these two grand plants of early summer. The kinds of -Iris are carefully considered for their height, time of blooming, and -colour-value. In the yellow border is one patch of clear, pale pure -blue, the Dropmore Anchusa, grouped with pale yellows and white. - -In the purple border are some important front-edge patches of the -beautiful Catmint (_Nepeta Mussini_), a plant that can hardly be -over-praised. The illustration shows it in a part of a border-front -that is to be for August. For a good three weeks in June it makes this -border a pretty place, although the Catmint is its only flower. But -with the white-grey woolly patches of Stachys and the half-grown bushes -of Gypsophila, and the Lavender and other plants of greyish foliage, -the picture is by no means incomplete. Its flowery masses, seen against -the warm yellow of the sandy path, give the impression of remarkably -strong and yet delightfully soft colouring. The colour itself is a -midway purple, between light and dark, of just the most pleasing -quality. As soon as the best of the bloom is done it is carefully cut -over; then the lateral shoots just below the main flower-spike that has -been taken out will gain strength and bloom again at the border's best -show-time in August. In another double flower border that is mostly for -the September-blooming Michaelmas Daisies the Catmint is cut back a -little later. - - * * * * * - -One of the joys of June is the beauty of the Scotch Briers. On the -south side of the house there are Figs and Vines, Rosemary and China -Roses; a path and then some easy stone steps leading up to the strip -of lawn some fifty feet wide that skirts the wood. To right and left -of the steps, for a length equal to that of the house-front, is a hedge -of these charming little Roses. They are mostly double white, but some -are rosy and some yellow. When it is not in flower the mass of small -foliage is pleasant to see, and even in winter leaflessness the tangle -of close-locked branches has an appearance of warm brown comfort that -makes it good to have near a house. - -[Illustration: _WHITE TREE LUPINE._] - -[Illustration: _CATMINT IN JUNE IN THE GREY AUGUST BORDER._] - -June is also the time of some of the best of the climbing plants -and slightly tender shrubs that we have against walls and treat as -climbers, such as _Solamum crispum_ and _Abutilon vitifolium_ and the -hardy _Clematis montana_; but some notes on these will be offered in a -further chapter. - -One is always watching and trying for good combinations of colour that -occur or that may be composed. Besides such as are shown in the plans, -the following have been noted for June: - -In rock-work the tiny China Rose Pompon de Paris, also the tender pink -Fairy Rose, with pale lilac tufted Pansy and _Achillea umbellata_. - -The pretty pale pink dwarf Rose Mignonette, with the lilac of Catmint -(_Nepeta Mussini_) and the grey-white foliage of Stachys and _Cineraria -maritima_. - -In a cool, retired place in a shrubbery margin, away from other -flowers, the misty red-grey-purple of _Thalictrum purpureum_ with the -warm white foam-colour of _Spiræa Aruncus_. - -On bold rock-work, a mass of a fine-coloured strain of Valerian -(_Centranthus_) with a deep scarlet-crimson Snapdragon. This is a -success of reciprocally becoming texture as well as colour; the texture -having that satisfying quality that one recognises in the relation of -the cut and uncut portions of the fine old Italian cut-velvets. - -[Illustration: _SCOTCH BRIARS._] - -[Illustration: _GERANIUM IBERICUM PLATYPHYLLUM; THE BEST OF THE -CRANEBILLS._ (_See page 42._)] - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE MAIN HARDY FLOWER BORDER - - -The big flower border is about two hundred feet long and fourteen feet -wide. It is sheltered from the north by a solid sandstone wall about -eleven feet high clothed for the most part with evergreen shrubs--Bay -and Laurustinus, Choisya, Cistus and Loquat. These show as a handsome -background to the flowering plants. They are in a three-foot-wide -border at the foot of the wall; then there is a narrow alley, not seen -from the front, but convenient for access to the wall shrubs and for -working the back of the border. - -As it is impossible to keep any one flower border fully dressed for -the whole summer, and as it suits me that it should be at its best in -the late summer, there is no attempt to have it full of flowers as -early as June. Another region belongs to June; so that at that time the -big border has only some incidents of good bloom, though the ground -is rapidly covering with the strong patches, most of them from three -to five years old, of the later blooming perennials. But early in the -month there are some clumps of the beautiful _Iris Pallida dalmatica_ -in the regions of grey foliage, and of the splendid blue-purple bloom -of _Geranium ibericum platyphyllum_, the best of the large Cranesbills, -and the slow-growing _Dictamnus Fraxinella_ (the white variety), and -Meadowsweets white and pink, Foxgloves and Canterbury Bells, and to -the front some long-established sheets of _Iberis sempervirens_ that -have grown right on to the path. The large Yuccas, _Y. gloriosa_ and -_Y. recurva_ are throwing up their massive spikes, though it will be -July before they actually flower, and the blooms on some bushes of -the great _Euphorbia Wulfenii_, although they were flowers of May and -their almost yellow colour is turning greener, are still conspicuous -and ornamental. Then the plants in the middle of the wall, _Choisya -ternata_ and _Clematis montana_ are still full of white bloom and the -Guelder Rose is hanging out its great white balls. I like to plant the -Guelder Rose and _Clematis montana_ together. Nothing does better on -north or east walls, and it is pleasant to see the way the Clematis -flings its graceful garlands over and through the stiff branches of the -Viburnum. - -The more brilliant patches of colour in the big border in June are -of Oriental Poppies intergrouped with Gypsophila, which will cover -their space when they have died down, and the earlier forms of _Lilium -croceum_ of that dark orange colour that almost approaches scarlet. - -During the first week of June any bare spaces of the border are filled -up with half-hardy annuals, and some of what we are accustomed to -call bedding-plants--such as Geranium, Salvia, Calceolaria, Begonia, -Gazania and Verbena. The half-hardy annuals are African Marigold, deep -orange and pale sulphur, pure white single Petunia, tall Ageratum, -tall striped Maize, white Cosmos, sulphur Sunflower, _Phlox -Drummondi_, Nasturtiums, and _Trachelium cœruleum_. Dahlias were -planted out in May, and earlier still the Hollyhocks, quite young -plants that are to bloom in August and September; the autumn-planted -ones flowering earlier. The ground was well cleaned of weeds before -these were planted, and, soon after, the whole border had a good mulch -of a mixture of half-rotted leaves and old hotbed stuff. This serves -the double purpose of keeping the soil cool and of affording gradual -nutriment when water is given. - -[Illustration: _THE FLOWER BORDER IN LATE SUMMER: YUCCA, HYDRANGEA, -SNAPDRAGON, LILIUM AURATUM AND EARLY ASTERS, WITH GREY FOLIAGE OF -CINERARIA MARITIMA, SANTOLINA AND ELYMUS._] - -[Illustration: _THE CROSS WALK DIVIDING THE FLOWER BORDER: YUCCA, -HYDRANGEA, MEGASEA AND STACHYS._] - - * * * * * - -The planting of the border is designed to show a distinct scheme of -colour-arrangement. At the two ends there is a groundwork of grey and -glaucous foliage--Stachys, Santolina, _Cineraria maritima_, Sea Kale -and Lyme Grass, with darker foliage, also of grey quality, of Yucca, -_Clematis recta_ and Rue. With this, at the near or western end, there -are flowers of pure blue, grey-blue, white, palest yellow and palest -pink; each colour partly in distinct masses and partly intergrouped. -The colouring then passes through stronger yellows to orange and red. -By the time the middle space of the border is reached the colour is -strong and gorgeous, but, as it is in good harmonies, it is never -garish. Then the colour-strength recedes in an inverse sequence through -orange and deep yellow to pale yellow, white and palest pink, with the -blue-grey foliage. But at this, the eastern end, instead of the pure -blues we have purples and lilacs. - -Looked at from a little way forward, for a wide space of grass allows -this point of view, the whole border can be seen as one picture, the -cool colouring at the ends enhancing the brilliant warmth of the -middle. Then, passing along the wide path next the border the value of -the colour-arrangement is still more strongly felt. Each portion now -becomes a picture in itself, and every one is of such a colouring that -it best prepares the eye, in accordance with natural law, for what -is to follow. Standing for a few moments before the end-most region -of grey and blue, and saturating the eye to its utmost capacity with -these colours, it passes with extraordinary avidity to the succeeding -yellows. These intermingle in a pleasant harmony with the reds and -scarlets, blood-reds and clarets, and then lead again to yellows. Now -the eye has again become saturated, this time with the rich colouring, -and has therefore, by the law of complementary colour, acquired a -strong appetite for the greys and purples. These therefore assume an -appearance of brilliancy that they would not have had without the -preparation provided by their recently received complementary colour. - -There are well-known scientific toys illustrating this law. A short -word, printed in large red letters, is looked at for half a minute. The -eyes are shut and an image of the same word appears, but the lettering -is green. Many such experiments may be made in the open garden. The -brilliant orange African Marigold has leaves of a rather dull green -colour. But look steadily at the flowers for thirty seconds in sunshine -and then look at the leaves. The leaves appear to be bright blue! - -[Illustration: _THE EAST END OF THE FLOWER BORDER: LILIUM LONGIFLORUM, -ECHINOPS, PURPLE CLEMATIS, CAMPANULAS PYRAMIDALIS AND LOCHIFLORA, -FOLIAGE OF SEAKALE, SANTOLINA AND CINERARIA._] - -[Illustration: _ELEVATION: HEIGHT-LINE OF BACK PLANTS._] - -[Illustration: _PLAN OF THE MAIN FLOWER BORDER._] - -Even when a flower border is devoted to a special season, as mine is -given to the time from mid-July to October, it cannot be kept fully -furnished without resorting to various contrivances. One of these is -the planting of certain things that will follow in season of bloom -and that can be trained to take each other's places. Thus, each plant -of _Gypsophila paniculata_ when full grown covers a space a good four -feet wide. On each side of it, within reasonable distance of the root, -I plant Oriental Poppies. These make their leaf and flower growth in -early summer when the Gypsophila is still in a young state. The Poppies -will have died down by the time the Gypsophila is full grown and has -covered them. After this has bloomed the seed-pods turn brown, and -though a little of this colouring is not harmful in the autumn border, -yet it is not wanted in such large patches. We therefore grow at its -foot, or within easy reach, some of the trailing Nasturtiums and lead -them up so that they cover the greater part of the brown seed-spray. - -Delphiniums, which are indispensable for July, leave bare stems -with quickly yellowing leafage when the flowers are over. We plant -behind them the white Everlasting Pea, and again behind that Clematis -Jackmanni. When the Delphiniums are over, the rapidly forming seed-pods -are removed, the stems are cut down to just the right height, and -the white Peas are trained over them. When the Peas go out of bloom -in the middle of August, the Clematis is brought over. It takes some -years for these two plants to become established; in the case of those -I am describing the Pea has been four or five years planted and -the Clematis seven. They cannot be hurried, indeed in my garden it -is difficult to get the Clematis to grow at all. But good gardening -means patience and dogged determination. There must be many failures -and losses, but by always pushing on there will also be the reward -of success. Those who do not know are apt to think that hardy flower -gardening of the best kind is easy. It is not easy at all. It has taken -me half a lifetime merely to find out what is best worth doing, and a -good slice out of another half to puzzle out the ways of doing it. - -In addition to these three plants that I grow over one another I am now -adding a fourth--the September-blooming _Clematis Flammula_. It must -not be supposed that they are just lumped one over another so that the -under ones have their leafy growths smothered. They are always being -watched, and, bit by bit, the earlier growths are removed as soon as -their respective plants are better without them. - -Then there is the way of pulling down tall plants whose natural growth -is upright. At the back of the yellow part of the border are some -plants of a form of _Helianthus orgyalis_, trained down, as described -later at p. 69. But other plants can be treated in the same way; the -tall Rudbeckia Golden Glow, and Dahlias and Michaelmas Daisies. The -tall Snapdragons can also be pulled down and made to cover a surprising -space of bare ground with flowering side-shoots. - -[Illustration: _GOOD STAKING--CAMPANULA PERSICIFOLIA._] - -[Illustration: _CAREFUL STAKING--THE LATER MICHAELMAS DAISIES._] - -As it is still impossible to prevent the occurrence of a blank here and -there, or as the scene, viewed as a picture, may want some special -accentuation or colouring, there is the way of keeping a reserve of -plants in pots and dropping them in where they may be wanted. The thing -that matters is that, in its season, the border shall be kept full -and beautiful; by what means does not matter in the least. For this -sort of work some of the most useful plants are Hydrangeas, _Lilium -longiflorum_, _candidum_ and _auratum_, and _Campanula pyramidalis_, -both white and blue, and, for foliage, _Funkia grandiflora_, _F. -Sieboldi_ and hardy Ferns. - -An important matter is that of staking and supporting. The rule, as I -venture to lay it down, is that sticks and stakes must never show. They -must be so arranged that they give the needful support, while allowing -the plant its natural freedom; but they must remain invisible. The only -time when they are tolerated is for the week or two when they have been -put in for Dahlias, when the plants have not yet grown up to cover them. - -Michaelmas Daisies we stake with great care in June, putting in some -stiff branching spray of oak or chestnut among the growths and under -their fronts. At the end of June we also nip the tops of some of the -forward growths of the plants so as to vary the outline. - -There are two borders of Michaelmas Daisies, one for the earlier sorts -that flower in September and the other for the October kinds. They are -in places that need not often be visited except in the blooming season, -therefore we allow the supporting spray to be seen while the plants are -growing. But early in August, in the case of the September border, and -early in September in the case of the one for October, we go round and -regulate the plants, settling them among the sticks in their definite -positions. When this is done every atom of projecting spray is cut away -with the _sécateur_. - -I hold that nothing unsightly should be seen in the garden. The shed -for sticks and stakes is a lean-to at one end of the barn, showing to -the garden. The roof had to be made at a very low pitch, and there was -no roofing material suitable but galvanized iron. But a depth of four -inches of peaty earth was put over the iron, and now it is a garden -of Stonecrops and other plants that flourish in shallow soil in a hot -exposure. - -To prevent undue disappointment, those who wish for beautiful -flower-borders and whose enthusiasm is greater than their knowledge -should be reminded that if a border is to be planted for pictorial -effect, it is impossible to maintain that effect and to have the space -well filled for any period longer than three months, and that even -for such a time there will have to be contrivances such as have been -described. - -It should also be borne in mind that a good hardy flower border cannot -be made all at once. Many of the most indispensable perennials take -two, three or even more years to come to their strength and beauty. -The best way is to plant the border by a definite plan, placing each -group of plants as it shall be when fully developed. Then for the first -year or two a greater number of half-hardy annuals and biennials than -will eventually be needed should be used to fill the spaces that have -not yet been taken up by the permanent plants. The best of these are -Pentstemons and Snapdragons, the Snapdragons grown both as annuals and -biennials, for so an extended season of bloom is secured. Then there -should be African and French Marigolds, the smaller annual Sunflowers, -Zinnias, Plume Celosias, China Asters, Stocks, Foxgloves, Mulleins, -Ageratum, Phlox Drummondi and Indian Pinks; also hardy annuals--Lupines -of several kinds, _Chrysanthemum coronarium_, the fine pink Mallows, -Love-in-a-Mist, Nasturtiums or any others that are liked. