Part 6

So artistically wrought are all the various features contributing to the beauty of the Clifton garden that choice of illustrations is made difficult when selection is limited to so few. This fact explains the omission of the little flower garden which even though charming must give place to the accompanying remarkable views.

Not far from Cleveland Shadyside, on the lake, is another place of interest to flower lovers, and here a small formal garden has been recently completed in addition to the older water garden. This delightful spot is worthy of particular attention not only on account of the variety of plants adorning its banks, but for its picturesque setting as well.

Indian Hill offers a glimpse of a fair little garden, with no suggestion of display; a vine-covered bower surrounded with flowers,--a creation of simple loveliness.

XIV

MICHIGAN AND WISCONSIN

Favored indeed are the gardens of these States, which border on the Great Lakes, some five hundred and eighty feet above sea-level. The country in most parts is fertile and flat, with a climate superior to that of New England in summer, and winters equally as cold. To quote our well known garden friend, Mrs. Francis King, of Alma, in central Michigan: "We have a very fine summer climate, most favorable to gardening; no humidity whatsoever, but dry and bracing, and while a short summer, a merry one for flowers. We must plan for a late spring, and frost is due in early September; but when we have learned these things it is very simple to arrange for them. Our rainfall is usually sufficient, and we practically never suffer from the heat. Hardy Chrysanthemums need a very sheltered position in winter. At Detroit, one hundred and fifty miles southeast of Alma, the trees are in spring foliage almost ten days earlier, partly owing to the distance southward and partly to the warming influence of Lake St. Clair."

The garden at Orchard House, Alma, so vividly described in "The Well-Considered Garden," is too familiar to most gardeners to need description. Briefly, the planting over the large space is all balanced in predominating colors of rose, lavender, white, and palest yellow. Gray foliage and white flowers are freely used, and through the entire summer there is not one week when the whole garden is not gay with flowers from June until frost.

To the northeast of Alma is the lovely garden at Garra-tigh, where Daffodils bloom, as in Alma, three weeks later than near the city of New York. Bay City is in the latitude of Portland, Maine, and central Oregon. This attractive garden shows the effective combination of flowers and trees so well arranged that the trees are not detrimental to the vigor of the plants, and the sunny garden space is doubly radiant by contrast, lying within the trees' encircling shadows. Garra-tigh is the Gaelic for House with the Garden.

Near Detroit, at Fairlawn, Grosse Pointe Shores, on Lake St. Clair, where the country is flat and fertile, there is another delightful place of interest noted for the abundance of flowers covering several acres of land. The accompanying photograph was made in early September, when the best of the bloom had passed. In June and July the place is a glory with Lilies, Columbine, and Delphinium that are counted in hundreds, and earlier there are Tulips and Daffodils by the thousands. Behind the broad borders that edge the walks vegetables grow in great quantities. Early Tulips come the first week of May, late Tulips about May 20. Climate and soil combine to simplify the gardening tasks in this productive country.

The House in the Woods, on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, has a beautiful garden so well planned that it seems like an outdoor room to this charming villa. The planting scheme is moderate, easily maintained, and yet with beds broad enough to include without difficulty the plants for a long, continuous bloom. Opposite the house the picturesque studio, standing out against the wooded background, borders the garden on this side so that it lies within an enclosed court.

XV

NEW MEXICO

The mountainous States of the West, from Montana to New Mexico, from Colorado almost to the Pacific, have a climate of their own, varying naturally according to latitude. A resident of Las Cruces, New Mexico, writes: "The first killing frost is usually to be expected from the 7th to the 25th of October, very often it is much later, and we have had tomatoes till December with the slightest possible protection. Many flowers in a sheltered position bloom in winter, such as Calendula, Violets, Wallflowers, and Pansies. The highest ordinary summer thermometer is ninety-two to ninety-eight degrees. The lowest usually in winter is fifteen degrees--occasionally it has gone down to fifteen or twenty degrees below zero, but that is most exceptional. The climate is extremely dry. Most of New Mexico is at a high altitude--we are about three thousand eight hundred feet above sea-level here.

