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 COPYRIGHT DEPOSre 
 
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 The Library of Congress 
 
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BEAUTIFUL GARDENS 
 IN AMERICA 
 
BOOKS BY LOUISE SHELTON 
 
 PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA. Il- 
 lustrated- dto ..,.».... net $5.00 
 
 CONTINUOUS BLOOM IN AMERICA. Il- 
 lustrated. 4to net S2.00 
 
 THE SEASONS IN A FLOWER GARDEN. 
 
 Illustrated. i2mo . . . . ^ . . net Si.oo 
 
I 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS 
 IN AMERICA 
 
 BY 
 
 LOUISE SHELTON 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 1915 
 
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 ^^^fc 
 
 to 
 
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 COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 Published November, 1915 
 
 NOV 271915 
 
 'CIJ 414795 
 
DEDICATED TO THE PRAISE OF THOSE AMER- 
 ICAN MEN AND WOMEN, OF WHATSOEVER 
 PERIOD, WHO HAVE PLANTED SO BEAUTIFULLY 
 THAT THEIR GARDENS ARE AN INSPIRATION 
 TO OTHERS IN ALL GENERATIONS 
 
IN GREEN OLD GARDENS 
 
 Here may I live what life I please, 
 Married and buried out of sight, 
 Married to pleasure, and buried to pain, 
 Hidden away amongst scenes like these 
 Under the fans of the chestnut trees: 
 Living m}^ child-life over again, 
 With the further hope of a fuller delight, 
 Blithe as the birds and wise as the bees. 
 In green old gardens hidden away 
 From sight of revel, and sound of strife. 
 Here have I leisure to breathe and move. 
 And do my work in a nobler way; 
 To sing my songs, and to say my say; 
 To dream my dreams, and to love my love. 
 To hold my faith and to live my life. 
 Making the most of its shadowy day. 
 
 — Violet Fane. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Foreword xv 
 
 CH.\PTER 
 
 I. The Garden and Its Meaning i 
 
 II. Climate in America 8 
 
 III. New England 13 
 
 Maine 14 
 
 New Hampshire and Vermont ... 27 
 
 Massachusetts 37 
 
 Rhode Island 7g 
 
 Connecticut 89 
 
 IV. New York . gg 
 
 Long Island, New York 127 
 
 V. New Jersey . . . 15c; 
 
 VI. Pennsylvania . 187 
 
 VII. Maryland 205 
 
 VIII. Virginia 219 
 
 IX. South Carolina 235 
 
 X. Georgia and Florida . . .247 
 
 vii 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 XI. Tennessee and Missouri 255 
 
 XII. Illinois and Indiana 265 
 
 XIII. Ohio 277 
 
 XIV. Michigan and Wisconsin 287 
 
 XV. New Mexico 299 
 
 XVI. California 303 
 
 XVII. Oregon and Washington 323 
 
 XVIII. Alaska 33 7 
 
 XIX. Vancouver Island 340 
 
 A Few Garden Gates 347 
 
 Vlll 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 COLOR-PLATES 
 I "Maeiemont," Newport, R. I Frontispiece 
 
 v^ 
 
 -rjy \ " Faielawn," Lenox, Mass Facing page 42 "^ 
 
 IV The Author's Childhood Garden " " 106 "^ 
 
 V S0UTH.AMPTON, L. I " " iso"^ 
 
 VI "Glen Alpine," Moreisto-\vn, N. J " " i6o-^ 
 
 VII 1 
 
 y-|-Cj /Roland P.ark, Baltimore, Md " " 210"^ 
 
 Plates I, T", VII, and VIII were reproduced from photographs colored by 
 Mrs. Herbert A . Raynes, the basis of which were autochrome photographs. 
 
 , HALF-TONE PLATES 
 
 PLATE 
 
 ii "Kenarden Lodge," B.ar Harbor, Maine. 
 '2 "Blair Eyrie," Bar H.arbor, M.aine. 
 
 "Hamilton House," South Berwick, Maine. 
 
 13 
 
 '6 
 
 ^ 8 \ Cornish, N. H. 
 