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE FLOWER BORDER IN JULY - - -Towards the end of July the large flower border begins to show its -scheme. Until then, although it has been well filled with growing -plants, there has been no attempt to show its whole intention. But now -this is becoming apparent. The two ends, as already described, are of -grey foliage, with, at the near end, flowers of pale blue, white and -lightest yellow. The tall spikes of pale blue Delphinium are over, and -now there are the graceful grey-blue flowers of _Campanula lactiflora_ -that stand just in front of the great Larkspurs. At the back is a white -Everlasting Pea, four years planted and now growing tall and strong. -The overblown flowers of the Delphinium have been removed, but their -stems have been left just the right height for supporting the growth of -the white Pea, which is now trained over them and comes forward to meet -the pale blue-white Campanula. In front of this there is a drift of Rue -giving a beautiful effect of dim grey colour and softened shadow; it -is crowned by its spreading corymbs of pale yellow bloom that all rise -nearly to a level. Again in front is the grand glaucous foliage of Sea -Kale. A little further along, and towards the back, is a bush of Golden -Privet, taking up and continuing the pale yellow of the Rue blossom, -and forming a kind of groundwork to a group of the fine Mullein -_Verbascum phlomoides_ now fully out. Just below this is a clump of the -Double Meadowsweet, a mass of warm white flower-foam. Intergrouped are -tall Snapdragons, white and palest yellow. Then forward are the pale -blue-green sword-blades of _Iris pallida dalmatica_ that flowered in -June. This is one of the few Irises admitted to the border, but it is -here because it has the quality, rare among its kind, of maintaining -its great leaves in beauty to near the end of the year. Quite to the -front are lower growing plants of purest blue--the Cape Daisy (_Agathea -cœlestis_) and blue Lobelia. - -Now we pass to a rather large group of _Eryngium oliverianum_, the -fine kind that is commonly but wrongly called _E. amethystinum_. It -is a deep-rooting perennial that takes three to four years to become -strongly established. In front of this are some pale and darker blue -Spiderworts (_Tradescantia virginica_), showing best in cloudy weather. -At the back is _Thalictrum flavum_, whose bloom is a little overpast, -though it still shows some of its foamy-feathery pale yellow. Next we -come to stronger yellows, with a middle mass of a good home-grown form -of _Coreopsis lanceolata_. This is fronted by a stretch of _Helenium -pumilum_. Behind the Coreopsis are _Achillea Eupatorium_ and yellow -Cannas. - -Now the colour strengthens with the Scarlet Balm or Bergamot, -intergrouped with _Senecio artemisiæfolius_, a plant little known but -excellent in the flower border. A few belated Orange Lilies have their -colour nearly repeated by the Gazanias next to the path. The strong -colour is now carried on by _Lychnis Chalcedonica_, scarlet Salvia, -_Lychnis haageana_ (a fine plant that is much neglected), and some of -the dwarf Tropæolums of brightest scarlet. After this we gradually -return to the grey-blues, whites and pale yellows, with another large -patch of _Eryngium oliverianum_, white Everlasting Pea, Calceolaria, -and the splendid leaf-mass of a wide and high plant of _Euphorbia -Wulfenii_, which, with the accompanying Yuccas, rises to a height -far above my head. Passing between a clump of Yuccas on either side -is the cross-walk leading by an arched gateway through the wall. The -border beyond this is a shorter length, and has a whole ground of grey -foliage--Stachys, Santolina, Elymus, _Cineraria maritima_, and Sea -Kale. Then another group of Rue, with grey-blue foliage and pale yellow -bloom, shows near the extreme end against the full green of the young -summer foliage of the Yew arbour that comes at the end of the border. -Again at this end is the tall _Campanula lactiflora_. In the nearer -middle a large mass of purple Clematis is trained upon stiff, branching -spray, and is beginning to show its splendid colour, while behind, and -looking their best in the subdued light of the cloudy morning on which -these notes are written, are some plants of _Verbascum phlomoides_, ten -feet high, showing a great cloud of pure pale yellow. They owe their -vigour to being self-sown seedlings, never transplanted. Instead of -having merely a blooming spike, as is the usual way of those that -are planted, these have abundant side branches. They dislike bright -sunshine, only expanding fully in shade or when the day is cloudy and -inclined to be rainy. Close to them, rising to the wall's whole eleven -feet of height, is a _Cistus cyprius_, bearing a quantity of large -white bloom with a deep red spot at the base of each petal. - -[Illustration: _WHITE ROSE LA GUIRLANDE; GREY BORDERS BEYOND._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS RECTA._] - -Though there is as yet but little bloom in this end of the border the -picture is complete and satisfying. Each one of the few flower-groups -tells to the utmost, while the intervening masses of leafage are in -themselves beautiful and have the effect of being relatively well -disposed. There is also such rich promise of flower-beauty to come that -the mind is filled with glad anticipation, besides feeling content -for the time being with what it has before it. There is one item of -colouring that strikes the trained eye as specially delightful. It is -a bushy mass of _Clematis recta_, now out of bloom. It occurs between -the overhanging purple Clematis and the nearer groups of _Cineraria -maritima_ and Santolina. The leaves are much deeper in tone than these -and have a leaden sort of blueness, but the colouring, both of the -parts in light and even more of the mysterious shadows, is in the -highest degree satisfactory and makes me long for the appreciative -presence of the rare few friends who are artists both on canvas and in -their gardens, and most of all for that of one who is now dead[1] but -to whom I owe, with deepest thankfulness, a precious memory of forty -years of helpful and sympathetic guidance and encouragement in the -observation and study of colour-beauty. - -[1] The late H. B. Brabazon. - - * * * * * - -One cannot write of the garden in July without a word of the Roses. -Besides the bushy garden Roses, and the kinds of special charm, such as -Damask, Provence, Moss and China, those that most nearly concern the -garden for beauty and pictorial effect are the rambling and climbing -Roses that flower in clusters. - -In "Roses for English Gardens" I dealt at some length with the many -ways of using them; here I must only touch upon one or two of these -ways. But I wish to remind my readers of the great value of these -free Roses for running up through such trees as Yews or Hollies in -regions where garden joins hands with woodland, and also of their great -usefulness for forming lines of arch and garland as an enclosure to -some definite space. I have them like this forming the boundary on two -sides of a garden of long beds, whose other two sides are a seven-foot -wall and the back of a stable and loft. Just beyond the arch in the -picture (p. 60), and dividing the little garden in two, is the short -piece of double border that is devoted to August. - -[Illustration: _DELPHINIUM BELLADONNA._] - -[Illustration: _CANTERBURY BELLS._] - -The other long beds in this region are for special combinations, some -of them of July flowers. Orange Lilies are with the beautiful _Clematis -recta_, a plant but little known though it is easy to grow and is one -of the best of summer flowers. One bed is for blue colouring with grey -foliage. Here is the lovely Delphinium Belladonna, with flowers of -a blue purer than that of any others of its beautiful kind. It never -grows tall, nor has it the strong, robust aspect of the larger ones, -but what it lacks in vigour is more than made up for by the charming -refinement of the whole plant. In the same bed are the other pure -blues of the rare double Siberian Larkspur, and the single allied kind -_Delphinium grandiflorum_, of _Salvia patens_ and of the Cape Daisy -_Agathea cœlestis_. Between the clumps of Belladonna are bushes of -white Lavender, and the whole is carpeted and edged with the white -foliage of _Artemisia stelleriana_, the quite hardy plant that is such -a good substitute for the tenderer _Cineraria maritima_. - -Among the best flowers of July that have a place in this garden are -the Pentstemons planted last year. We grow them afresh from cuttings -every autumn, planting them out in April. They are not quite hardy, -and a bad winter may destroy all the last year's plants. But if these -can be saved they bloom in July, whereas those planted in the spring -of the year do not flower till later. So we protect the older plants -with fir-boughs and generally succeed in saving them. Old plants of -Snapdragon are also now in flower. They too are a little tender in the -open, although they are safe in dry-walling with the roots out of the -way of frost and the crowns kept dry among the stones. - -Much use is made of a dwarf kind of Lavender, that is also among -the best of the July flowers. The whole size of the plant is about -one-third that of the ordinary kind; the flowers are darker in colour -and the time of blooming a good month earlier. It has a different use -in gardening, as the flowers, being more crowded and of a deeper tint, -make a distinct colour-effect. Besides its border use it is a plant for -dry banks, tops of rock-work and dry-walling. - -[Illustration: _ROSE THE GARLAND IN A SILVER HOLLY._] - -[Illustration: _ERYNGIUM OLIVERIANUM._] - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE FLOWER BORDER IN AUGUST - - -By the second week of August the large flower border is coming to -its best. The western grey end, with its main planting of hoary and -glaucous foliage--Yucca, Sea Kale, _Cineraria maritima_, Rue, Elymus, -Santolina, Stachys, &c.--now has _Yucca flaccida_ in flower. This neat, -small Yucca, one of the varieties or near relatives of _filamentosa_, -is a grand plant for late summer. A well-established clump throws up -a quantity of flower-spikes of that highly ornamental character that -makes the best of these fine plants so valuable. White Everlasting Pea, -planted about three feet from the back, is trained on stout pea-sticks -over the space occupied earlier by the Delphiniums and the Spiræas. -A little of it runs into a bush of Golden Privet. This Golden Privet -is one of the few shrubs that has a place in the flower border. Its -clean, cheerful, bright yellow gives a note of just the right colour -all through the summer. It has also a solidity of aspect that enhances -by contrast the graceful lines of the foliage of a clump of the great -Japanese striped grass _Eulalia_, which stands within a few feet of -it, seven feet high, shooting upright, but with the ends of the leaves -recurved. - -Snapdragons, tall white and tall yellow, spire up five feet high, -following the earlier Foxgloves. At the back is the pretty pink Dahlia -Asia, with sulphur and pale pink Hollyhocks. A little further along, -and staked out so as to take the place of the clumps of _Verbascum -Chaixii_ that were so fine in the end of June, is Dahlia Mrs. -Hawkins--palest yellow with a slight pink flush. Forward is a group of -a Pentstemon of palest pink colouring named Spitzberg, that I had from -Messrs. Barr's nursery, then a patch or two of palest blue Spiderwort, -and, quite to the front, in any spaces there may be among the grey -foliage, Lobelia "Cobalt Blue," the taller _Lobelia tenuior_, and the -pretty little blue-flowered Cape Daisy, _Agathea cœlestis_. - -The whole border is backed by a stone wall eleven feet high, now -fully clothed with shrubs and plants that take their place in the -colour-scheme, either for tint of bloom or mass of foliage. Thus the -red-leaved Claret Vine shows as background to the rich red region and -_Robinia hispida_ stands where its pink clusters will tell rightly; -Choisya and _Cistus cyprius_ where their dark foliage and white bloom -will be of value; the greyish foliage and abundant pale lilac blossom -of _Abutilon vitifolium_ in the grey and purple region, and the pale -green foliage of the deciduous _Magnolia conspicua_ showing as a -background to the tender blue of a charming pale Delphinium. - -The shrubs and plants on the wall are not all there because they are -things rare and precious or absolutely needing the shelter of the -wall, though some of them are glad of it, but because they give a -background that either harmonises in detail with what is in front or -will help to enrich or give general cohesion to the picture. The front -of the border has some important foliage giving a distinctly blue -effect; prominent among it Sea Kale. The flower-stems are cut hard back -in the earlier summer, and it is now in handsome fresh leaf. Further -back is the fine blue foliage of Lyme Grass (_Elymus arenarius_), a -plant of our sea-shores, but of much value for blue effects in the -garden. - -[Illustration: _TALL CAMPANULAS PYRAMIDALIS AND LACTIFLORA IN A GREY -BORDER._] - -Now is the time to begin to use our reserve of plants in pots. Of these -the most useful are the Hydrangeas. They are dropped into any vacant -spaces, more or less in groups, in the two ends of the border where -there is grey foliage, their pale pink colouring agreeing with these -places. Their own leafage is a rather bright green, but we get them so -well bloomed that but few leaves are seen, and we arrange as cleverly -as we can that the rest shall be more or less hidden by the surrounding -bluish foliage. I stand a few paces off, directing the formation of the -groups; considering their shape in relation to the border as a whole. I -say to the gardener that I want a Hydrangea in such a place; and tell -him to find the nearest place where it can be dropped in. Sometimes -this dropping in, for the pots have to be partly sunk, comes in the -way of some established plant. If it is a deep-rooted perennial that -takes three or four years to come to its strength, like an Eryngium or -a Dictamnus, of course I avoid encroaching on its root-room. But if it -is anything that blooms the season after it is planted, and of which -I have plenty in reserve, such as an Anthemis, a Tradescantia, or a -Helenium, I sacrifice a portion of the plant-group, knowing that it can -easily be replaced. But then by August many of the plants have spread -widely above and there is space below. _Lilium longiflorum_ in pots is -used in the same way, and for the most part in this blue end of the -border, though there are also some at the further, purple end, and just -a flash of their white beauty in the middle region of strong reds. - -In order to use both blue and purple in the flower border, this cool, -western, grey-foliaged end has the blues, and the further, eastern end -the purples. For although I like to use colour as a general rule in -harmonies rather than contrasts, I have a dislike to bringing together -blues and purples. At this end, therefore, there are flowers of pure -blue--Delphinium, Anchusa, Salvia, Blue Cape Daisy and Lobelia, and -it is only when the main mass of blue, of Delphiniums and Anchusas, -is over that even the presence of the pale grey-blue of _Campanula -lactiflora_ could be tolerated. Near the front is another pale -grey-blue, that of _Clematis davidiana_, just showing a few blooms, but -not yet fully out. - -Now, giving a pleasant rest and refreshment to the eye after the blues -and greys, is a well-shaped drift of the pale sulphur African Marigold. -It was meant to be the dwarf variety, but, as it grows two and a half -feet high, it has been pulled down as it grew. Some of it has been -brought down some way over the edge of the path, where it breaks the -general front line pleasantly and shows off its good soft colouring. -We grow only this pale colour and a good form of the splendid orange. -The intermediate one, the full yellow African Marigold, has, to my eye, -a raw quality that I am glad to avoid, and I have other plants that -give the strong yellow colour better. Now at the back are some plants -of the single Hollyhock _Hibiscus ficifolius_, white and pale yellow, -recalling, as we merge into the stronger yellows, the colouring of the -region just left. They are partly intergrouped with that excellent -plant Rudbeckia Golden Glow, brilliant, long-lasting, and capable of -varied kinds of useful treatment. - -Now we come to a group of the perennial Sunflowers; a good form of -the double _Helianthus multiflorus_ in front, and behind it the large -single kind of the same plant. By the side of these is a rather large -group of a garden form of _H. orgyalis_. This is one of the perennial -Sunflowers that is usually considered not good enough for careful -gardening. It grows very tall, and bears a smallish bunch of yellow -flowers at the top. If this were all it could do it would not be in my -flower border. But in front of it grows a patch of the fine Tansy-like -_Achillea Eupatorium_, and in front of this again a wide-spreading -group of _Eryngium oliverianum_--beautiful all through July. When -the bloom of these is done the tall Sunflower is trained down over -them--this pulling down, as in the case of so many plants, causing it -to throw up flower-stalks from the axils of every pair of leaves; so -that in September the whole thing is a sheet of bloom. Thus the plant -that was hardly worth a place in the border becomes, at its flowering -time, one of the brightest ornaments of the garden. Other plants that -are in front of the Sunflower, that have also passed out of bloom, are -the Scarlet Bee-balm (_Monarda_) and the very useful alpine Groundsel -(_Senecio artemisiæfolius_). - -Next we have an important group of a large-leaved Canna, the handsomest -foliage in the border; good to see when the sun is behind and the -light comes through the leaves. Here also, at the back, is a patch of -Hollyhocks--one very dark, almost a claret-red, and a fine, full red -inclining to blood-colour. They tower up together, and close to them -are Dahlias, the dark red Lady Ardilaun, deep scarlet Cochineal, bright -scarlet Fire King, and its variety Orange Fire King, now the most -brilliant piece of colouring in the garden. These lead on to a gorgeous -company--Phlox Coquelicot, scarlet Pentstemon, orange African Marigold, -scarlet Gladiolus, and, to the front, a brilliant dwarf scarlet Salvia; -_Helenium pumilum_ and scarlet and orange dwarf Nasturtium. Here and -there within this mass of bright colouring there is a patch of the fine -deep yellow _Coreopsis lanceolata_, a plant of long-enduring bloom, or -rather of long succession, for, if the dead flowers are removed it will -be brightly blossomed for a good three months. - -As this gorgeous mass occupies a large space in the flower border, I -have thought well to subdue it here and there with the cloudy masses of -_Gypsophila paniculata_. Five-year-old plants of this form masses of -the pretty mist-like bloom four feet across and as much high. This bold -introduction of grey among the colour-masses has considerable pictorial -value. As the grey changes, towards the end of the month, to a brownish -tone, some of the tall Nasturtiums are allowed to grow over the bushes -of Gypsophila. - -[Illustration: _YUCCA FILAMENTOSA VAR. FLACCIDA._] - -[Illustration: _THE GREY BORDERS: STACHYS, GYPSOPHILA, LILY, ACHILLEA -PEARL AND PINK HOLLYHOCK._] - -Now we have got beyond the middle of the length of the border, and the -colour changes again to the clear and pale yellows, and then again to -the grey foliage as at the beginning. Where this occurs, at a little -more than two-thirds of the way along the border, it is crossed by the -path, leading, through an archway in the wall closed by a door, to the -garden beyond. This cross-path is flanked by groups of Yuccas, slightly -raised, as will be seen in some of the illustrations. (_See_ pp. 51, -102.) Yuccas all like a raised mound and some good loam to grow in. I -have them here as well as at the two extreme ends of the border. No -plants make a handsomer full-stop to any definite garden scheme. The -grey treatment comprises the two Yucca mounds to right and left of the -cross-path; the other grey plants are as before--_Cineraria maritima_, -Santolina, Stachys, Elymus and Rue--but at this end, besides some -plants with white, pink and palest yellow colouring, the other flowers -are not blues but purples, light and dark. Among these a very useful -thing is Ageratum; not the dwarf Ageratum, though this is good too in -its place, but the ordinary _Ageratum mexicanum_, a plant that grows -about two feet high. This is also the place for some of the earliest -Michaelmas Daisies that will bloom in September, such as _Aster acris_ -and _A. Shortii_. At the back there are Dahlias, white and pale yellow, -with white and sulphur Hollyhocks, and, in the middle spaces, pale pink -Gladiolus, double _Saponaria officinalis_, and pale pink Pentstemon. At -the back, also, there is a clump of Globe Thistle (_Echinops_) and a -grand growth of Clematis Jackmanni, following in season of bloom, and -partly led over, a white Everlasting Pea, that in the earlier summer -was trained to conceal the dying stems of the red-orange Lilies that -bloomed in June. - - * * * * * - -There is also a short length of double border specially devoted to -August, of the same character, though not so fully developed, as what -will be described in a further