"As some plants blossom through the winter, it is hard to say when the garden begins to bloom. But about the middle of March we have Crocuses, followed the 1st of April by Jonquils, Narcissus, Tulips, and other bulbs, also German Iris, Lilac, Periwinkles, Cornflower, Mignonette. In the mountains near-by the California Poppies bloom at the same time. Then about mid-April come Tea Roses--and at the end of April or soon after the Peonies and Sweet Peas. The 1st of May or a little later Honeysuckles, Phlox, Snapdragon, Zinnias, and annual Larkspurs appear. Almost everything that is not extremely tender can be wintered in open ground without protection. Tender annuals should be planted out about the end of March. I transplanted some things last year the end of April, and the noonday sun was too much for them, though I shaded them for some time. We plant seeds of Pansies, Asters, Sweet Peas, etc., in the fall for best results."

The garden at Mr. Barker's mountain home is delightfully fitted to its surroundings, where nature is supreme and all else studied simplicity. Flowers revel in their freedom without the restriction of conventional beds. Flowers, nature, and the simple life of the Southern hills is the message from this distant home.

XVI

CALIFORNIA

The garden section of this State extends the length of its coast, and possibly fifty miles inland, and much is conveyed in a few words when it is described as one garden throughout this whole region. In the hill country mountains are admirable settings to tropical gardens, and from there to the sandy shores a delectable climate with prevailing westerly sea-winds encourages phenomenal growth of the choicest plants.

Southern California is particularly blessed with a clear, dry, and balmy climate. Quoting an authority in Santa Barbara: "There is practically no frost in southern California; in the north there is some. There are flowers in our gardens at all times of the year. Tulips bloom in February and March; Daffodils, German Iris, and other hardies from February to May; also Lilies-of-the-Valley, which latter are more scarce on account of the dryness of the atmosphere. From March till autumn there is bloom from Sweet William, Phlox, and many others of their kind, while Geranium, the common Marguerite, and Heliotrope grow all the year around and become large bushes. Roses cover the tops of some villas; Cosmos, California Poppy, Zinnia, Nasturtium, and Stock are among the favorite annuals; and all, whether hardy or tender, may be planted out in March when the winter rains are over. Some of the favorite exotic shrubs used for their bloom are the Acacias, Genista, etc., Solanums, and Choisia Ternata." Quite common are the great Poinsetta plants and the soft, trailing Bougainvillea, with its exquisite red matching in tone the color of our autumn leaves. Boxwood is little used in this climate. Toward San Francisco and northward it is found in greater quantity. To the south it is replaced by Myrtus communis nanus, Myrtus microphylla, Veronica Andersonii for low hedges; Monterey Cypress, Eugenia myrtifolia, different species of Ligustrum (Privet), which are all evergreen here, Duranta Plumerii, and others.

The highest temperature in Santa Barbara for a few days in fall is about eighty-six degrees Fahrenheit and the lowest in winter is forty degrees for a few days. The summers are very cool. The climate of Santa Barbara is quite similar to Sorrento, Italy, only better. The farther north on the coast the more rain. In Santa Barbara there is sunshine continually, except for the brief period of rain in winter. The warmest months are August, September, and October. From May to August there are fogs at night along the coast which keep the temperature down during the day.

In this paradise of sunshine and flowers are found a bewildering number of wonderful subjects for photography, some of which must give an idea of the favored vegetation of California.

At Kimberly Crest, as in the other views, most conspicuous is the brilliant clearness of the atmosphere. This beautiful country-seat is a sample of many which are built more or less on a similar plan, and especially noted for their profusion of choicest shrubs, trees, and flowering plants.

At Glendessary is found one of California's favorite gardens, where the strong sunshine is moderated by the plentiful use of trees so carefully arranged that the shadows do not disturb the growths of flowers, which bloom abundantly throughout this lovely place.

The flower garden at Piranhurst, named for Saint Piran, an Irish saint, is exceedingly picturesque. The wonderful Greek Theatre, with its wings of tall, clipped Cypress, is without a rival in this country. The design was modelled after one at the Villa Gori, in Italy. This remarkable planting, together with the Roses and other flora in the adjoining garden, combine to make it one of the most famous places on the coast. The owner of Piranhurst is also possessor of the garden at Ross, partly shown in the view of a fountain, with its hill background covered with massively grouped Hydrangeas and Rose vines.

Perfectly complete in every detail is the lovely pool in Doctor Schiffman's garden. It seems more a product of the Old World across the sea, while fitting so happily into the tropical atmosphere of Pasadena.