 '9 
 -10 
 
 -II Old Bennington, Vt. 
 ^12] 
 
 -13 >"Weld," Brookline, Mass. 
 '14 J 
 
 "15 Wellesley, Mass. 
 16 "Holm Lea," Brookline, Mass. 
 
 -17] 
 
 -18 > "Fairlawn," Lenox, Mass. 
 
 -19 J 
 
 i20 1 
 
 -21 > "Bellefontaine," Lenox, Mass. 
 " 22 J 
 
 ix 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PLATE 
 
 ^23 "OvERLocH," Wenham, Mass. 
 
 '■24 "Fernbrooke," Lenox, Mass. 
 
 ""2^ " Chesteewood," Glendale, Mass. 
 ^26] 
 
 ^27 [ "Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. 
 ^28 J 
 
 '29 "Naum Keag," Stockbridge, Mass. 
 
 ""30 "Brookside," Great Barrington, Mass. 
 
 .31 "Rock M.aple Farm," HAinLXON, Mass. 
 
 ^32 Brookline, Mass. 
 
 '33 Longfellow's Garden, Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 .34 Old Witch House, Salem, Mass. 
 
 »3S "M.ARiEMONT," Newport, R. I. 
 
 ■36 "The Elms," Newport, R. I. 
 
 \37 "Vernon Court," Newport, R. I. 
 
 • 38 "Villaserra," Warren, R. I. 
 
 -39 "WooDsiDE," Hartford, Conn. 
 
 ■40 "Elmwood," Pomfret, Conn. 
 
 >4i Pomfret Centre, Conn. 
 
 "^42 "Branford House," Groton, Conn. 
 
 ^43 Pomfret Centre, Conn. 
 
 -^^■^ > Auburn, N. Y. ■ 
 
 ^46 Section of a Wild Garden at Tuxedo Park, N. Y. 
 
 ^47 "Woodland," Tuxedo, N. Y. 
 
 48 " Cragswerthe," Tuxedo, N. Y. 
 
 '49 "Blithewood," Barrytown-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 ^ } "Wodenethe," Beacon-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 -si] • 
 
 ^^ > The Author's Childhood Garden, Newburgh-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 w53 J 
 
 \54 "Echo Lawn," Newburgh-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 -55 I "Meadowburn," Warwick, N. Y. 
 
 -57 "Ridgeland Farm," Bedford, N. Y. 
 -58 Southampton, L. I. 
 
 -59] 
 
 i.° >"The Orchard," Southampton, L. I. 
 01 ' ' 
 
 -62] 
 
 X 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PLATE 
 
 ig^r'THE Appleteees," Southampton, L. I. 
 
 •65 Southampton, L. I. 
 ■^66 ] 
 
 East Hampton, L. I. 
 
 •>68 
 
 70 "Manor House," Glen Cove, L. I. 
 '71 Cedarhurst, L. I. 
 ^72 Westbury, L. I. 
 -73 "Manor House," Glen Cove, L. I. 
 -74 "Sylvester Manor," Shelter Island. 
 -75 "Cherrycroft," Morristown, N. J. 
 -76 "RiDGEWooD Hill," Morristown, N. J. 
 -77 Morristown, N. J. 
 -78] 
 
 ■ 79 }■ " Blairsden," Peapack, N. T. 
 -80 J 
 
 -81 "Brooklawn," Short Hills, N. J. 
 
 -82 1 
 
 -83 [ "Drumthwacket," Princeton, N. T 
 
 -84J 
 
 -85 "Onunda," Madison, N. J. 
 
 -86 "Glen Alpine," Morristown, N. J. 
 
 -87 "Thornton," Rumson, N. J. 
 
 •88 Highland, N. J. 
 
 '89 "Allgates," Haverford, Pa. 
 
 '^ > Andalusia, Pa. 
 
 -92 "Edgecombe," Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 V93 "Krisheim," Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 '^"^ I "Willow Bank," Bryn Mawr, Pa. 
 
 -96 "Fancy Field," Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 -97 "Timberline," Bryn Mawr, Pa. 
 