chapter as the Grey Garden. Here, the -space being small, it has been given specially to the more restricted -season. The scheme of colouring has a ground of grey foliage, with -flowers of pink, white and light and dark purple. - -Next the path is the silvery white of Stachys, _Cineraria maritima_, -and _Artemisia stelleriana_, with the grey foliage and faint purple -of the second bloom of Catmint. Then bushy masses of Lavender and -Gypsophila, and between them _Lilium longiflorum_, Godetia Double Rose, -and white Snapdragons. Behind and among these are groups of the clear -white Achillea, The Pearl, and the round purple heads of Globe Thistle. -Here and there, pushing to the front, is a Silver Thistle (_Eryngium -giganteum_). At the back shoot up Pink Hollyhocks, the kind being one -of home growth known as Pink Beauty. The deep green of a Fig-tree that -covers the upper part of the landing and outside stone steps to a loft -is an excellent background to the tender greys of these August borders. -Unfortunately, the main group of pink Hollyhock, that should have stood -up straight and tall and shown well against the window and silvery grey -weather-boarding of the loft, failed altogether last season; in fact, -all the Hollyhocks were poor and stunted, so that an important part of -the intended effect was lost. - - * * * * * - -Of Lavender hedges there are several, of varying ages, in different -parts of the garden. Lavender for cutting should be from plants not -more than four to five years old, but for pictorial effect the bushes -may be much older. When they are growing old it is a good plan to plant -white and purple Clematises so that they can be trained freely through -and over them. - -There are comparatively few shrubs that flower in autumn, so that it -is quite a pleasant surprise to come upon a group of them all in bloom -together. The picture shows the satisfactory effect of a group of -_Æsculus macrostachya_ and _Olearia Haastii_. It would have been all -the better for some plants of the beautiful blue-flowered _Perowskya -atriplicifolia_ and for _Caryopteris mastacanthus_ in front, but at the -time of planting I did not think of the _Caryopteris_ and did not know -the _Perowskya_. (_See_ p. 75.) - -August is the month of China Asters. I find many people are shy -of these capital plants, perhaps because the mixtures, such as are -commonly grown, contain rather harsh and discordant colours; also -perhaps because a good many of the kinds, having been purposely dwarfed -in order to fit them for pot-culture and bedding, are too stiff to look -pretty in general gardening. Such kinds will always have their uses, -but what is wanted now in the best gardening is more freedom of habit. -I have a little space that I give entirely to China Asters. I have -often had the pleasure of showing it to some person who professed a -dislike to them, and with great satisfaction have heard them say, with -true admiration: "Oh! but I had no idea that China Asters could be so -beautiful." - -[Illustration: _A LAVENDER HEDGE._] - -[Illustration: _ÆSCULUS MACROSTACHYA AND OLEARIA HAASTII._] - -It is only a question of selection, for the kinds are now so many and -the colourings so various that there are China Asters to suit all -tastes and uses. My own liking is for those of the pure violet-purple -and lavender colours, with whites; and to plants with these clear, -clean tints my Aster garden is restricted. In other places I grow some -of the tenderer pinks, a good blood-red, and a clear pale yellow; but -these are kept quite away from the purples. The kinds chosen are within -the Giant Comet, Ostrich Plume and Victoria classes--all plants with -long-stalked bloom and a rather free habit of growth. For some years I -was much hindered from getting the colours I wanted from the inaccurate -way in which they are described in seed-lists. Finally I paid a visit -to the trial-grounds of one of our premier seed-houses, and saw all the -kinds and the colourings and made my own notes. I cannot but think -that a correct description of the colours, instead of a fanciful one, -would help both customer and seed-merchant. As it is, the customer, in -order to get the desired flowers, has to _learn a code_. I have often -observed, in comparing French and English seed-lists, that the French -do their best to describe colours accurately, but that the English use -some wording which does not describe the colour, but appears to be -intended as a complimentary euphemism. Thus, if I want a Giant Comet -of that beautiful pale silvery lavender, perhaps the loveliest colour -of which a China Aster is capable, I have to ask for "azure blue." If -I want a full lilac, I must order "blue"; if a full purple it is "dark -blue." If I want a strong, rich violet-purple, I must beware of asking -for purple, for I shall get a terrible magenta such as one year spoilt -the whole colour-scheme of my Aster garden. It is not as if the right -colour-words were wanting, for the language is rich in them--violet, -lavender, lilac, mauve, purple;--these, with slight additions, will -serve to describe the whole of the colourings falsely called blue. The -word blue should not be used at all in connexion with these flowers. -There are no blue China Asters. - -The diagram shows a simple arrangement for a little garden of China -Asters of the purple and white colourings. The seed-list names are -used in order to identify the sorts recommended. A Lavender hedge -surrounds the whole; the paths are edged with _Stachys lanata_. Taking -Messrs. Sutton's list and translating into colour-words as usually -understood, the tints are: - - Azure blue Tender pale lavender-lilac. - Blue Light purple. - Dark blue Rich dark purple. - -I am very glad to learn that Messrs. Sutton have in contemplation a -revision of some of these puzzling colour-names. - -[Illustration: _PLAN OF A SMALL GARDEN OF CHINA ASTERS._] - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -THE FLOWER BORDERS IN SEPTEMBER - - -The main flower border shows in September much the same aspect as in -August. But early in the month the middle mass of strong colouring, -enhanced by Tritomas and the fuller bloom of Dahlias, is at its -brightest. The bold masses of Canna foliage have also grown up and -show their intended effect. They form one of the highest points in the -border. No attempt is made to keep all the back-row plants standing -high; on the contrary, many that would be the tallest are pulled down -to do colour-work of medium height. The effect is much more pictorial -when the plants at the back rise only here and there to a height -of nine or ten feet; mounting gradually and by no means at equal -distances, but somewhat as the forms of greater altitude rise in the -ridge of a mountain range. The diagram shows how it comes in the case -of my own border in September. (_See_ p. 52.) - -Rather near the front, the bushy masses of Gypsophila, that a month -ago were silvery grey, have now turned to a brownish colour. They are -partly covered with trailing Nasturtiums, but the portions of brown -cloud that remain tone well with the rich reds that are near them. In -the back of this region dark claret and blood-red Hollyhocks still -show colour, and scarlet Dahlias are a mass of gorgeous bloom. Their -nearest neighbours are tall flaming Tritomas with, in front of them, -one of the dwarfer Tritomas that is crowded with its orange-scarlet -flowers of a rather softer tone. Then come scarlet Gladiolus, a wide -group of a splendid red Pentstemon, and, to the front, an edging -and partly carpeting mass of a good, short-growing form of _Salvia -splendens_. - -[Illustration: _SOME OF THE EARLY ASTERS._] - -[Illustration: _THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN._] - -After these strong reds comes a drift of the brilliant orange African -Marigold, one of the most telling plants of the time of year. Coming -to the yellows of middle strength, there are some of the perennial -Sunflowers, among them the one that seems to be a form of _Helianthus -orgyalis_, described in the last chapter. This and some others are -trained down to cover plants now out of bloom. The fine double -Rudbeckia called Golden Glow is treated in the same way. Intergrouped -with it is a useful pale form of _Helianthus lætiflorus_ that takes up -the colour when the Rudbeckia is failing. - -In the near end region of blue-grey foliage the bloom of _Clematis -davidiana_, also of a greyish blue, but of a colour-quality that -is almost exclusively its own, tones delightfully with its nearest -neighbours of leaf and bloom. About here some pots of _Plumbago -capensis_ are dropped in; their wide-ranging branches, instead of -being stiffly tied, are trained over some bushy plants of leaden -blue-foliaged Rue. Near this, and partly shooting up through some of -the same setting, are the spikes of a beautiful Gladiolus of pale, -cool pink colour, the much-prized gift of an American garden-loving -friend. Tall white Snapdragons, five feet high, show finely among the -gracefully recurved leaves of the blue Lyme Grass. Beyond is a group of -_Lilium auratum_, and in the more distant front, pale sulphur African -Marigold, just now at its best. - -The further end of the border that also has grey foliage is bright with -pink Hydrangeas, white and pink Snapdragons, white Dahlias, purple -Clematis, _Lilium auratum_ and _Aster acris_. _Yucca flaccida_ is still -in beauty. - - * * * * * - -There is another range of double border for the month of September -alone. It passes down through the middle of the kitchen garden and -is approached by an arch of Laburnum. It is backed on each side by a -Hornbeam hedge some five and a half feet high. This border is mainly -for the earlier Michaelmas Daisies; those that bloom in the first three -weeks of the month. Grey foliage in plenty is to the front. Running in -between the groups is _Artemisia stelleriana_, the quite hardy plant -that so well imitates _Cineraria maritima_; there is also Stachys and -White Pink. Further back among the flowers are drifts of the grey-blue -Lyme Grass, some grey bushes of Phlomis and a silvery leaved Willow, -kept to a suitable size by careful pruning. - -[Illustration: _THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN: LOWER END._] - -[Illustration: _THE SEPTEMBER GARDEN: UPPER END._] - -[Illustration: _BEGONIAS IN A SETTING OF MEGASEA FOLIAGE._] - -[Illustration: _EARLY ASTERS AND PYRETHRUM ULIGINOSUM._] - -[Illustration: _THE SEPTEMBER BORDER OF EARLY MICHAELMAS DAISIES._] - -The scheme of colouring consists of this groundwork of grey foliage, -with white, lilac, purple and pale pink flowers; and, breaking into -this colouring in two or three distinct places, flowers of pale yellow -and yellowish white with suitable accompanying leafage. There is also, -in quite another part of the garden, a later border of other Michaelmas -Daisies that will follow this in time of blooming. But the September -borders have a very different appearance because of their flowers of -pink and yellow, colours which are absent in those of the later season. - -The yellow flowers are the pale sulphur African Marigold and pale -yellow and whitish yellow tall Snapdragons, with bordering masses of -variegated Coltsfoot, and the Golden Feather Feverfew allowed to bloom. -The pink colourings are the wide-headed _Sedum spectabile_, pink Japan -Anemone and a few pale pink Gladioli. The whites are Dahlias Constance -and Henry Patrick, _Pyrethrum uliginosum_, the charming perennial Aster -Colerette Blanche, a taller white or yellowish white Aster with rough -stems and harsh-feeling foliage that I know as _A. umbellatus_. Here -also are white Japan Anemones, white Snapdragons and white China Asters -of the large, long-stemmed late-blooming kind that were formerly known -as Vick's, but are now called Mammoth. Among the grey bordering plants -are groups of dwarf Ageratum, one of the best of the tender plants of -September and quite excellent with the accompanying grey foliage. The -grey bordering is not merely an edging but a general front groundwork, -running here and there a yard deep into the border. - - * * * * * - -Begonias are at their best throughout the month of September. Beds -of Begonias alone never seem to me quite satisfactory. Here there is -no opportunity for growing them in beds, but I have them in a bit -of narrow border that is backed by shrubs, but is kept constantly -enriched. A groundwork of the large-leaved form of _Megasea cordifolia_ -is planted so as to surround variously sized groups of Begonias--groups -of from five to nine plants. The setting of the more solid leaves -gives the Begonias a better appearance and makes their bright bloom -tell more vividly. They follow in this sequence of colouring: yellow, -white, palest pink, full pink, rose, deep red, deep rose, salmon-rose, -red-lead colour or orange-scarlet, scarlet, red-lead and orange. - -It is a matter of great regret that the best kind of Dahlias for garden -effect have lost favour with nurserymen, so that it is now difficult, -if not impossible, to obtain from them the most desirable kinds. These -are a selection of those that were first called Cactus Dahlias, much -more free in form than the old show Dahlias, but with the petals not -attenuated and pointed as they are in the modern Cactus kinds. The -greater number of these, pretty though their individual blooms are on -the show-table, are but of little use in the garden, whereas the old -sorts, King of the Cactus, Cochineal, Lady Ardilaun, Fire King and -Orange Fire King are among the most gorgeous of our September flowers. -In the same class are: Mrs. Hawkins, palest lemon flushed with pink; -William Pearse, bright yellow; Lady M. Marsham, bright copper; J. W. -Standling, orange, (the two last about four feet high); and the two -good whites, Constance and Henry Patrick. Of these, all in my opinion -indispensable kinds, only Fire King, as far as I am aware, survives in -contemporary trade lists. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -WOOD AND SHRUBBERY EDGES - - -Opportunities for good gardening are so often overlooked that it may -be well to draw attention to some of those that are most commonly -neglected. - -When woodland joins garden ground there is too often a sudden jolt; -the wood ends with a hard line, sometimes with a path along it, -accentuating the defect. When the wood is of Scotch Fir of some age -there is a monotonous emptiness of naked trunk and bare ground. In -wild moorland this is characteristic and has its own beauty; it may -even pleasantly accompany the garden when there is only a view into it -here and there; but when the path passes along, furlong after furlong, -with no attempt to bring the wood into harmony with the garden, then -the monotony becomes oppressive and the sudden jolt is unpleasantly -perceived. There is the well-stocked garden and there is the hollow -wood with no cohesion between the two--no sort of effort to make them -join hands. - -It would have been better if from the first the garden had not been -brought quite so close to the wood, then the space between, anything -from twenty-five to forty feet, might have been planted so as to bring -them into unison. In such a case the path would go, not next the trees -but along the middle of the neutral ground and would be so planted as -to belong equally to garden and wood. The trees would then take their -place as the bounding and sheltering feature. It is better to plan it -like this at first than to gain the space by felling the outer trees, -because the trees at the natural wood edge are better furnished with -side branches. Such ground on the shady side of the Scotch Firs would -be the best possible site for a Rhododendron walk, and for Azaleas and -Kalmias, kept distinct from the Rhododendrons. Then the Scotch Fir -indicates the presence of a light peaty soil; the very thing for that -excellent but much-neglected undershrub _Gaultheria Shallon_. This -is one of the few things that will grow actually under the Firs, not -perhaps in the densest part of an old wood, but anywhere about its -edges, or where any light comes in at a clearing or along a cart-way. -When once established it spreads with a steady abundance of increase, -creeping underground and gradually clothing more and more of the floor -of the wood. The flower and fruit have already been shown at pp. 18-19. - -[Illustration: _GARLAND ROSE, WHERE GARDEN JOINS WOOD._] - -[Illustration: _POLYGONUM COMPACTUM AND MEGASEA AT A WOOD EDGE._] - -[Illustration: _LILIES AND FUNKIAS AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE._] - -[Illustration: _OLEARIA GUNNI, FERN AND FUNKIA AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE._] - -Rhododendrons are usually planted much too close together. This is -a great mistake; they should not be nearer than eight to ten feet, -or even further, apart, especially in the case of _ponticum_ and -some of the larger growing kinds. It is a common practice to fill -up the edges of their prepared places with a collection of Heaths. -The soil will no doubt suit Heaths, but I never do it or recommend -it because I feel that the right place for Heaths is quite open -ground, and there are other plants that I think look better with the -young Rhododendrons. For my own liking the best of these are hardy -Ferns--Male Fern, Lady Fern and Dilated Shield Fern, with groups of -Lilies: _L. longiflorum_ and the lovely rosy _L. rubellum_ towards -the front, and _L. auratum_ further back. Some of the Andromedas, -especially _Catesbæi_ and _axillaris_ of the _Leucothoë_[ section are -capital plants for this use. Besides Lilies, a few other flowering -plants suitable for the Rhododendron walk are: white Foxgloves, white -Columbine, white _Epilobium angustifolium_, _Trillium_, _Epimedium -pinnatum_, _Uvularia grandiflora_, _Dentaria diphylla_ and _Gentiana -asclepiadea_. In the same region, and also partly as edgings to -the Rhododendron clumps, suitable small bushes are _Rhododendron -myrtifolium_, the Alpenrose (_R. ferruginium_) and the sweet-leaved -_Ledum palustre_. - - * * * * * - -When the garden comes on the sunny side of the wood the planting would -be quite different. Here is the place for Cistuses; for the bolder -groups the best are _C. laurifolius_ and _C. cyprius_, backed by -plantings of Tamarisk, Arbutus and White Broom, with here and there a -free-growing Rose of the wilder sort, such as the type _polyantha_ and -_Brunonis_. If the fir-boughs come down within reach, the wild Clematis -(_C. Vitalba_) can be led into them; it will soon ramble up the tree, -filling it with its pretty foliage and abundance of August bloom. - -The Cistuses delight in a groundwork of Heath; the wild Calluna looks -as well as any, but if cultivated kinds are used they should be in good -quantities of one sort at a time, and never as hard edgings, but as -free carpeting masses. - -For the edges of other kinds of woodland the free Roses are always -beautiful; where a Holly comes to the front, a Rose such as Dundee -Rambler or the Garland will grow up it, supported by its outer branches -in the most delightful way. The wild Clematis is in place here too, -also the shade-loving plants already named. In deciduous woodland -there is probably some undergrowth of Hazel, or of Bramble and wild -Honeysuckle. White Foxgloves should be planted at the edge and a little -way back, Daffodils for the time when the leaves are not yet there, and -Lily of the Valley, whose charming bloom and brilliant