The marvellous growth of Banksia and Cherokee Roses, the field of Marguerites, and the background of snow-peaked mountains, all so characteristic of California, belong to Canon Crest Park, an estate well known to many travellers. Wonderful, too, are the Palms that overarch the driveway, and beautiful the gardens and panorama beyond.

The Cactus planting of a San Diego garden is an interesting study in the horticulture of California--this most favored State of the great Union.

XVII

OREGON AND WASHINGTON

In this coast region of the Northwest, shrubs, trees, and vines develop rapidly and give sooner to the garden the appearance of completeness than is the case in the drier climates. An authority from Portland says: "The growing season is long, lasting from March 1 to November 1, and in the places where lawns are well kept they are green throughout the entire winter. At this period, however, the grass does not grow enough to require clipping. Several shrubs, such as the Laurestinus, remain in foliage throughout the entire winter. Usually a few belated Roses are found on the bushes as late as Christmas, not the perfect blooms of summer, by any means, but sufficiently good-looking to adorn a vase in the drawing-room. The freezing weather would ordinarily come in January and be very limited in duration." In February the spring bulbs, Daffodils and Forsythia, appear.

At Tacoma and throughout the coast section of Washington the climate differs but slightly from that of Portland, Oregon, the latter having probably less rain and mist, but the whole coast is ideal for flowers. The summer is the dryest season, when gardens will require some sprinkling but not to the extent necessary in most portions of the country. Another authority states that in this northwest coast district it is clear 43 per cent of the year between sunrise and sunset. On an average, 80 clear days, 122 partly clear days, 163 cloudy days. A day which is up to three-tenths cloudy is classed as clear. A day four-tenths to seven-tenths cloudy is classed as partly clear. Days in excess of four-tenths cloudy classed as cloudy.

Near Tacoma, among majestic surroundings of forest and lake, with Mount Tacoma as a background, are the famous gardens of Thornewood, rich in flowers and shrubs and splendid garden architecture. Trees and hedges will wither and die, but the "everlasting hills" and the silver waters of American Lake will form a perpetual background to this beautiful place, built in 1880 and standing as the pioneer great garden of the State.

Gardens even in the cities are becoming numerous, and attached to many fine residences the planting, though now in its youth, promises to add great adornment in the near future to these municipalities of the Northwest. Mr. Merrill's spacious place in Seattle, partly shown in two small views, illustrates the delightful possibilities of a town garden.

The Rose hedge and lovely Rose garden at Rose Crest are typical of hundreds of others in Portland. The hedges are usually made up of Madame Caroline Testout Roses, the most popular sort there; in fact, Portland's official emblem. By June 1, along the curbing of the avenues, there are miles of Roses in bloom, and, as may be imagined, the effect is very pleasing. The climate of western Oregon is quite similar to favored portions of England, but has the advantage of more sunshine. The variety of vegetation is almost endless. Plants native to England will grow here that will not thrive in other parts of the United States, and the gardening tasks are simple in comparison to the toil necessary where gardens are subject to greater extremes of heat, cold, drought, and similar problems.

Cliff Cottage and High Hatch, both about six miles south of Portland, on the Willamette River, possess gardens in their beginning, both interestingly planned and already known to garden lovers even beyond the limits of that State. The Cliff Cottage garden is designed in four terraces, with a rich background of primeval trees. Dwarf fruit trees and vegetables fill the beds that are all bordered with flowers. The stone stairway leading to the several terraces is in keeping with the natural surroundings of a wooded hillside. Rock planting is also a feature. The landscape in the distance is a beautiful outlook.

High Hatch has a combination of upper and lower garden, partly in a rock garden, spread out over considerable undulating land with winding gravel paths and stone stairs connecting the various parts. A wide white stone balustrade divides the broad lawn from the gardens below, and a fine growth of aged pines completes the adornment of the place.

XVIII

ALASKA

_Last_, but not least, comes Alaska; even if last to arrive on the map of the Union, yet not least in size of territory or in flowers, and with still another condition of climate to be considered. Alaskan gardens are as yet but tiny modest plots against the gray log cabins, suggesting the homes of our Pilgrim fathers on the milder New England coast so long ago, and as we think of the stone and marble pergolas in modern New England, there comes the suggestion: "Then why not Alaska likewise some day?"