 -98 "Ballygarth," Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pa. 
 
 -99 "Hampton," Towson, Md. 
 
 -100 "Evergreen-on-Avenue," Baltimore, Md. 
 
 -loi "Cylburn House," Cylburn, Baltimore Co., Md. 
 
 xi 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PUTE 
 
 \io2 "Ingleside," Catonsville, Md. 
 ^103 "The Blind," Havre de Grace, Md. 
 ao4 j 
 
 l'^^^ > MONTPELIER, ^'A. 
 
 ^107 J 
 
 \^° ^"RosE Hill," Greenwood, Va. 
 ^109 J ' ' 
 
 -no "Meadowbrook M/UsroK," DRE^\^RY's BLurr, Va. 
 
 Ill Richmond, Va. 
 
 II- i "Magnolia G.vrden," Ch.-vrleston, S. C. 
 ^113/ 
 
 -114 1 
 
 -115 [ "Preston Garden," Columbia, S. C. 
 
 -116 J 
 
 -117] 
 
 'iiS > "Green Court," Augusta, Ga. 
 
 'I19J 
 
 ^120 Tropical Growth, Palm Beach, Fla. 
 
 ■121 "R0STRE\-0R," K.NOXVILLE, TeNN. 
 
 •122 Longview, Tenn. 
 
 -123 "Hazelwood," Kinloch, ^Io. 
 
 124 Lake Forest, III. 
 
 -125 "H.^RDiN Hall," Hubb.vrd's Wood, III. 
 
 "The Farms," INIonticello, III. 
 
 ■The Rock G.^\rden, "Englishton P.\rk," Lexington, Ind. 
 
 "GwiXN," Clevel.and, Oin-o. 
 
 ^131! 
 
 ^ 132 }■ Clifton, Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 - 133 J 
 
 '134 " Sh.\dyside," Painesville, Ohio. 
 
 ^i y "Indian Hill, Mentor, Oiho. 
 ■ 136 I 
 137 "Okch.-vrd House," Alma, Mich. 
 
 13S "Garra-tigh,"' Bay City, Mich. 
 
 '139 "F.URL.A.WN," Grosse Points Shores, jSIich. 
 
 ■.126 
 
 •127 
 
 ^128 
 
 '129 
 
 ^130 
 
 • 140 \ i 
 
 xu 
 
 House-in-the-Woods," L.AKE Geneva, Wis. 
 
 141 J 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PLATE 
 
 . 142 Las Cruces, N. M. 
 
 4j I "KiMBEELY Crest," Redlands, Cal. 
 -144/ 
 
 .145 "Glendessary," Santa Barb/vea, Cal. 
 
 146] 
 147 "Pi 
 
 47 "PiR/VNHURST," Santa Barbara, Cal. 
 -148 J 
 149 Ross, Cal. 
 -150 Pasadena, Cal. 
 ,-151' 
 
 ■»■ T C "7 -^ 
 
 V ^" > "Canon Crest Park," Redlands, Cal. 
 
 "^153 ' ' ■ 
 
 "^154. 
 
 '^155 Tytical Growth in California. 
 
 "^156 ] 
 
 ■^157 \ "Thornewood," Tacoma, Wash. 
 
 '^■158 J 
 
 /■■^J^ > Seattle, Wash. 
 
 -161 Section oe a Rose PIedge Bordering an Avenue in Portland, 
 
 Ore. 
 -162 "Rosecrest," Portland Heights, Portland, Ore. 
 >i63 "Cliff Cottage," Elk Rock, Portland, Ore. 
 ^164 "High Hatch," Riverwood, Portland, Ore. 
 
 '.^rr \ Victoria City, Vancouver Island, B. C. 
 
 -167 LoNGViEW, Tenn. 
 
 -168 "Knock-Mae-Cree," Westport, Conn. 
 
 -169 
 
 Hamilton House," South Berwick, Maine. 
 
 ^'^ >"Glen Alpine," Morristown, N. J. 
 
 .173 East Hampton, L. I. 
 
 '174 "Glendessary," Santa Barbara, Cal. 
 