foliage come -with the young leaves of May. - -Where the wood comes nearest the house with only lawn between, it is -well to have a grouping of hardy Ferns and Lilies; where it is giving -place to garden ground and there is a shrubby background, the smaller -Polygonums, such as _P. compactum_, are in place. - -[Illustration: _FERNS AND LILIES AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE NEXT THE WOOD._] - -[Illustration: _GYPSOPHILA AND MEGASEA AT A SHRUBBERY EDGE._] - -The spaces more or less wide between large shrubs and turf are full -of opportunities for ingenious treatment; they are just the places -most often neglected, or at any rate not well enough considered. I -have always taken delight in working out satisfactory ways of treating -them. It seems desirable to have, next the grass, some foliage of -rather distinct and important size or form. For this use the Megaseas -are invaluable; the one most generally useful being the large variety -of _M. cordifolia_. Funkias are also beautiful, but as their leaves -come late and go with the first frosts or even earlier, whereas -the Megaseas persist the whole year round, the latter are the most -generally desirable. These shrub-edge spaces occur for the most part in -bays, giving an inducement to invent a separate treatment for each bay. - -The two illustrations with the front planting of _Funkia Sieboldi_ are -two adjoining bays; one showing the charming shrubby Aster _Olearia -Gunni_ in the middle of June, the other some groups of _Lilium -longiflorum_, planted in November of the year before, and in bloom in -early August. - -Sometimes a single plant of _Gypsophila paniculata_ will fill the whole -of one of the recesses or bays between the larger shrubs; _Hydrangea -paniculata_ is another good filling plant, and the hardy Fuchsias; both -of these, though really woody shrubs, being cut down every winter and -treated as herbaceous plants. - -There is a small growing perennial Aster--I will not venture on its -specific name, but have seen it figured in an American book of wild -flowers as _divaricata_, and provisionally know it by that name. I -find it, in conjunction with Megasea, one of the most useful of these -filling plants for edge spaces that just want some pretty trimming -but are not wide enough for anything larger. The same group was -photographed two years running. The first year the bloom was a little -thicker below, but the second I thought it still better when it had -partly rambled up into the lower branches of the Weigela that stood -behind it. The little thin starry flower is white and is borne in -branching heads; the leaves are lance-shaped and sharply pointed; but -when the plant is examined in the hand its most distinct character is -the small fine wire-like stem, smooth and nearly black, that branches -about in an angular way of its own. - -These are only a very few examples of what may also be done in a number -of other ways, but if they serve to draw attention to those generally -neglected shrub edges, it may be to the benefit of many gardens. Where -there is room for a good group of plants they should be of some size -or solidity of character such as Tree Lupine, Peony, Acanthus, _Spiræa -Aruncus_, the larger hardy Ferns, _Rubus nutkanus_ or plants of some -such size and character. The low-growing _Bambusa tessellata_ is a -capital shrub-edge plant. - -[Illustration: _LILIES AND FERNS AT THE WOOD EDGE NEAR THE LAWN._] - -[Illustration: _SMALL WIRE-STEMMED ASTER AT SHRUB EDGE. SECOND YEAR -AFTER PLANTING._] - -[Illustration: _SMALL WIRE-STEMMED ASTER AT SHRUB EDGE. THIRD YEAR -AFTER PLANTING._] - -[Illustration: _STOBÆA PURPUREA, A GREY GARDEN WALL PLANT FOR A SUNNY -PLACE._] - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -GARDENS OF SPECIAL COLOURING - - -It is extremely interesting to work out gardens in which some special -colouring predominates, and to those who, by natural endowment or -careful eye-cultivation, possess or have acquired what artists -understand by an eye for colour, it opens out a whole new range of -garden delights. - -Arrangements of this kind are sometimes attempted, for occasionally I -hear of a garden for blue plants, or a white garden, but I think such -ideas are but rarely worked out with the best aims. I have in mind a -whole series of gardens of restricted colouring, though I have not, -alas, either room or means enough to work them out for myself, and have -to be satisfied with an all-too-short length of double border for a -grey scheme. But, besides my small grey garden I badly want others, and -especially a gold garden, a blue garden, and a green garden; though the -number of these desires might easily be multiplied. - -It is a curious thing that people will sometimes spoil some garden -project for the sake of a word. For instance, a blue garden, for -beauty's sake, may be hungering for a group of white Lilies, or for -something of palest lemon-yellow, but it is not allowed to have it -because it is called the blue garden, and there must be no flowers in -it but blue flowers. I can see no sense in this; it seems to me like -fetters foolishly self-imposed. Surely the business of the blue garden -is to be beautiful as well as to be blue. My own idea is that it should -be beautiful first, and then just as blue as may be consistent with its -best possible beauty. Moreover, any experienced colourist knows that -the blues will be more telling--more purely blue--by the juxtaposition -of rightly placed complementary colour. How it may be done is shown in -the plan, for, as I cannot have these gardens myself, it will be some -consolation to suggest to those who may be in sympathy with my views, -how they may be made. - - * * * * * - -The Grey garden is so called because most of its plants have grey -foliage, and all the carpeting and bordering plants are grey or -whitish. The flowers are white, lilac, purple, and pink. It is a garden -mostly for August, because August is the time when the greater number -of suitable plants are in bloom, but a Grey garden could also be made -for September, or even October, because of the number of Michaelmas -Daisies that can be brought into use. - -A plan is given of a connected series of gardens of special colouring. -For the sake of clearness they are shown in as simple a form as -possible, but the same colour-scheme could be adapted to others of more -important design and larger extent. - -The Gold garden is chosen for the middle, partly because it contains -the greater number of permanent shrubs and is bright and cheerful -all the year round, and partly because it is the best preparation, -according to natural colour-law, for the enjoyment of the compartments -on either side. It is supposed that the house is a little way away to -the north, with such a garden-scheme close to it as may best suit its -style and calibre. Then I would have a plantation of shrubs and trees. -The shade and solidity of this would rest and refresh the eye and -mind, making them the more ready to enjoy the colour garden. Suddenly -entering the Gold garden, even on the dullest day, will be like coming -into sunshine. Through the shrub-wood there is also a path to right -and left parallel to the long axis of the colour garden, with paths -turning south at its two ends, joining the ends of the colour-garden -paths. This has been taken into account in arranging the sequence of -the compartments. - -The hedges that back the borders and form the partitions are for the -most part of Yew, grown and clipped to a height of seven feet. But in -the case of the Gold garden, where the form is larger and more free -than in the others, there is no definite hedge, but a planting of -unclipped larger gold Hollies, and the beautiful Golden Plane, so cut -back and regulated as to keep within the desired bounds. This absence -of a stiff hedge gives more freedom of aspect and a better cohesion -with the shrub-wood. - -In the case of the Grey garden the hedge is of Tamarisk (_Tamarix -gallica_), whose feathery grey-green is in delightful harmony with the -other foliage greys. It will be seen on the plan that where this joins -the Gold garden the hedge is double, for it must be of gold Holly on -one side and of Tamarisk on the other. At the entrances and partition -where the path passes, the hedge shrubs are allowed to grow higher, and -are eventually trained to form arches over the path. - -In the Gold and Green gardens, the shrubs, which form the chief part -of the planting, are shown as they will be after some years' growth. -It is best to have them so from the first. If, in order to fill the -space at once, several are planted where one only should eventually -stand, the extra ones being removed later, the one left probably does -not stand quite right. I strongly counsel the placing of them singly at -first, and that until they have grown the space should be filled with -temporary plants. Of these, in the Gold garden, the most useful will -be _Œnothera lamarckiana_, _Verbascum olympicum_, and _V. phlomoides_, -with more Spanish Broom than the plan shows till the gold Hollies -are grown; and yellow-flowered annuals, such as the several kinds of -_Chrysanthemum coronarium_, both single and double, and _Coreopsis -Drummondi_; also a larger quantity of African Marigolds, the pale -primrose and the lemon-coloured. The fine tall yellow Snapdragons will -also be invaluable. Flowers of a deep orange colour, such as the orange -African Marigold, so excellent for their own use, are here out of -place, only those of pale and middle yellow being suitable. - -In such a garden it will be best to have, next the path, either a whole -edging of dwarf, gold-variegated Box-bushes about eighteen inches -to two feet high, or a mixed planting of these and small bushes of -gold-variegated Euonymus clipped down to not much over two feet. The -edge next the path would be kept trimmed to a line. - -[Illustration: _THE GREY BORDERS: GYPSOPHILA, ECHINOPS, PINK HOLLYHOCK, -HELIOTROPE AND SILVER THISTLE._] - -[Illustration: _OCTOBER BORDERS OF MICHAELMAS DAISIES._] - -[Illustration: _A SEPTEMBER GREY GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _THE GREY BORDER: PINK HOLLYHOCK, ECHINOPS, ACHILLEA -PEARL, GYPSOPHILA, STACHYS, etc._] - -[Illustration: _SPECIAL COLOUR GARDEN--GENERAL PLAN._] - -[Illustration: _A QUARTER OF THE GOLD GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _THE ORANGE GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _THE GREY GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _THE BLUE GARDEN._] - -[Illustration: _THE GREEN GARDEN._] - -The strength of colour and degree of variation is so great that it is -well worth going to a nursery to pick out all these gold-variegated -plants. It is not enough to tell the gardener to get them. There should -be fervour on the part of the garden's owner such as will take him on -a gold-plant pilgrimage to all good nurseries within reach, or even -to some rather out of reach. No good gardening comes of not taking -pains. All good gardening is the reward of well-directed and strongly -sustained effort. - -Where, in the Gold garden, the paths meet and swing round in a circle, -there may be some accentuating ornament--a sundial, a stone vase for -flowers, or a tank for a yellow Water-lily. If a sundial, and there -should be some incised lettering, do not have the letters gilt because -it is the Gold garden; the colour and texture of gilding are quite out -of place. If there is a tank, do not have goldfish; their colour is -quite wrong. Never hurt the garden for the sake of the tempting word. - -The word "gold" in itself is, of course, an absurdity; no growing leaf -or flower has the least resemblance to the colour of gold. But the word -may be used because it has passed into the language with a commonly -accepted meaning. - -I have always felt a certain hesitation in using the free-growing -perennial Sunflowers. For one thing, the kinds with the running roots -are difficult to keep in check, and their yearly transplantation among -other established perennials is likely to cause disturbance and injury -to their neighbours. Then, in so many neglected gardens they have been -let run wild, surviving when other plants have been choked, that, half -unconsciously, one has come to hold them cheap and unworthy of the best -use. I take it that my own impression is not mine alone, for often when -I have been desired to do planting-plans for flower borders, I have -been asked not to put in any of these Sunflowers because "they are so -common." - -But nothing is "common" in the sense of base or unworthy if it is -rightly used, and it seems to me that this Gold garden is just the -place where these bright autumn flowers may be employed to great -advantage. I have therefore shown _Helianthus rigidus_ and its -tall-growing variety _Miss Mellish_, although the colour of both is -quite the deepest I should care to advise; the paler yellow of _H. -lætiflorus_ being better, especially the capital pale form of this -Sunflower, and of one that I know as a variety of _H. orgyalis_, -described at p. 69. - -The golden Planes, where the path comes in from the north, are of -course deciduous, and it might be well to have gold Hollies again at -the back of these, or gold Yews, to help the winter effect. - -In some places in the plan the word "gold" has been omitted, but -the yellow-leaved or yellow-variegated form of the shrub is always -intended. There is a graceful cut-leaved Golden Elder that is -desirable, as well as the common one. - -[Illustration: _A DETAIL OF THE GREY SEPTEMBER GARDEN. PERENNIAL ASTERS -AND WHITE CHINA ASTER MAMMOTH IN FRONT._] - -Perhaps the Grey garden is seen at its best by reaching it through the -orange borders. Here the eye becomes filled and saturated with the -strong red and yellow colouring. D on the plan stands for Dahlia; the -other plant names are written in full. This filling with the strong, -rich colouring has the natural effect of making the eye eagerly -desirous for the complementary colour, so that, standing by the inner -Yew arch and suddenly turning to look into the Grey garden, the effect -is surprisingly--quite astonishingly--luminous and refreshing. One -never knew before how vividly bright Ageratum could be, or Lavender or -Nepeta; even the grey-purple of Echinops appears to have more positive -colour than one's expectation would assign to it. The purple of the -Clematises of the Jackmanii class becomes piercingly brilliant, while -the grey and glaucous foliage looks strangely cool and clear. - -The plan shows the disposition of the plants, with grey-white edging -of _Cineraria maritima_, Stachys and Santolina. There are groups of -Lavender with large-flowered Clematises (C in the plan) placed so that -they may be trained close to them and partly over them. There are the -monumental forms of the taller Yuccas, _Y. gloriosa_ and its variety -_recurva_ towards the far angles, and, nearer the front (marked Yucca -in plan), the free-blooming _Yucca filamentosa_ of smaller size. The -flower-colouring is of purple, pink and white. Besides the Yuccas, the -other white flowers are _Lilium longiflorum_ and _Lilium candidum_ (L C -on plan), the clear white Achillea The Pearl and the grey-white clouds -of _Gypsophila paniculata_. The pink flowers are Sutton's Godetia -Double Rose, sown in place early in May, the beautiful clear pink -Hollyhock Pink Beauty, and the pale pink Double Soapwort. Clematis and -white Everlasting Pea are planted so that they can be trained to cover -the Gypsophila when its bloom is done and the seed-pods are turning -brown. As soon as it loses its grey colouring the flowering tops are -cut off, and the Pea and Clematis, already brought near, are trained -over. When the Gypsophila is making its strong growth in May, the -shoots are regulated and supported by some stiff branching spray that -is stuck among it. A little later this is quite hidden, but it remains -as a firm sub-structure when the top of the Gypsophila is cut back and -the other plants are brought over. - -Elymus is the blue-green Lyme Grass, a garden form of the handsome -blue-leaved grass that grows on the seaward edges of many of our -sea-shore sandhills. The Soapwort next to it is the double form of -_Saponaria officinalis_, found wild in many places. - -Of Ageratum, two kinds are used--a brightly coloured one of the dwarf -kinds for places near the front, where it tells as a close mass of -colour, and the tall _A. mexicanum_ for filling up further back in the -border, where it shows as a diffuse purple cloud. The Nepeta is the -good garden Catmint (_N. Mussini_). Its normal flowering time is June, -but it is cut half back, removing the first bloom, by the middle of the -month, when it at once makes new flowering shoots. - -[Illustration: _YUCCAS AND GREY FOLIAGE._] - -[Illustration: _A FRONT EDGE OF GREY FOLIAGE._] - -Now, after the grey plants, the Gold garden looks extremely bright and -sunny. A few minutes suffice to fill the eye with the yellow influence, -and then we pass to the Blue garden, where there is another delightful -shock of eye-pleasure. The brilliancy and purity of colour are almost -incredible. Surely no blue flowers were ever so blue before! That is -the impression received. For one thing, all the blue flowers used, with -the exception of Eryngium and _Clematis davidiana_, are quite pure -blues; these two are grey-blues. There are no purple-blues, such as the -bluest of the Campanulas and the perennial Lupines; they would not be -admissible. With the blues are a few white and palest yellow flowers; -the foam-white _Clematis recta_, a delightful foil to Delphinium -Belladonna; white perennial Lupine with an almond-like softness of -white; _Spiræa Aruncus_, another foam-coloured flower. Then milk-white -Tree Lupine, in its carefully decreed place near the bluish foliage -of Rue and Yucca. Then there is the tender citron of Lupine Somerset -and the full canary of the tall yellow Snapdragon, the diffused pale -yellow of the soft plumy Thalictrum and the strong canary of _Lilium -szovitzianum_, with white Everlasting Pea and white Hollyhock at the -back. White-striped Maize grows up to cover the space left empty by the -Delphiniums when their bloom is over, and pots of _Plumbago capense_ -are dropped in to fill empty spaces. One group of this is trained over -the bluish-leaved _Clematis recta_, which goes out of flower with the -third week of July. - -Yuccas, both of the large and small kinds, are also used in the -Blue garden, and white Lilies, _candidum_ and _longiflorum_. There -is foliage both of glaucous and of bright green colour, besides an -occasional patch of the silvery _Eryngium giganteum_. At the front -edge are the two best Funkias, _F. grandiflora_, with leaves of bright -yellow-green, and _F. Sieboldi_, whose leaves are glaucous. The -variegated Coltsfoot is a valuable edge-plant where the yellowish white -of its bold parti-colouring is in place, and I find good use for the -variegated form of the handsome Grass _Glyceria_ or _Poa aquatica_. -Though this is a plant whose proper place is in wet ground, it will -accommodate itself to the flower border, but it is well to keep it -on the side away from the sun. It harmonises well in colour with the -Coltsfoot; as a garden plant it is of the same class as the old Ribbon -Grass, but is very much better. The great white-striped Japanese grass, -_Eulalia japonica striata_ (EU on the plan), is planted behind the -Delphiniums at the angles, and groups well with the Maize just in front. - -From the Blue garden, passing eastward, we come to the Green garden. -Shrubs of bright and deep green colouring and polished leaf-surface -predominate. Here are green Aucubas and Skimmias, with _Ruscus -racemosus_, the beautiful Alexandrian or Victory Laurel, and more -polished foliage of _Acanthus_, _Funkia_, _Asarum_, _Lilium candidum_ -and _longiflorum_, and _Iris fœtidissima_. Then feathery masses of -paler green, Male Fern and Lady Fern and _Myrrhis odorata_, the -handsome fern-like Sweet Cicely of old English gardens. In the angles -are again Eulalias, but these are the variety _zebrina_ with the leaves -barred across with yellow. - -In the Green garden the flowers are fewer and nearly all -white--Campanulas _latifolia_ and _persicifolia_, Lilies, Tulips, -Foxgloves, Snapdragons, Peonies, Hellebores--giving just a little -bloom for each season to accompany the general scheme of polished and -fern-like foliage. A little bloom of palest yellow shows in the front -in May and June, with the flowers of Uvularia and Epimedium. But the -Green garden, for proper development, should be on a much larger scale. