Part 14

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.

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.