 -175 "Clifton," Cincinnati, Ohio. 
 
 -176 "Thornewood," Tacoma, Wash. 
 
 \ Title-Page: East Hampton, L. I., Albert Herter, Esq. 
 From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals. 
 
 XUl 
 
A GARDEN was wonderful at night — a place of 
 strange silences and yet stranger sound: trees 
 darkly guarding mysterious paths that ran into 
 caverns of darkness ; the scents of flowers rising from 
 damp earth heavy with dew; flowers that were weary 
 with the dust and noise of the day and slept gently, 
 gratefully, with their heads drooping to the soil, their 
 petals closed by the tender hands of the spirits of the 
 garden. The night sounds were strangely musical. Cries 
 that were discordant in the day mingled now with the 
 rtmning of distant water, the last notes of some bird 
 before it slept, the measured harmony of a far-away 
 bell, the gentle rustle of some arrival in the thickets; 
 the voice that could not be heard in the noisy chatter 
 of the day rose softly now in a little song of the night 
 and the dark trees and the silver firelight of the stars." 
 
 — Hugh Walpole. 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 Books and magazines written by and for American 
 architects usually show in their illustrations fine imita- 
 tions of lovely French, English, and Italian formaUsm and 
 works of art in marble or other stone ornamenting the 
 gardens of great mansions in this country. 
 
 The object of this book is to present, more particularly, 
 another type of garden, demonstrating the cultured Amer- 
 ican's love of beauty expressed through plant life rather 
 than in stone; showing the development of his ideal in 
 more original directions, when planning for himself the 
 garden spot in which he is to live rather than when 
 building wholly in imitation of some accepted type of 
 classic art. 
 
 With but few exceptions, these illustrations are of a 
 class which might be called personal gardens. The at- 
 tractive features in nearly every view speak so eloquently 
 for themselves that there seems but little need of detailed 
 verbal description of each beautiful spot. 
 
 In covering all sections of the country, occasion is given 
 for the observation and study of widely varying climatic 
 
 XV 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 conditions, the results of which the author has also sought 
 to consider. 
 
 Some difficulty has been felt in properly ascribing the 
 ownership of a number of the gardens illustrated. As a 
 rule, there is but one recognized director of the garden's 
 welfare — rarely are two members of a household equally 
 interested. While he is by custom acknowledged master 
 of the house, it is oftener she who rules supreme among 
 the flowers. Misnaming the real possessor might be a 
 serious mistake; attributing the ownership to two is 
 superfluous; the benefit, where any doubt existed, has 
 been therefore given to the fair sex, with due apology for 
 possible errors. 
 
 Louise Shelton. 
 
 MOEEISTOWN, N. J., . 
 
 October 2$,, 1915. 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS 
 IN AMERICA 
 
A GARDEN 
 
 Come not with careless feet 
 
 To tread my garden's unfrequented ways. 
 No highroad this, no busy clanging street, 
 
 No place of petty shows and fond displays. 
 Here there are blossoms sweet 
 
 That shrink and pine from inconsiderate gaze; 
 And here the birds repeat 
 
 Only to loving ears their truest lays. 
 Hither I can retreat 
 
 And drink of peace where peace unravished stays. 
 Herein are streams of sorrow no man knows — 
 Herein a well of joy inviolate flows; 
 Come not with careless feet 
 To soil my garden's sanctuary ways. 
 
 — Anonymous. 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS 
 IN AMERICA 
 
 I 
 
 THE GARDEN AND ITS MEANING 
 
 A world without flowers ! What would it be ? Among 
 those who know, such a question needs no answer — and 
 we are not seeking a reply from the uninitiated who, for 
 lack of understanding and sympathy, can but gaze at us 
 with wondering pity, when our gardens cause us to over- 
 look so much that to them means life. But is there any 
 life more real than the life in the garden for those who 
 actually take part in its creation and nurture it carefully 
 week by week and year by year? If, owing to this ab- 
 sorbing occupation, we fail to give a full share of our- 
 selves to some of the social avocations of the busy world 
 are we to be pitied for getting "back to the soil" to which 
 we belong? Man was put by the Creator "in the Garden 
 of Eden to dress it and to keep it," and even after his 
 forced departure therefrom he was bidden to "till the 
 ground," and the reward seems great to us who know the 
 meaning of the signs and wonders continually being re- 
 vealed in the garden world. 
 