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -CLIMBING PLANTS - - -When one sees climbing plants or any of the shrubs that are so often -used as climbers, planted in the usual way on a house or wall, about -four feet apart and with no attempt at arrangement, it gives one -that feeling of regret for opportunities lost or misused that is the -sentiment most often aroused in the mind of the garden critic in the -great number of pleasure-grounds that are planted without thought or -discernment. Not infrequently in passing along a country road, with -eye alert to note the beauties that are so often presented by little -wayside cottage gardens, something is seen that may well serve as a -lesson in better planting. The lesson is generally one that teaches -greater simplicity--the doing of one thing at a time; the avoidance -of overmuch detail. One such cottage has under the parlour window an -old bush of _Pyrus japonica_. It had been kept well spurred back and -must have been a mass of gorgeous bloom in early spring. The rest of -the cottage was embowered in an old Grape Vine, perhaps of all wall -plants the most beautiful, and, I always think, the most harmonious -with cottages or small houses of the cottage class. It would seem to -be least in place on the walls of houses of classical type, though -such houses are often unsuitable for any wall plants. Still there are -occasions where the noble polished foliage of Magnolia comes admirably -on their larger spaces, and the clear-cut refinement of Myrtle on their -lesser areas of wall-surface. - -[Illustration: _HARDY GRAPE VINE ON SOUTH SIDE OF HOUSE._] - -[Illustration: _HARDY GRAPE VINE ON HOUSE WALL._] - -It is, like all other matters of garden planning, a question -of knowledge and good taste. The kind of wall or house and its -neighbouring forms are taken into account and a careful choice is made -of the most suitable plants. For my own part I like to give a house, -whatever its size or style, some dominant note in wall-planting. In my -own home, which is a house of the large cottage class, the prevailing -wall-growths are Vines and Figs in the south and west, and, in a shady -northward facing court between two projecting wings, _Clematis montana_ -on the two cooler sides, and again a Vine upon the other. At one angle -on the warmer side of the house where the height to the eaves is not -great, China Roses have been trained up, and Rosemary, which clothes -the whole foot of the wall, is here encouraged to rise with it. The -colour of the China Rose bloom and the dusky green of the Rosemary are -always to me one of the most charming combinations. In remembrance -of the cottage example lately quoted there is _Pyrus japonica_ under -the long sitting-room window. I remember another cottage that had a -porch covered with the golden balls of _Kerria japonica_, and China -Roses reaching up the greater part of the low walls of half timber -and plastering; the pink Roses seeming to ask one which of them were -the loveliest in colour; whether it was those that came against the -silver-grey of the old oak or those that rested on the warm-white -plaster. It should be remembered that of all Roses the pink China is -the one that is more constantly in bloom than any other, for its first -flowers are perfected before the end of May, and in sheltered places -the later ones last till Christmas. - -The _Clematis montana_ in the court riots over the wall facing east -and up over the edge of the roof. At least it appears to riot, but is -really trained and regulated; the training favouring its natural way of -throwing down streamers and garlands of its long bloom-laden cordage. -At one point it runs through and over a Guelder Rose that is its only -wall companion. Then it turns to the left and is trained in garlands -along a moulded oak beam that forms the base of a timbered wall with -plastered panels. - -But this is only one way of using this lovely climbing plant. Placed at -the foot of any ragged tree--old worn-out Apple or branching Thorn--or -a rough brake of Bramble and other wild bushes, it will soon fill or -cover it with its graceful growth and bounteous bloom. It will rush -up a tall Holly or clothe an old hedgerow where thorns have run up -and become thin and gappy, or cover any unsightly sheds or any kind -of outbuilding. All Clematises prefer a chalky soil, but _montana_ -does not insist on this, and in my pictures they are growing in sandy -ground. In the end of May it comes into bloom, and is at its best in -the early days of June. When the flowers are going over and the white -petals show that slightly shrivelled surface that comes before they -fall, they give off a sweet scent like vanilla. This cannot always be -smelt from the actual flowers, but is carried by the air blowing over -the flowering mass; it is a thing that is often a puzzle to owners of -gardens some time in the second week of June. - -[Illustration: _VINE AND FIG AT DOOR OF MUSHROOM HOUSE._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS MONTANA AT ANGLE OF COURT._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS MONTANA OVER WORKSHOP WINDOW._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS MONTANA TRAINED AS GARLANDS._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS FLAMMULA AND SPIRÆA LINDLEYANA ON A WALL._] - -[Illustration: _ABUTILON VITIFOLIUM._] - -[Illustration: _IPOMŒA "HEAVENLY BLUE" AND CHASSELAS VINE._] - -[Illustration: _SOLANUM JASMINOIDES._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON ANGLE OF COTTAGE._] - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON COTTAGE._] - -Another of these Clematises, that, like the _montana_ of gardens, is -very near the wild species and is good for all the same purposes, is -_C. Flammula_, blooming in September. Very slightly trained it takes -the form of flowery clouds. The illustrations show it used in various -ways, on a cottage, on an oak-paled fence and on a wall combined with -the feathery foliage of _Spiræa Lindleyana_. I do not think there is -any incident in my garden that has been more favourably noticed than -the happy growth of these two plants together. The wall faces north -a little west, and every year it is a delight to see not only the -beauty of associated form, but the loveliness of the colouring; for the -Clematis bloom has the warm white of foam and the Spiræa has leaves of -the rather pale green of Lady Fern besides a graceful fern-like form, -and a slight twist or turn also of a fern-like character. But this -Clematis has many other uses, for bowers, arches and pergolas, as well -as for many varied aspects of wild gardening. - -A shrub for wall use that is much neglected though of the highest -beauty is _Abutilon vitifolium_. In our northern and midland counties -it may not be hardy, but it does well anywhere south of London. The -flowers, each two and a half inches across, are borne in large, loose -clusters, their tender lavender colour harmonising perfectly with the -greyish, downy foliage. - -There is no lovelier or purer blue than that of the newly opened -_Ipomœa rubro-cœrulea_, popularly known as Heavenly Blue and well -deserving the name. It must be raised in heat early in the year and be -put out in June against a warm wall. Here it is in a narrow border at -the foot of a wall facing south-west, where, by the aid of a few short -pea-sticks, it climbs into the lower branches of a Vine. The Vine is -one of the Chasselas kind, with leaves of a rather pale green, almost -yellowish green, colour that make the best possible foil to the pure -blue of the Ipomea. To my eye it is the most enjoyable colour-feast of -the year. _Solanum crispum_, with purple flowers in goodly bunches, is -one of the best of wall shrubs. - -Another of the tender plants that is beautiful for walls and for -free rambling over other wall-growths is _Solanum jasminoides_. Its -white clusters come into bloom in middle summer and persist till -latest autumn. In two gardens near me it is of singular beauty; in -the one case on the sunny wall of a sheltered court where it covers a -considerable space, in the other against a high south retaining-wall -where, from the terrace above, the flowers are seen against the misty -woodland of the middle distance and the pure grey-blue of the faraway -hills. Turning round on the very same spot there is the remarkable -growth of the Sweet Verbena that owes its luxuriance to its roots and -main shoots being under shelter. There must be unending opportunities, -where there are verandahs, of having just such bowers of sweetness to -brush against in passing and to waft scented air to the windows of the -rooms above. - -[Illustration: _CLEMATIS FLAMMULA ON A WOODEN FENCE._] - -[Illustration: _SWEET VERBENA._] - -These notes can only touch upon the more careful use of a few of the -many climbing plants and trailing shrubs. One of the many garden -possessions that I ardently desire and can never have is a bit of rocky -hillside; a place partly of sheer scarp and partly of tumbled and -outcropping rock-mass, for the best use of these plants. There would -be the place for the yellow winter Jasmine, for the Honeysuckles both -bushy and rambling, for the trailing Clematises lately described, and -for the native _C. Vitalba_, beautiful both in flower and fruit; for -shrubs like _Forsythia suspensa_ and _Desmodium penduliflorum_ that -like to root high and then throw down cascades of bloom, and for the -wichuraiana Roses, also for Gourds and wild Vines. There should be a -good quarter of a mile of it so that one might plant at perfect ease, -one thing at a time or one or two in combination, in just such sized -and shaped groups as would make the most delightful pictures, and in -just the association that would show the best assortment. - -I have seen long stretches of bare chalky banks for year after year -with nothing done to dispel their bald monotony, feeling inward regret -at the wasted opportunity; thinking how beautiful they might be made -with a planting of two common things, _Clematis Vitalba_ and Red Spur -Valerian. But such examples are without end. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -GROUPINGS OF PLANTS IN POTS - - -It is a common thing in Italian gardens to see a quantity of plants in -pots standing in various parts of the garden, generally in connexion -with paved terraces and steps. This is in addition to the larger pot -plants--Oranges, Lemons, Oleanders, &c., that, in their immense and -often richly decorated earthenware receptacles, form an important -part of the garden design. In our climate we cannot have these unless -there is an Orangery or some such spacious place free from frost for -housing them in winter. But good groupings of smaller plants in pots is -a form of ornament that might be made more use of in our own gardens, -especially where there are paved spaces near a house or in connexion -with a tank or fountain, so that there is convenient access to means of -daily watering. I have such a space in a cool court nearly square in -shape. A middle circle is paved, and all next the house is paved, on -a level of one shallow step higher. It is on the sides of this raised -step that the pot plants are grouped, leaving the middle space free -where there is a wooden seat, and good access to a door to the left. - -[Illustration: _POT PLANTS JUST PLACED._] - -[Illustration: _PLANTS IN POTS IN THE SHADED COURT: FUNKIA, LILIUM -LONGIFLORUM, FERNS AND ASPIDISTRA._] - -[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH_ (_FRANCOA RAMOSA_).] - -[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH BY TANK._] - -The first thing is to secure good greenery. On each side three oblong -Italian terra-cotta pots full of _Funkia grandiflora_ stand on the -lower level. They serve to hide the common flower-pots that are ranged -behind. The picture shows how it looks a day or two after it is first -arranged, early in June when the _Clematis montana_ is still in bloom. -Next above the ornamental pots are common ones also with _Funkia -grandiflora_. On the inner side of the groups, next the house, are pots -of Aspidistra, and, against the wall, of Male Fern, and there are more -Ferns and Funkias for filling spaces between the flowering plants. -Of these the most important are Lilies--_longiflorum_, _candidum_ -and _speciosum_--and Hydrangeas, but we also have pots of _Gladiolus -Colvillei_ The Bride, _Campanula persicifolia_ and _C. pyramidalis_ and -white and pink Cup-and-saucer Canterbury Bells. The last are taken up -from the ground and potted only just before they come into bloom. - -There are seldom more than two kinds of flowering plants placed here at -a time; the two or three sorts of beautiful foliage are in themselves -delightful to the eye; often there is nothing with them but Lilies, and -one hardly desires to have more. There is an ample filling of the green -plants, so that no pots are seen. - -If the place were in the sun the plants chosen would be largely -Geraniums; two-year-old plants in good-sized pots; and, in place of the -Ferns that enjoy shade and the Funkias whose leaves often burn in the -sun, there would be the large leaved _Megasea cordifolia_. Here also -would be Lilies, Hydrangeas and Cannas, and good store of the graceful -Maiden's Wreath (_Francoa ramosa_). - -The Geraniums would be very carefully assorted for colour; in one -part of the scheme white and soft pink, in another the rosy scarlets, -and elsewhere the salmon-reds, now so numerous and good. The last two -groups might by degrees tone into the pure scarlets, of which the -best I know and the most delightful in colour is Paul Crampel. The -colour is pure and brilliant but not _cruel_. I can think of no other -word that so well describes some scarlets of a harsh quality that -gives discomfort rather than satisfaction to a sensitive colour-eye. -Henry Jacoby is to me one of the cruel reds and has no place among my -flowers. I have no desire to disparage a plant which is so general a -favourite, but feel sure that its popularity is a good deal owing to -the fact that the main gardening public is inclined rather to accept -what is put before it than to take the trouble to search for something -better. Although the colour of this Geranium is extremely vivid, a -whole bed of it has a heavy appearance and is wanting in pictorial -effect. - -I have great pleasure in putting together Omphale, palest salmon-pink; -Mrs. Laurence, a shade deeper; Mrs. Cannell, a salmon-scarlet -approaching the quality of colour of Phlox Coquelicot, and leading -these by degrees to the pure, good scarlet of Paul Crampel. A bed or -clump or border planted with these, or varieties equivalent in colour, -would be seen to have, in comparison with a bed of Henry Jacoby, a -quite remarkable degree of life, brilliancy, beauty and interest. The -colouring would be actually brighter and yet more kind and acceptable -to the eye. - -Had I more strength I should visit the nurseries in order to see all -the excellent Geraniums that are now grown, and to group them into -colour-combinations such as could be confidently recommended. As it is, -I have to depend upon the courtesy of my friends in the horticultural -trade, when I have occasion to make such combinations, for sending me -blooms that I can choose from. - -For detached vases that stand on pedestals, so that the whole of the -vase and contents becomes warmed by exposure to sunlight, a condition -specially grateful to Geraniums, I know no variety more useful than -King of Denmark. The flowers are in large trusses, half-double, of an -excellent soft salmon-pink colour; the foliage is bold and well marked; -the whole plant massive and handsome. For this and any other outdoor -pot-culture it is best if strong two-year-old plants can be kept. - -There are among Geraniums some of a raw magenta-pink that I regret to -see in many gardens and that will certainly never be admitted into mine. - -In designing gardens where there are flagged spaces it is well to -remember the good effect of summer flowers in slightly raised beds -with stone edges. Such beds often come happily in conjunction with -steps and paved landings and designs in which fountains occur. Summer -flowers, such as Geraniums, Lilies and Cannas, seem to revel in such -beds and are never seen to better advantage. Owing to the cottage -character of my house I have little scope for such beds--none at all -for the best kind with dwarf walls and curbs of moulded freestone, -but I have one edged with a low wall of local sandstone where there is -a square landing paved with the same stone and short flights of steps -in connexion with a tank and a lower garden level. Here Geraniums and -Cannas luxuriate in shelter and full sunshine. - -Maiden's Wreath (_Francoa ramosa_) is a plant for many uses. The -foliage, though sparing in quantity, is distinct and handsome. The long -flower-stems are flung out with a kind of determination of character -that would seem to imply that the plant knows what is expected of it -and intends to fulfil its settled duty and purpose, namely, that of -being a graceful and beautiful ornament. Towards the later summer these -flower-stems become so heavy that there is danger of their weight, -swayed by a little wind, wrenching out whole portions of the plant. -Support should be given with short pieces of hazel stick tied half way -up the stem. In nurseries it is general, and even in private gardens -not unusual, to see the flowers tied straight upright. This should -never be, for it not only forces the plant into a form that is entirely -at variance with its nature, but robs it of its natural grace and -valuable individuality. - -There is no end to the uses of Hydrangeas in pots; a well-bloomed plant -will give life and interest to many an uninteresting corner; the bloom -is long-enduring and stands equally well in sun and shade. If the blue -colour, which comes naturally in some soils is desired, it can be had -by mixing pounded slate and iron filings with the compost--alum is -another well-known agent for inducing the blue colour. But I have much -faith in slate, for the bluest I have ever seen came from a garden on a -slaty soil. - -[Illustration: _GERANIUMS AND CANNAS IN A STONE-EDGED BED._] - -[Illustration: _MAIDEN'S WREATH IN POTS ABOVE TANK._] - -[Illustration: _FUNKIA, HYDRANGEA AND LILY IN THE SHADED