To those who think of Alaska only as a land of snow and ice, descriptions of its flower-surrounded log cabins seem like impossible dreams. Quoting from Reverend Mr. Lumpkin's paper:

"In coming into Alaska, you first awake to the beautiful reality in Skagway. This is the point where the White Pass road is taken to make connection with the river boats for the interior. Your eyes rest upon the wonderful fulfilment of the flowers and your crag-weary soul is refreshed.

"Every growing thing in Alaska seems to exemplify the Alaskan spirit, and that is to make the very best of bad conditions, and to make the very most of the many good ones. With the dark winters and short summers, every ray of sunshine has to be used, and when in the summer the sun shines all day and nearly all night for three months, there is no time for loafing in flower land.

"Just take a walk down through Fairbanks in July and you will begin to think that wonders will never cease. You will see flowers, that at home you had to coax and nurse into growth, here in radiant, luxuriant masses. The Pansies are unusually large, whole borders of them, and paths bordered with beds a foot wide, filled to the edges with changeable velvet. Sweet Peas grow up to the tops of the fences, and then, if no further support is given them, over they go, back to the ground again. All summer the Nasturtiums climb nearer and nearer the roofs of the cabins, and bloom and bloom in sheer delight. Some paths are bordered with Poppies, big stately red and white, and white and pink ones, or the golden California beauties. These natives of warmer climes seem perfectly at home in the Northland. Asters scorn hothouses and grow in profusion wherever they are planted, and wherever they are they are beautiful. They are as large as the Chrysanthemums the Easterner delights in, and of all the various changes of colors. By them, perhaps, will be Dahlias as large and rich as any you have ever seen. The more beauty-loving and flower-loving the owner of the garden, the longer you will stay to look and wonder. Candytuft, Sweet Alyssum, and Mignonette will greet you from their accustomed places on the borders of beds of flowers, and you will almost smile at them as at some old-time friend. Then you will see where some daring gardener has bordered the beds with Phlox or Snapdragon, and you will feel compelled to admire the result.

"Never have I seen such Begonias. The flowers are like Camellias, and the colors exquisite. Shades of pale yellow to deep yellow, pale pink to deep pink, and the pure white. The Geraniums, too, grow to giant size, and seem to be ever-blooming. One really is tempted to feel the stalks of some of them before it can be believed that they are not two plants tied together. There was a Geranium in one of the small towns which filled the window of a store.

"Many cabins have five or more baskets hanging from the eaves. Imagine gray log cabins with birch baskets filled with blue Lobelias; flame-colored Nasturtiums climbing to the roof, beds of velvet Pansies, borders of crimson Poppies leading to the gate, where golden California Poppies make way for you to pass, and beyond, the distant Alaskan mountains, snow-covered and glistening in the sun. Imagine one cabin, and then think of streets of them; change your flower colors as you will, as a child changes his kaleidoscope, and you will have some idea of Alaska flower land."[5]

FOOTNOTES:

[5] From _The Alaskan Churchman_.

XIX

VANCOUVER ISLAND

The lure of the far-famed gardens of the island so close to our shores is enticing enough to make a happy excuse for giving the space of a page to one of its smaller gardens.

In the heart of this fair garden, in the country of the Englishman, at the end of this book on American gardens, the author, though a proud American, unhesitatingly admits that usually it is the Englishman who has inspired us to make gardens as nearly as possible like those of the mother country. Is it the old blood that is stirring within us, the common bond of past associations and brotherhood so often expressed in our physical resemblances as well as in many of our ideals? The garden in the accompanying illustrations shows a beautiful combination of flowers with picturesque old trees.

The climate of this favored place is even more delightful and balmy than that of the mainland, and the charm of the great Pacific is doubly felt along these quiet shores. The untravelled may picture it as isolated and forsaken, but rather is it just enough retired to be apart without loneliness; and, except, in a few cities, excluding the turmoil of the world, yet hospitably open to the friendly passer-by.

There is more sunshine here than in England, although the climates are very similar. On Vancouver Island there are the four distinct, well-defined seasons; the temperature is more like that of Portland than of Tacoma. The island is generously covered with vegetation, and when its native wild flowers are considered, in addition to the gardens in rich cultivation, it may well be called a garden island.

A FEW GARDEN GATES