COURT._] - -[Illustration: _FUNKIA AND LILIUM SPECIOSUM._] - -A few only of the many plants that can with advantage be used in pots -have been named, but in any case it would be well to bear in mind that -it is best to restrict the number of kinds shown at once and to make -sure of the good groundwork of foliage. I have therefore only dwelt -upon the few that came to mind as the best and easiest to use. But the -pretty red and white single Fuchsias of the Mme. Cornellisson type -should not be forgotten, also that the fine Comet and Ostrich Plume -Asters are capital pot-plants, for, like Canterbury Bells, they bear -lifting from the open ground just before they flower and even in full -bloom. - - * * * * * - -Plants grown in pots lead naturally to the consideration of those -most suitable for tubs. Of these the most important are permanent -things of shrubby nature--several of the Orange and Lemon family, -Oleander, Pomegranate, Bay, Myrtle, Datura, Sweet Verbena and dwarf -Palm, also Hydrangea, Tree Heliotrope and Agapanthus. The last is of -course a bulbous plant, but from its large, solid foliage and quantity -of long-enduring bloom it is one of the best of plants for tubs. The -greater number of these need housing in winter in an Orangery or -other frost-proof building. Other bushy plants for tub use that are -hardier are some of the Veronicas, such as _Traversi_, _speciosa_ and -_hulkeana_, _Olearia Haastii_ and _O. Gunni_. Tree Peonies, though -rarely so used, are capital tub plants, and, though they are not very -long in flower, their supreme beauty makes them desirable. They should -certainly be grown in places where labour is not restricted and where -there are suitable places for standing such plants away and caring for -them in the off season. - -For the same kind of use the Tree Lupines, both white and yellow, would -be excellent. _Funkia Sieboldi_ also makes a handsome tub, while for -summer filling Cannas are admirable and old Geraniums in bush form -always acceptable. I have never seen Acanthus used in this way, but can -see no reason against it. The smaller Bamboos, such as the handsome -broad-leaved _B. tessellata_, are very good in tubs. In speaking -of plants suitable for tubs, I take the word to include the larger -sizes of terra-cotta pots; but Agapanthus should never be planted in -earthenware, as the roots, which remain for many years undisturbed, -have so strong a rending power that they will burst anything less -resisting than iron-hooped wood. - -It is rare to see, anywhere in England, plant-tubs painted a pleasant -colour. In nearly every garden they are painted a strong raw green -with the hoops black, whereas any green that is not bright and raw -would be much better. This matter of the colouring of all such garden -accessories as have to be painted deserves more attention than it -commonly receives. Doors in garden walls, trellises, wooden railings -and hand-gates and seats--all these and any other items of woodwork -that stand out in the garden and are seen among its flowers and foliage -should, if painted green, be of such a green as does not for brightness -come into competition with the green of leaves. In the case of tubs -especially, it is the plant that is to be considered first--not the -tub. The bright, harsh green on the woodwork makes the colour of the -foliage look dull and ineffective. It would be desirable, in the -case of solitary tub plants, to study the exact colour that would be -most becoming to the flower and foliage; but as it is needful, to -avoid a patchy appearance, to paint the whole of the tubs in any one -garden-scheme the same colour, a tint should be chosen that is quiet in -itself and that is lower in tone than the dullest of the foliage in any -of the examples. Moreover, there is no reason for painting the hoops -black; it is much better to paint the whole out of one pot. - -A good quiet green can be made with black, chrome No. 1 and white -lead; enough white being mixed to give the depth or lightness desired. -A pretty colour of paint is much used in France that approximates to -the colourman's malachite green. This is not the bright colour of -malachite as we know the polished stone, but a pale, opaque bluish -green approaching the turquoise tints. In the bright, clear climate of -France, and in connexion with the higher type of French architecture, -also in more southern countries, the colour looks very well, though it -is not becoming to some foliage; but something quieter and more sober -is better suited for England. - -Elsewhere I have written of the deplorable effect in the garden -landscape of the glaring white paint--still worse when tinted -blue--that emphasises the ugliness of the usual greenhouse or -conservatory. This may be mitigated, if the unsightly structure cannot -be concealed, by adding to the white a good deal of black and raw -umber, till the paint is of the quiet warm grey that for some strange -reason is known to house-painters as Portland-stone colour. - -[Illustration: _LILIUM AURATUM._] - -[Illustration: _A TUB HYDRANGEA._] - -[Illustration: _STEPS AND HYDRANGEAS._] - -[Illustration: _THE NARROW SOUTH LAWN._] - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -SOME GARDEN PICTURES - - -When the eye is trained to perceive pictorial effect, it is frequently -struck by something--some combination of grouping, lighting and -colour--that is seen to have that complete aspect of unity and beauty -that to the artist's eye forms a picture. Such are the impressions -that the artist-gardener endeavours to produce in every portion of the -garden. Many of these good intentions fail, some come fairly well, a -few reward him by a success that was beyond anticipation. When this is -the case it is probably due to some cause that had been overlooked but -that had chanced to complete his intention, such as the position of -the sun in relation to some wished-for colour-picture. Then there are -some days during the summer when the quality of light seems to tend to -an extraordinary beauty of effect. I have never been able to find out -how the light on these occasions differs from that of ordinary fine -summer days, but, when these days come, I know them and am filled with -gladness. - -In the case of my own garden, as far as deliberate intention goes, -what is aimed at is something quite simple and devoid of complication; -generally one thing or a very limited number of flowering things at -a time, but that one, or those few things, carefully placed so as to -avoid fuss, and to please the eye and give ease to the mind. In many -cases the aim has been to show some delightful colour-combination -without regard to the other considerations that go to the making of -a more ambitious picture. It may be a group in a shrub border, or a -combination of border and climbing plants, or some carefully designed -company of plants in the rock garden. I have a little rose that I -call the Fairy Rose. It came to me from a cottage garden, and I have -never seen it elsewhere. It grows about a foot high and has blush-pink -flowers with the colour deepening to the centre. In character the -flower is somewhere between the lovely Blush Boursault at its best and -the little De Meaux. It is an inch and a half across and of beautiful -form, especially in the half-opened bud. Wishing to enjoy its beauty -to the utmost, and to bring it comfortably within sight, I gave it a -shelf in raised rock-work and brought near and under it a clear pale -lilac Viola and a good drift of _Achillea umbellata_. It was worth -doing. Another combination that gives me much pleasure is that of the -pink Pompon Rose Mignonette with Catmint and whitish foliage, such as -Stachys or _Artemisia stelleriana_. I may have mentioned this before, -but it is so pretty that it deserves repetition. - -In a shrubbery border the fine _Spiræa Aruncus_ is beautiful with -an interplanting of _Thalictrum purpureum_. At the end of a long -flower-clump there is a yew hedge coming forward at right angles to -the length of the border. Behind the hedge is a stone wall with an -arch, through which the path in front of the border passes. Over -the stone arch and rambling partly over the yews are the vigorous -many-flowered growths of _Clematis Flammula_. In the end of the border -are pale sulphur-coloured Hollyhocks. Both in form and colour this was -a delightful picture; the foam-like masses of the Clematis resting on -the dusky richness of the yew; the straight shafts of the Hollyhock -giving clear colour and agreeing with the upright lines of the sides -of the archway, which showed dimly in the shade. These are only a few -incidents out of numbers that occur or are intentionally arranged. - -There is a place near my house where a path leads down through a -nut-walk to the further garden. It is crossed by a shorter path that -ends at a Birch tree with a tall silvered trunk. It seemed desirable -to accentuate the point where the paths cross; I therefore put down -four square platforms of stone "pitching" as a place for the standing -of four Hydrangeas in tubs. Just before the tree is a solid wooden -seat and a shallow wide step done with the same stone pitching. Tree -and seat are surrounded on three sides by a rectangular planting of -yews. The tender greys of the rugged lower bark of the Birch and the -silvering of its upper stem tell finely against the dark velvet-like -richness of the Yew and the leaf-mass of other trees beyond; the pink -flowers and fresh green foliage of the Hydrangeas are also brilliant -against the dusky green. It is just one simple picture that makes one -glad for three months of the later summer and early autumn. The longer -cross-path, which on the right leads in a few yards to steps up to -the paved court on the north side of the house, on the left passes -down the nut-walk as the second illustration shows. The Birch tree and -seat are immediately to the right, just out of the picture. Standing a -little way down the shaded nut-walk and looking back, the Hydrangeas -are seen in another aspect, with the steps and house behind them in -shade, and the sun shining through their pale green leaves. Sitting on -the seat, the eye, passing between the pink Hydrangea flowers, sees a -short straight path bounded by a wall of Tree Box to right and left, -and at the far end one tub of pale blue Hydrangea in shade, backed by a -repetition of the screen of Yews such as enclose the Birch tree. - -On the south side of the house there is a narrow border full of -Rosemary, with China Roses and a Vine, as shown in the illustration -opposite p. 106. Here the narrow lawn, backed by woodland, is higher -than the house-level. Shallow steps lead up to it in the middle, and -to right and left is low dry-walling. On the upper edge of this is a -hedge of Scotch Briars, shown in full bloom at p. 48, and in the narrow -border below, a planting of the low-growing _Andromeda (Leucothoë) -axillaris_, a little shrub that is neat throughout the year and in -winter prettily red-tinted. - -[Illustration: _HYDRANGEA TUBS AND BIRCH-TREE SEAT._] - -[Illustration: _HYDRANGEA TUBS AND NUT WALK._] - -[Illustration: _WHITE LILIES._] - -[Illustration: _THE STEPS AND THEIR INCIDENTS._] - -The beautiful White Lily cannot be grown in the hot sandy soil of my -garden. Even if its place be ever so well prepared with the loam and -lime that it loves, the surrounding soil-influences seem to rob it of -its needful nourishment; it makes a miserable show for one year and -never appears again. The only way to grow it is in pots or tubs sunk -in the soil. For some years I had wished to have an orderly planting -of this lovely Lily in the lower border at the back of the Andromeda -just in front of the Briars. I had no flower-pots deep enough, or wide -enough at the bottom, but was able to make a contrivance with some -short, broad, unglazed drain-pipes, measuring a foot long and of about -the same diameter, by cementing in an artificial bottom made of pieces -of roofing-tile and broken flower-pot, leaving spaces for drainage. -Then three bulbs were put in each pot in a compost that I knew they -would enjoy. When they were half grown the pots were sunk in holes at -nearly even distances among the Andromedas, and in a few weeks my row -of Lilies gave me my reward. Other Lilies (_L. longiflorum_) follow -them a month later, just beyond in the wood edge among tufts of Male -Fern, and a pot of Francoa is to right and left of the shallow steps. - -During the last year or two some pretty incidents have occurred about -these same steps; not important enough to call garden pictures, but -charming and interesting and easily enjoyable because they are close to -the open garden door of the sitting-room and because they teach me to -look out for the desirable things that come of themselves. A seedling -of the wild Clematis (_C. Vitalba_) appeared among the Briars to the -left. As it was too strong a plant to let grow over them unchecked, -I pulled it forward towards the steps, training one or two shoots to -run along the hollow of the step and laying on them pieces of stone -invisible among the foliage, to keep them from being dislodged by the -skirts of visitors or the gambols of my cats. At the same time, in a -crack of the stone just below the upper step there came a seedling of -the tall Chimney Campanula (_C. pyramidalis_). The second year this -threw up its tall flower-stem and was well in bloom when it was wrecked -by an early autumn gale, the wind wrenching out the crown and upper -root-stock. But a little shred of rooted life remained and now there is -again the sturdy tuft promising more flower-stems for the coming season. - -Close behind the Bell-flower a spreading sheet of Wild Thyme has crept -out of the turf and spread rather widely over the stone. Luckily I just -saved it from the tidying process that threatened it, and as it is now -well established over the stone I still have the pleasure of its bright -rosy bloom when the duties of the mowing-machine rob me of the other -tiny flowers--Hawkweed, Milkwort and Bedstraw--that bloom so bravely in -the intervals between its ruthless but indispensable ministrations. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -A BEAUTIFUL FRUIT GARDEN - - -There is a whole range of possible beautiful treatment in fruit-growing -that is rarely carried out or even attempted. Hitherto but little -has been done to make the fruit garden a place of beauty; we find it -almost flaunting its unloveliness, its white painted orchard-houses -and vineries, its wires and wire nettings. It is not to be denied that -all these are necessary, and that the usual and most obvious way of -working them does not make for beauty. But in designing new gardens or -remodelling old, on a rather large scale, there need be no difficulty -in so arranging that all that is necessarily unbeautiful should be kept -in one department, so hedged or walled around as to be out of sight. - -In addition to such a fruit garden for strict utility I have in mind a -walled enclosure of about an acre and a half, longer than wide, laid -out as shown in the plan. I have seen in large places just such spaces, -actually walled but put to no use. - -The wall has trained fruit-trees--Peaches spreading their goodly -fans, Pears showing long, level lines, and, including hardy Grape -Vines, giving all the best exposition of the hardy fruit-grower's -art. Next to the wall is a space six feet wide for ample access to -the fruit-trees, their pruning, training and root-management; then a -fourteen-foot plant border, wholly for beauty, and a path eight feet -wide. At a middle point on all four sides the high wall has an arched -doorway corresponding to the grassy way between the fruit-trees in -the middle space. If the wall has some symmetrical building on the -outside of each angle so much the better; the garden can make use -of all. One may be a bothy, with lower extension out of sight; one -a half-underground fruit-store, with bulb-store above; a third a -paint-shop, and a fourth a tea-house. - -The middle space is all turf; in the centre a Mulberry, and, both ways -across, double lines of fruit-trees, ending with Bays; the Bays are -at the ends on the plan. In almost any part of the sea-warmed south -of England, below the fifty-first parallel of latitude which passes -through the upper part of Sussex, the rows of fruit-trees on the -green might be standard Figs; elsewhere they would be bush Pears and -Apples. If the soil is calcareous, so much the better for the Figs and -Mulberry, the Vines and indeed nearly all the fruits. The angle-clumps -in the grass are planted with Magnolias, Yuccas and Hydrangeas. - -The border all round is for small shrubs and plants of some solidity or -importance; the spaces are too long for an ordinary flower border. It -would have a good bush of _Magnolia stellata_ at each angle, Yuccas, -Tritomas, hardy Fuchsias, Peonies, _Euphorbia Wulfenii_, Hollyhocks, -Dahlias, Hydrangeas, Michaelmas Daisies, Flag Iris, the beautiful -_Olearia Gunni_ and _O. Haastii_, Tree Lupines, Forsythia, Weigela, -the smaller Bush Spiræas, Veronicas, Tamarisk, the large-bloomed -Clematises, bush kinds of garden Roses, Funkias, and so on. - -[Illustration: _THE BEAUTIFUL FRUIT GARDEN._] - -Surely my fruit garden would be not only a place of beauty, of pleasant -sight and pleasant thought, but of leisurely repose, a repose broken -only faintly and in welcome fashion by its own interests--in July, -August and September a goodly place in which to wander and find -luscious fruits in quantity that can be gathered and eaten straight -from the tree. There is a pleasure in searching for and eating fruit in -this way that is far better than having it picked by the gardener and -brought in and set before one on a dish in a tame room. Is this feeling -an echo of faraway days of savagery when men hunted for their food -and rejoiced to find it, or is it rather the poet's delight of having -direct intercourse with the good gift of the growing thing and seeing -and feeling through all the senses how good and gracious the thing is? -To pass the hand among the leaves of the Fig-tree, noting that they are -a little harsh upon the upper surface and yet soft beneath; to be aware -of their faint, dusky scent; to see the cracking of the coat of the -fruit and the yellowing of the neck where it joins the branch--the two -indications of ripeness--sometimes made clearer by the drop of honeyed -moisture at the eye; then the handling of the fruit itself, which -must needs be gentle because the tender coat is so readily bruised -and torn; at the same time observing the slight greyish bloom and the -colouring--low-toned transitions of purple and green; and finally to -have the enjoyment of the luscious pulp, with the knowledge that it is -one of the most wholesome and sustaining of fruit foods--surely all -this is worthy garden service! Then how delicious are the sun-warmed -Apricots and Peaches, and, later in the year, the Jargonelle Pears, -always best eaten straight from the tree; and the ripe Mulberries of -September. And how pleasant to stroll about the wide grassy ways, -turning from the fruits to the flowers in the clumps and borders, to -the splendid Yuccas and the masses of Hydrangea bloom, and then to the -gorgeous Tritomas and other delights; and to see the dignity of the -stately Bay-trees and the incomparable beauty of their every twig and -leaf. - -The beautiful fruit garden would naturally lead to the orchard, a -place that is not so often included in the pleasure-ground as it -deserves. For what is more lovely than the bloom of orchard-trees -in April and May, with the grass below in its strong, young growth; -in itself a garden of Cowslips and Daffodils. In an old orchard how -pictorial are the lines of the low-leaning old Apple-trunks and the -swing and poise of their upper branches, best seen in winter when their -graceful movement of line and wonderful sense of balance can be fully -appreciated. But the younger orchard has its beauty too, of fresh, -young life and wealth of bloom and bounteous bearing. - -Then if the place of the orchard suggests a return to nearer -pleasure-ground with yet some space between, how good to make this -into a free garden orchard for the fruits of wilder character; for -wide-spreading Medlars, for Quinces, again some of the most graceful -of small British trees; for Service, Damson, Bullace, Crabs and their -many allies, not fruit-bearing trees except from the birds' and -botanists' points of view, but beautiful both in bloom and berry, such -as the Mountain Ash, Wild Cherry, Blackthorn, and the large-berried -White-thorns, Bird-cherry, White Beam, Holly and Amelanchier. Then all -these might be intergrouped with great brakes of the free-growing Roses -and the wilder kinds of Clematis and Honeysuckle. And right through -it should be a shady path of Filberts or Cobnuts arching overhead and -yielding a bountiful autumn harvest. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI - -PLANTING FOR WINTER COLOUR - - -Much cheerful positive colour, other than that given by flowers or -leaves, may be obtained in winter by using a good selection of small -trees with coloured bark. Of these the most useful are the Red Dogwood -and some of the willows. This planting for colour of bright-barked -trees is no new thing, for something like half a century ago the late -Lord Somers, at Eastnor Castle near Malvern, used to "paint his woods," -as he described it, in this way. - -The Cardinal Willow has bright red bark, _Salix britzensis_ orange, and -the Golden Osier bright yellow. The yearly growth has the best-coloured -bark, so that when they are employed for giving colour it is usual to -cut them every winter; moreover, the large quantity of young shoots -that the cutting induces naturally increases the density of the -colour-effect. But if they are planted in a rather large way it is -better that the regular winter cutting should be restricted to those -near the outer edge, and to let a good proportion of those within stand -for two or more years, and to have some in the background that are -never cut at all, but that are allowed to grow to their full size and -to show their natural habit. - -It will also be well to avoid planting them exclusively sort by sort, -but to group and intergroup carefully assorted colours, such as the -scarlet Willow with the purple-barked kind, and to let this pass into -the American Willow with the black stem. Such a group should not be too -large, and it should be near the pathway, for it will show best near -at hand. For the sake of the bark-colouring, it would be best to cut -it all every year, although in the larger plantings it is desirable to -have the trees of different ages, or the effect may be too much that of -a mere crop instead of a well-arranged garden grouping. - -Some of the garden Roses, both of the free-growing and bush kinds, have -finely coloured bark that can be used in much the same way. They are -specially good in broken ground, such as the banks of an old hollow -cart-way converted to garden use, or the sloping _débris_ of a quarry. -Of the free kinds, the best coloured are _Rosa ferruginea_, whose -leaves are red as well as the stem--it is the _Rosa rubrifolia_ of -nurseries;--and the varieties of Boursault Roses, derived from _Rosa -alpina_. As bushes for giving reddish colouring, _Rosa lucida_ would be -among the best. - -By waterside the Great Reedmace--commonly but wrongly called -Bulrush--holds its handsome seed-heads nearly through the winter, and -beds of the Common Reed (_Arundo Phragmites_) stand up winter through -in masses of light, warm colouring that are grateful to the eye and -suggest comfortable harbourage for wildfowl. - -Some shrubs have conspicuously green bark, such as the Spindletree; -but the habit of growth is rather too diffuse to let it make a distinct -show of colour. _Leycesteria formosa_ is being tried in mass for winter -colour in some gardens, but I venture to feel a little doubtful of its -success; for though the skin of the half-woody stem is bright green, -the plant has the habit of retaining some of its leaves and the remains -of its flowering tips till January, or even later. After frost these -have the appearance of untidy grey rags, and are distinctly unsightly. -The brightest effect of all green-barked plants is that given by -Whortleberry, a plant that on peaty or sandy soils is one of the most -enjoyable of winter undershrubs. - -It would add greatly to the enjoyment of many country places if -some portions were planted with evergreens expressly for winter -effect. Some region on the outskirts of the garden, and between it -and woodland, would be the most desirable. If well done the sense of -wintry discomfort would disappear, for nearly all the growing things -would be at their best, and even in summer, shrubs and plants can do -no more than this. In summer, too, it would be good to see, for the -green things would have such an interplanting of free Roses, Jasmines, -Clematis, Honeysuckles, Forsythia, and so on, as would make charming -incidents of flower-beauty. - -The place for this winter walk should be sheltered from the north and -east. I have such a place in my mind's eye, where, beyond the home -garden and partly wooded old shrubbery, there is a valley running up -into a fir-wooded hill. The path goes up the hillside diagonally, -with a very gentle gradient. In the cooler, lower portion there would -be Rhododendrons and Kalmias, with lower growths of Skimmia and -Gaultheria. Close to the path, on the less sunny side, would be Lent -Hellebores and the delightful winter greenery of Epimedium. Then in -full sun _Andromeda japonica_, and on the shadier side _Andromeda -floribunda_. Both of these hard and rather brittle-wooded shrubs -belong to the group properly named _Pieris_, and form dense bushes -four or more feet high. At their foot would be the lower-growing -Andromedas of the _Leucothoē_ section, with lissome branches of a more -willow-like character. These make a handsome ground-carpeting from -one to two feet high, beautiful at all seasons--the leaves in winter -tinted or marbled with red. Portions of the cooler side would also -have fringes of Hartstongue and Polypody, both winter ferns. Then, as -the path rose into more direct sunlight, there would be Cistuses--in -all mild winter days giving off their strong, cordial scent--and the -dwarf Rhododendrons. Behind the Cistuses would be White Broom, finely -green-stemmed in winter. There would even be shrubs in flower; the -thick-set yellowish bloom of Witch Hazel (_Hamamelis_) and the bright -yellow of _Jasminum nudiflorum_. Then groups of Junipers, and all -the ground carpeted with Heath, and so to the upper Fir-wood. Then, -after the comforting greenery of the lower region, the lovely colour -of distant winter landscape would be intensely enjoyable; for the -greys and purples of the leafless woodland of middle distance have -a beauty that no summer landscape can show. In clear weather the -further distances have tints of an extraordinary purity, while the more -frequent days of slightly distant haze have another kind of beautiful -mystery. - -The common Laurel is generally seen as a long-suffering garden hack, -put to all sorts of rather ignoble uses. It is so cheap to buy, so -quick of growth, and so useful as an easily made screen that its -better use is, except in rare instances, lost sight of. Planted in -thin woodland and never pruned, it grows into a small tree that takes -curious ways and shapes of trunk and branch of a character that is -remarkably pictorial. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII - -FORM IN PLANTING - - -If in the foregoing chapters I have dwelt rather insistently on matters -of colour, it is not that I under-rate the equal importance of form and -proportion, but that I think that the question of colour, as regards -its more careful use, is either more commonly neglected or has had -fewer exponents. As in all matters relating to design in gardening, -the good placing of plants in detail is a matter of knowledge of an -artistic character. The shaping of every group of plants, to have the -best effect, should not only be definitely intended but should be done -with an absolute conviction by the hand that feels the _drawing_ that -the group must have in relation to what is near, or to the whole form -of the clump or border or whatever the nature of the place may be. I -am only too well aware that to many this statement may convey no idea -whatever, nevertheless I venture to insist upon its truth. Moreover, -I am addressing this book to the consideration of those who are in -sympathy with my views of gardening, among whom I know there are many -who, even if they have not made themselves able, by study and long -practice, to show in groundwork and garden design the quality known to -artists as _drawing_--by which is meant a right movement of line and -form and group--can at least recognise its value--indeed its supreme -importance--when it is present, and do not, in its absence, fail to -feel that the thing shown is without life, spirit, or reasonable -justification. - -[Illustration: _A WILD HEATH GARDEN._ - -_Upper Figure: As First Planted._ - -_Lower Figure: After Alteration._] - -Even a proficiency in some branch of fine art does not necessarily -imply ability to lay out ground. I have known, in the intimate -association of half a lifetime, a landscape painter, whose -interpretation of natural beauty was of the most refined and poetical -quality, and who truly loved flowers and beautiful vegetation, but who -was quite incapable of personally arranging a garden; although it is -more usual that an artist should almost unconsciously place plants well. - -It is therefore not to be expected that it is enough to buy good -plants and merely to tell the gardener of average ability to plant -them in groups, as is now often done with the very best intention. It -is impossible for the gardener to know what is meant. In all the cases -that have come under my notice, where such indefinite instruction has -been given, the things have been planted in stiff blocks. Quite lately -I came upon such an example in the garden of a friend who is by no -means without a sense of beauty. There was a bank-like space on the -outskirts of the pleasure-ground where it was wished to have a wild -Heath garden. A better place could hardly be, for the soil is light -and sandy and the space lies out in full sunlight. The ground had -been thrown about into ridges and valleys, but without any reference -to its natural form, whereas with half the labour it might have been -guided into slight hollows, ridges, and promontories of good line and -proportion. I found it planted as in the upper plan; the path stiffly -edged with one kind of Heath on one side and another kind on the other; -the back planting in rectangular blocks; near the front bushes of -Veronica at exactly even distances, and between them the same number of -Heaths in each interval quite stiffly planted. Some of the blocks at -the back were of Violets--plants quite unsuited to the place. Yet, only -leaving out the Violets, all the same plants might have been disposed -so as to come quite easily and naturally as shown on the lower plan. -Then a thin sowing of the finer Heath grasses, to include the pathway, -where alone they would be mown, and a clever interplanting of wild -Thyme and the native Wood Sage (_Teucrium Scorodonia_), common on the -neighbouring heaths, would have put the whole thing together and would -have given the impression, so desirable in wild planting, of the thing -having so happened, rather than of its having been artificially made. - -In planting or thinning trees also, the whole ultimate good of the -effect will depend on this sense of form and good grouping. If these -qualities are secured, the result in after years will be a poem; if -they are neglected it will be nothing but a crop. - -I can imagine nothing more interesting than the guiding and -part-planting of large stretches of natural young woodland with some -hilly ground above and water at the foot. As it is, I have to be -content with my little wood of ten acres; yet I am truly glad to have -even that small space to treat with reverent thankfulness and watchful -care. - - - - -INDEX - - - A - - Abutilon vitifolium, 66, 109 - - Acanthus, 25, 88; - as tub plant, 118 - - Achillea, The Pearl, 72 - - Adonis, 25 - - Æsculus, 73 - - Agapanthus, 117 - - Agathea cœlestis, 49, 63 - - Ageratum, 81, 102 - - Alexandrian Laurel, 104 - - Alpenrose, 19, 33, 85 - - Alyssum, 26 - - Amelanchier, 12 - - Anchusa, 43, 46 - - Andromeda, 13, 19, 33, 85, 124, 136 - - Anemone sylvestris, 37; - japonica, 81 - - Annuals, half hardy, 50, 57; - hardy, 57 - - Apples, 131 - - Arbutus, 85 - - Arenaria balearica, 33; - montana, 34 - - Artemisia stelleriana, 63, 72, 80 - - Asarum, 16, 34 - - Asters, China, 74, 81, 117; - perennial, 72, 80, 128 - - August, Flower-border in, 65 - - Aubrietia, 27 - - Aucuba, 104 - - Azalea, 84 - - - B - - Bambusa tessellata, 88; - as tub plant, 118 - - Bay, 128 - - Bedding plants, 50 - - Begonias, 81; - with Megasea, 82 - - Blue flowers, 63, 68 - - Blue garden, 90, 103 - - Briars, Scotch, 46, 124 - - Broom, white, 36, 37, 136 - - Bulb-border, 5 - - - C - - Camassia, 34 - - Campanula pyramidalis in steps, 126; - persicifolia, 40, 105; - lactiflora, 58 - - Campanulas in pots, 113 - - Canna, 70, 78; - in pots, 113 - - Canterbury Bells, 50; - in pots, 113 - - Caryopteris, 73 - - Catmint, 46, 72, 102 - - Chalky banks, plants for, 111 - - China Rose, 107 - - Choisya ternata, 50 - - Cineraria maritima, 63, 65, 72, 80 - - Cistus, 13, 19, 61, 66, 85, 136 - - Clematis montana, 29, 34, 39, 50, 107 - - C. davidiana, 68, 79 - - C. Flammula, 54, 109 - - C. recta, 62, 103 - - C. Vitalba, 85, 111 - - Climbing plants, 106 - - Colour, in woodland, 1; - scheme of Rhododendrons, 15; - of old Scotch Fir, 17; - tender in spring garden, 24; - strong in spring garden, 25 - - Colour-combinations, 47, 51, 60, 72, 73, 122 - - Colour, optical effect of, 52; - gardens of special, 89; - of paint for garden accessories, 119 - - Colour-planting for winter, 133 - - Coltsfoot, variegated, 81, 104 - - Columbines, 35, 40, 85 - - Coreopsis, 59, 70 - - Corydalis ochroleuca, 27, 37 - - Cottage gardens, 106 - - Cranesbill, 42, 49 - - Crown Imperial, 25 - - - D - - Daffodils, 7, 14 - - Dahlias, 66, 70, 78, 81, 128; - best kinds for border use, 82 - - Daphne Mezereon, 2 - - Delphinium Belladonna, 63, 103; - grandiflorum, 63 - - Dentaria, 28, 85 - - Desmodium penduliflorum, 111 - - Dictamnus, 24, 50 - - Dielytra spectabilis, 27 - - Dog-tooth Violet, 2 - - Drifts in planting, 2, 11, 15, 24 - - - E - - Elymus, 65, 67, 102; - in the grey garden, 102 - - Empty spaces in borders, filling up, 55, 67 - - Epilobium, 85 - - Epimedium, 34, 38, 85 - - Eryngium, 59, 72, 104 - - Eulalia, 65, 104 - - Euphorbia Wulfenii, 22, 38, 50, 128 - - Evergreens for winter effect, 135 - - Exochorda, 36 - - - F - - Fern, Lady, 13, 34; - Osmunda, 13; - Fern, Male, 6, 13, 35, 39, 125; - dilated shield, 13, 22; - Polypody, 13; - hardy Ferns, 85, 88, 104, 136; - Ferns in pots, 113 - - Fern walk, 15 - - Feverfew, Golden Feather, 81 - - Fig, 107, 128 - - Flower-border, 50 - - Form in planting, 138 - - Forsythia suspensa, 4, 111, 130 - - Foxgloves, 16, 40, 44, 85 - - Francoa, 113, 116 - - Fruit garden, beautiful, 127 - - Fuchsia, 117, 128 - - Fumaria bulbosa, 6 - - Funkia, 86, 104, 112; - F. Sieboldi as tub plant, 118 - - - G - - Galvanised iron roof, treatment of, 56 - - Gaultheria, 13, 84, 136 - - Gentiana asclepiadea, 85 - - Geranium ibericum, 42 - - Geraniums (Pelargonium), 113 - - Gladiolus, 70, 79; - in pots, 113 - - Godetia, 72 - - Gold garden, 90; - plants for, 92 - - Golden Elder, 100 - - Golden Plane, 91 - - Goodyera, 16 - - Gourds, 111 - - Green-barked shrubs, 135 - - Green garden, 104 - - Grey garden, 90, 101; - plants for, 101 - - Grey plants, 4, 51, 60, 65, 71, 80, 101 - - Grouping of plants, 140 - - Guelder Rose, 36, 108 - - Gypsophila, 53, 70, 72, 87, 102 - - - H - - Heath, 19, 20, 85, 136; - path, 19 - - Helenium pumilum, 70 - - Helianthus, 69, 79; - in the Gold garden, 100 - - Hellebores, Lent, 2, 6, 34 - - Heracleum, 44 - - Heuchera Richardsoni, 26, 29 - - Hidden Garden, 32 - - Hill-side for planting, 38 - - Hollyhock, 70, 128 - - Hydrangea, 67, 113, 116, 128; - as tub plants, 123; - H. paniculata, 87 - - - I - - Iberis, see Spring-garden, 50 - - Ipomæa Heavenly Blue, 110 - - Iris, dwarf, 29; - Cengialti, 34; - flag-leaved, 31, 32, 39, 42, 49, 128; - special borders of, 44 - - - J - - Jasminum nudiflorum, 111, 136 - - July, flower-border, 58 - - June garden, 39; - climbers in June, 47 - - Juniper, 136 - - - K - - Kalmia, 84 - - Kerria, 107 - - - L - - Laburnum, arch of, 80 - - Lavender, 72, 73; - dwarf, 63 - - Laurel, 137 - - Ledum palustre, 85 - - Lent Hellebores, 2, 6, 136 - - Leycesteria formosa, 28, 135 - - Lilies, 35, 85, 103; - in the grey garden, 101; - in pots, 113 - - Lilium auratum, 12, 80; - longiflorum, 68, 72, 125; - giganteum, 29; - candidum, 103, 104, 124 - - Lily of the Valley, 86 - - Lithospermum, 26 - - Lobelias, 66 - - Lupines, 39; - tree lupines, 45, 88, 103, 130; - as tub plants, 118 - - - M - - Magnolia, 107; - conspicua, 4, 66; - stellata, 5, 128 - - Maiden's Wreath, 113, 116 - - Maize, 103 - - Marigold, African, 68, 79, 81 - - May-blooming shrubs, 36 - - Megasea, 86; - in bulb-border, 6; - in spring garden, 22; - in pots, 113 - - Mertensia, 25 - - Mowing-machine, track of, 14 - - Mulberry, 128 - - Mulching the flower-border, 51 - - Mullein, 44 - - Myosotis, 25 - - Myrrhis, 22, 104 - - Myrtle, 107 - - - N - - Narcissus, in bulb-border, 7 - - Nepeta Mussini, with grey plants, 46 - - Nut-walk, 132 - - - O - - Olearia Haastii, 73, 130; - O. Gunni, 128 - - Orchard, 131; - wild orchard, 132 - - Orobus vernus, 27 - - Othonna, 38 - - - P - - Paint for tubs, &c., 118 - - Paths, wood, 13 - - Papaver rupifragum, 43; - P. pilosum, 43; - P. orientale, 43 - - Pea, White Everlasting, 53, 65, 72, 103 - - Pentstemons, 40, 63, 79 - - Peonies, 39, 41, 88, 128 - - Peony albiflora, 42 - - Peony, tree, 26, 33; - as tub plants, 117 - - Perowskya, 73 - - Phlomis, 80 - - Phlox divaricata, 26, 31, 33; - amœna, 26; - stellaria, 31 - - Pictures, living, 5, 9; - some garden, 121 - - Planting in drifts, 15, 24 - - Plumbago capense, 79, 103 - - Polygonum, 86 - - Pots, plants in, 112 - - Primrose Garden, 31 - - Privet, golden, 65 - - Pyrus japonica, 4, 106 - - Pyrus malus floribunda, 36 - - - Q - - Quarries, desirable for planting, 111 - - - R - - Reed, 134 - - Reedmace, 134 - - Rhododendron, 3, 12, 84, 136 - - Ribbon Grass, 104 - - Robinia, 66 - - Rocky hillside, planting for, 111 - - Rosa altaica, 37; - Burnet Rose, 37; - Fairy Rose, 122 - - Rosemary, 42, 107 - - Roses, garden, 40, 41, 130; - with coloured bark, 134 - - Roses, rambling, 35, 43, 62, 85, 111, 132 - - Rubus nutkanus, 12, 88; - odoratus, 12; - deliciosus, 29 - - Rudbeckia Golden Glow, 69, 79 - - Rue, 65, 79, 103 - - Ruscus, 104 - - - S - - Salvia splendens, 79 - - Santolina, 65 - - Scillas, 6 - - Sea Kale, 51, 58, 65, 67 - - Sedum spectabile, 81 - - Senecio artemisiæfolius, 59, 70 - - September, Flower-border in, 78 - - Skimmia, 19, 104, 136 - - Smilacina, 18 - - Snapdragons, 40, 63, 66, 80, 81, 103 - - Solanum crispum, 110; - jasminoides, 110 - - Solomon's Seal, 25, 33 - - Special colouring, gardens of, 89 - - Spiræa Aruncus, 42, 88, 103; - Lindleyana, 109 - - Spring garden, 21 - - Stachys, 72, 80; - lanata, 28 - - Staking and supporting, 55 - - St. Bruno's Lily, 34 - - Stonecrops on iron roof, 56 - - Sweet Cicely, 22, 40 - - Sweet Verbena, 110 - - - T - - Tamarisk, 91, 130 - - Thalictrum, 59, 103 - - Thyme, wild, 126 - - Tiarella, 37 - - Training down tall plants, 54, 69, 79 - - Training plants one over another, 53, 72, 102 - - Trientalis, 16 - - Trillium, 15, 85 - - Tritoma, 78, 128 - - Tubs, plants for, 117 - - Tulips, 24, 25 - - - U - - Uvularia, 28, 38, 85 - - - V - - Valerian, 111 - - Veratrum, 22 - - Verbascum, 44, 66 - - Veronica Traversi, 28; - Veronicas as tub plants, 117 - - Vine, Claret, 66; - Vine, 106, 107, 111, 128 - - - W - - Wallflower, 25 - - Wall shrubs, 66 - - Water Elder, 37 - - Whortleberry, 17 - - Wild gardening, 13 - - Willows, 133 - - Winter colour, 133 - - Winter walk, 135 - - Witch Hazel, 136 - - Woodland, 8 - - Wood paths, 13; - wood and shrubbery edges, 83 - - Woodruff, 34 - - - Y - - Yew hedges, 91 - - Yucca, 25, 50, 65, 101, 103, 128; - raised borders for, 71 - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE & CO. 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There are chapters upon the culture of -sweet violets in winter and in the open garden, upon Heartsease and -the Tufted Pansies (Violas), and upon the Wild Violets that have been -introduced from America and elsewhere. The information is thoroughly -practical. It is a dainty gift-book to gardening friends. - - - THE BOOK OF BRITISH FERNS - -=By CHAS. T. DRUERY, F.L.S., V.M.H.=, President of the British -Pteridological Society. Price 3s. 6d. net; by post, 3s. 10d. - -=St. James's Gazette.=--"Has been most carefully done; no fewer than -seven hundred choice varieties are described. The book is well and -lucidly written and arranged; it is altogether beautifully got up. Mr. -DRUERY has long been recognised as an authority on the subject." - - - CARNATIONS, PICOTEES, AND PINKS - -Edited by =E. T. COOK=. Price 3s. 6d. net; by post, 3s. 10d. - -The border Carnation, the Picotee, the Malmaison, and the Tree -Carnation. Carnations for Exhibition and for town gardens, diseases -of the Carnation, and the garden Pinks and Wild Pinks are all fully -considered, and thoroughly practical information by experts is given on -each subject. - -=Manchester Courier.=--"There is little left unsaid on the subject -of Carnations and Pinks in Mr. E. T. COOK'S interesting book on the -subject.... All lovers of those popular flowers should purchase Mr. -COOK'S volume, the illustrations to which are not its least admirable -feature." - - - MY GARDEN - -=By EDEN PHILLPOTTS.= 12s. 6d. net; by post, 12s. 10d. - -=The World.=--"It is a thoroughly practical book, addressed especially -to those who, like himself, have about an acre of flower garden, and -are willing and competent to help a gardener to make it as rich, as -harmonious, and as enduring as possible. His chapters on irises are -particularly good." - -=Westminster Gazette.=--" ... will attract no less for its literary -charm than for the varied and interesting experiences which it -details.... Mr. Phillpotts is a gardener every inch of him, whatever -else he may be, and his book is not only a sound contribution to the -literature of gardens, but withal a very captivating one." - -=Scotsman.=--"A charming addition to a beautiful series, the 'Country -Life' Library." - - - IN ENGLISH HOMES - - VOLS. I. AND II. - -The internal Character, Furniture, and adornments of some of the most -notable houses of England depicted from photographs specially taken by -=CHARLES LATHAM=. These large and handsome volumes measure 16 in. by -11-1/4 in., each contains about 200 full-page plates and 150 smaller -plates, illustrating "Our goodly English Dwelling-places, those houses -which have been sanctified by the passing of centuries." £2 2s. each -net; by post, £2 3s. - -=Scotsman.=--"A veritable revelation of the wealth of internal -adornments, architectural and other, contained in the great country -mansions of England. To turn over the pages of the volume is to obtain -keen pleasure, as well as enlightenment, concerning a treasury of -domestic art and archæology which to a large extent is kept closed from -the common eye." - -=Morning Post.=--"Such a work as IN ENGLISH HOMES comes as something -of a revelation. One may have a general idea, or even some particular -knowledge of the splendours of architecture, decoration, furniture, -and works of art appertaining to our country mansions, and yet be -astonished at all the taste and magnificence represented in the -profusion of excellent photographs. The abundant illustrations are well -designed to exemplify the elaborate details of carving and plaster -work, as well as the bold architectural schemes that characterise the -interiors and exteriors of the house." - - - VOLS. I. AND II. NOW READY - - GARDENS OLD AND NEW - -(The Country House and its Garden Environment.) =Over 450 Superb -Illustrations in each Volume=, printed on treble thick Art Paper, -portraying in a manner never before attempted the greatest and most -interesting Gardens and Homes in England. - -2 Vols., £2 2s. net each; by post, £2 3s. each. - -=Scotsman.=--"'GARDENS OLD AND NEW' is a pictorial and descriptive -record of some of the finest gardens in England. Each is illustrated -by numerous photographs, which are not only on a considerable scale, -but are reproduced in a most sumptuous fashion. In each case there is -a descriptive article, which tells when the house was built, what have -been the fortunes of its owners, and when and how its gardens have -been laid out. It is a book from which those who are fortunate in the -possession of a garden may learn much of garden-craft, while those who -are not thus fortunate can derive much pleasure from the contemplation -of the magnificent views with which the book is adorned." - - - THE GARDENS OF ITALY - -Being a series of illustrations, from photographs specially taken by -=CHARLES LATHAM=, of the most famous examples of those magnificent -features of garden arrangement and architecture for which Italy, -pre-eminently the earliest home of the garden, is noted. The same care -and fastidious selection which distinguished MR. LATHAM'S previous -work, IN ENGLISH HOMES, has been exercised in these volumes, and the -spirit and atmosphere of the scenery have been caught with entire -success. This most important work, which forms a handsome companion -to IN ENGLISH HOMES, contains about 300 plates, and is issued in two -volumes, handsomely bound in cloth. £3 3s. net the Two Volumes; by -post, £3 4s. - -=Westminster Gazette.=--"The natural and artistic beauties of the -famous palace or villa gardens of Italy are most admirably illustrated, -and with such variety and success as must be reckoned among the -triumphs of photographic work." - -=Globe.=--"The illustrations are among the best of their kind -that we have seen, especially in their rendering of distances of -contrasted effects of light and shade. The grouping of architectural -subjects--often an insurmountable difficulty--is managed with skill, -the artist's feeling for composition enabling him frequently to -make a good picture out of the material which is hardly within the -photographer's customary limits." - -=Yorkshire Post.=--"In the two handsome volumes a clear idea is given -by illustrations and letterpress, of the wonderful beauty of places to -which the ordinary tourist seeks admittance in vain." - - - A GARDEN IN VENICE - -=By F. EDEN.= An account of Mr. Eden's beautiful garden on the -island of the Guidecca at Venice. With 21 collotype and 50 other -illustrations. Parchment limp, 10s. 6d. net; by post, 10s. 11d. - -=Glasgow Herald.=--"Written with a brightness and an infectious -enthusiasm that impart interest even to technicalities, it is -beautifully and rarely pictured, and its material equipment is such as -to delight the lover of beautiful books." - - - ECONOMIES IN DAIRY FARMING - -A New and Important Work on Dairying, by =Mr. ERNEST MATHEWS= (the -well-known Judge and Expert). 7s. 6d. net; by post, 7s. 10d. - -=The Journal of the Bath and West of England Society.=--"The author -of this book is so well known among farmers, especially those -interested in the selection and judging of cows, that his name and -experience alone will go far to ensure that his views receive the -attention they deserve. He has for many years past been judge in all -the most important butter tests which have been held at our principal -agricultural shows." - - - WHERE THE FOREST MURMURS - -=By FIONA MACLEOD=, being a Series of Nature Essays. 6s. net; by post, -6s. 4d. - -=Morning Post.=--"No other than Fiona Macleod could so have -transfigured Nature into dream, no other writer could have expressed -with such unity of spirit the Celtic attitude in terms of country -things. She finds the charm of the mountain in their contemplation from -the valley, the forest most vividly itself when the twigs are bare and -the mosses shrouded in snow, the most luminous moment of the cuckoo's -year in its first days of silence, and her love of all things greatest -when they have just been taken away." - -=Daily Telegraph.=--"There is everywhere a sense of the haunting -mystery of the processes of the world viewed through the eyes of a -simple unsophisticated nature, which, from perpetual brooding upon the -face of the deep, has caught something of the misty air and broken -music of the waves. Suggestion, rather than doctrine, is the atmosphere -of the work; and in a certain vague, but beautiful suggestiveness, the -strange but eager-hearted prose of this writer abounds to the very -brim." - - - SEASIDE PLANTING OF TREES AND SHRUBS - -=By ALFRED GAUT, F.R.H.S.= An interesting and instructive book -dealing with a phase of arboriculture hitherto not touched upon. It -is profusely illustrated, and diagrams are given explaining certain -details. Those who have gardens and estates on exposed coasts will find -the book of immense assistance, and, judging by the remarks of the -writer, it is astonishing what beautiful results may be achieved on -such coasts when sufficient protection is afforded. 5s. net; by post, -5s. 4d. - - - THE UNHEATED GREENHOUSE - -=By Mrs. K. L. DAVIDSON.= Containing full and clearly-written -instructions as to the management of a cold greenhouse, together with -a list of plants that may be grown therein. 8s. 6d. net; by post, 8s. -10d. - - - "COUNTRY LIFE" LIBRARY OF SPORT - - Edited by HORACE G. HUTCHINSON - -A Series devoted to Sport and Pastime, each branch being dealt -with by the most qualified experts on the subjects which they have -made peculiarly their own. A special feature has been made of the -reproduction of old sporting prints. - -Illustrated. Demy 8vo, Cloth. - - - CRICKET - -With over 80 Illustrations taken from the most interesting of the old -Cricketing prints. 12s. 6d. net; by post, 12s. 11d. - - - SHOOTING - -In Two Volumes, 12s. 6d. each net; by post, 12s. 10d. each. - -=Pall Mall Gazette.=--"Will prove a welcome and valuable addition -to Standard Sporting Literature.... The subject is treated from -a thoroughly practical and modern standpoint; in its views and -information it is entirely up-to-date." - - - FISHING - -With Coloured Plates of Salmon and Trout Flies. Over 250 Full Page -Illustrations with various diagrams. In Two Volumes, 12s. 6d. each net; -by post, 13s. - -=Morning Post.=--"Few books on any sport, and perhaps none on fishing, -have ever deserved better the description 'thorough.' To its title-page -might well have been added the motto of the Royal Agricultural -Society, 'Science with Practice,' and to the title itself, 'The -Angler's Encyclopædia.' From Cornwall to John o' Groats, from Wales -to Norway, from Florida to India and Burma--here you may find what -there is to be caught and how to catch it. And no detail seems to have -been overlooked. Localities, baits, tackle, choice of rods, methods -of casting, likely times--all are fully covered by experts who write -from long experience, and not because they spend odd days of the week -going a-fishing and resolved to write a book about it.... The book is -profusely, delightfully, and usefully illustrated. The salmon flies -are excellent, and so are the prints showing right and wrong methods -of casting, bringing in a fish, and gaffing.... 'Fishing' has fully -achieved its stated object of providing such information as may make a -man an intelligent and a successful angler if he has an average brain -and a love for craft." - - - BIG GAME SHOOTING - -With over 200 Illustrations from Photographs showing Animals in their -actual habitat and natural environment. In Two Volumes, 12s. 6d. each -net; by post, 12s. 11d. each. - -=Manchester Courier.=--"Encyclopædic in its scope, the work becomes by -its value and interest a standard authority on the subjects treated." - - - GOLF GREENS and GREEN KEEPING - -10s. 6d. net; by post, 10s. 10d. - -=Yorkshire Daily Post.=--"The practical worth of the volume is nearly -equal to the combined worth of all the books that have been written on -the theory and practice of golf." - -=Pall Mall Gazette.=--"Each article is written by a man who knows his -subject, and the book is brightened by a number of most admirable and -helpful photographs. It will be useful to secretaries of links already -established, and even more so to gentlemen who are thinking of pegging -out a new course; and we have no hesitation in saying that it should be -on the library shelves of every golf club pavilion in the kingdom as a -valuable practical treatise." - -=Irish Times.=--"This is the first book on the subject. It is an -excellent book, and one which every member of every green committee -should read and re-read." - - - HALF A CENTURY OF SPORT IN HAMPSHIRE - -Being Extracts from the shooting journals of =JAMES EDWARD=, second -Earl of Malmesbury, with a prefatory memoir by his great grandson, the -Fifth Earl. Edited by =F. G. AFLALO=. 10s. 6d. net; by post, 10s. 11d. - -=Liverpool Daily Courier.=--"The book is of great interest, and an -important contribution to the literature of sport and natural history. -It is charmingly illustrated." - - - POLO--PAST AND PRESENT - -=By T. F. DALE.= 12s. 6d. net; by post, 12s. 11d. - -=Scotsman.=--"A work than which there could be no better document of a -man's claim to speak with authority. This treatise is learned in the -ancient history of the game, well informed and exact in its directions -as to how it is played in the various quarters of the globe, and broad -minded in its suggestions of an international code for the furtherance -of its future prosperity. It has many admirable illustrations, and -a delightful chapter of personal reminiscences, discusses all the -practical business of the game with a knowledge which the most expert -will be the readiest to value highly, and brings together into a -well-stocked appendix a collection of rules and regulations and a list -of clubs which materially increase the usefulness of the book for -purposes of reference. The volume promises at once to take rank as a -book of first importance in the literature of its subject." - - - COUNTRY LIFE - - THE JOURNAL FOR ALL INTERESTED IN COUNTRY LIFE AND COUNTRY PURSUITS - -Subscription Prices per annum (Post free): Inland, 29s. 2d.; Foreign, -47s. Weekly, Price, 6d. - -Country Life is a weekly journal addressed to all interested in country -life and country pursuits. One of its main features is the celebrated -series of COUNTRY HOMES and GARDENS OLD AND NEW; in each number a -country seat, remarkable either for its beauty or something peculiarly -instructive in the architecture of the house, gardens or grounds, is -elaborately illustrated in a manner that has proved of high service to -those engaged in building and laying out or improving their estates. -Other features of rural life are dealt with in an equally thorough -manner. The methods pursued on our most famous estates and farms are -minutely described, and photographs of the finest pedigree stock and -the best machinery are given. All forms of healthy outdoor sport are -described and illustrated in their season. In no case, however, are -the facts set forth dry, as the journal numbers among its contributors -some of the most graceful and accomplished writers of the present day. -New books are also described and discussed by competent critics, so -that altogether the journal is calculated to give the best news and -views on all subjects that are of interest in cultivated circles, and -the wholesomeness and fine open-air feeling that pervades its pages -have almost become proverbial. COUNTRY LIFE has, in fact, become -indispensable. - - -=Dally Telegraph.=--"'Country Life' is generally admitted to be -the most beautifully produced of all the weeklies. Its process -illustrations are unmatched, and the letterpress is always carefully -selected and good in quality." - -=Westminster Gazette.=--"To say of 'Country Life' that it is one of -the best of our illustrated productions is stating only half a fact, -inasmuch as in some of its features it stands alone. Its splendid -gallery of stately mansions, beautiful interiors, and grand old gardens -are incomparable." - -=Daily Mail.=--"'Country Life' has established itself as the most -beautifully produced weekly journal in the world." - -=Daily News.=--"There is no feature of life in the country that is -untouched, and a bound volume of 'Country Life' is a real joy to -possess and frequently to turn over." - -=Spectator.=--"'Country Life' amply fulfils its promise of being 'the -journal for all interested in country life and country pursuits.'" - -=Liverpool Daily Courier.=--"There is scarcely a number without one -or more contributions of literary or other interest which will stand -reading, re-reading and study." - - -LONDON: PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICES OF "COUNTRY LIFE," LTD., TAVISTOCK -ST., COVENT GARDEN; AND BY GEORGE NEWNES, LTD., SOUTHAMPTON ST., -STRAND, W.C. - - * * * * * - -Transcriber's Notes - -Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. - -Variations in hyphenation have been standardised, but other variations -in spelling, punctuation and accents remain as in the original. - -The index entry for Solomon's seal has been corrected from 55. 37 to -25, 33. - -The sequence of the table of illustrations has been altered by -exchanging A SEPTEMBER GREY GARDEN and THE GREY BORDERS: GYPSOPHILA, -ECHINOPS, &C. to correspond with the sequence of the illustrations in -the book. - -Italics are represented thus _italic_ and bold thus =bold=. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Colour in the flower garden, by Gertrude Jekyll - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK COLOUR IN THE FLOWER GARDEN *** - -***** This file should be named 50764-0.txt or 50764-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/7/6/50764/ - -Produced by Shaun Pinder, Les Galloway and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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