 1 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 In seeking the simpler life which many are now craving, 
 if luxuries are blessings that we could do without, must we 
 count the flower garden a luxury? Not while its beauty 
 is a joy in which others may share, nor when it helps to 
 keep at home our interests which make the real home. 
 There is a luxury that often induces the roaming spirit, 
 and doubtless were there fewer motors there would be 
 still more gardens and incidentally more home life. Yet 
 notwithstanding this temptation to roam, gardens are 
 now on the increase in almost every section of the United 
 States. We have made a brave beginning of which to 
 be justly proud. 
 
 If only we could live in the world more as we live in 
 the garden, what joy and contentment would be brought 
 into the daily life ! In the garden hurry and noise are 
 needless, for perfect system can prevail where each plant, 
 each labor has its own especial time, and where haste is 
 a stranger, quiet reigns. It is in the stillness of the green 
 world that we hear the sounds that make for peace and 
 growth. In the garden, too, we labor faithfully, as best 
 we know how, in following rules that promise good results. 
 Then at a certain time we must stand aside, consciously 
 trusting to the source of life to do the rest. With hopeful 
 eyes we watch and wait, while the mysterious unseen spirit 
 brings life into plant and tree. When something goes 
 wrong, how sublime is our cheerful garden philosophy, as 
 smiling we say: "Just wait until we try next year!" And 
 patiently we try again, and ever patiently, sometimes again 
 
 2 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 and yet again. Our unwritten motto is: "If others can, 
 then why not we?" Even the man who "contends that 
 God is not" shows all this wondrous reliance in the unseen 
 force within his garden. 
 
 With hands plunged into the cool earth we seem to 
 bury in the magic soil all thoughts that jar till we almost 
 feel ourselves a part of the garden plan; as much in har- 
 mony with it as the note of the bird, the soft splash of the 
 fountain, the tints of the flowers and their perfumes. 
 This idea is better expressed in four lines found inscribed 
 on an old garden seat: 
 
 " The kiss of the sun for pardon, 
 The song of the birds for mirth, 
 One is nearer God's heart in a garden 
 Than anywhere else on earth." 
 
 It is not a selfish life — the object in view is not a 
 narrow one. How few would be content to create a beau- 
 tiful garden if none could see ! And our pleasure is not 
 complete until others have shared its sweetness with us. 
 The gardener is developing nature in the simplest and 
 truest way, following the thought of the first great Archi- 
 tect and gladdening the hearts of men with the vision 
 beautiful of the possibilities within plant life. In the flower 
 garden the efforts are for upbuilding, for giving back some 
 of the beauty intended in the Perfect Plan, too often de- 
 faced by man's heedlessness. 
 
 Dating back their beginning some two hundred years in 
 
 3 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 certain Southern States, numerous gardens, beautiful with 
 age, tell the story of the ardent garden lovers of earlier 
 days, who had to send abroad for their green treasures 
 which they planted and carefully tended, hopefully plan- 
 ning for the future. Many such gardens with their choice 
 shrubs and trees still stand as green memorials to those 
 long-ago people who had time and money for this luxury. 
 Since then the hardships following war have brought sad 
 neglect to the beautiful places — the number we can never 
 guess — many of which, however, are now being aroused to 
 fresh life by new owners who appreciate the charm and 
 dignity of an ancient home. 
 
 Hidden away in some of the old plantations of the 
 South, and scattered over the Eastern States, near Phila- 
 delphia, along the Hudson River, and in parts of Mas- 
 sachusetts, the best of the older gardens are found. 
 Beautiful, too, while often beyond reach of the camera, 
 are many of the more modern creations so skilfully and 
 lovingly fashioned by men and women of later genera- 
 tions. It is impossible to do justice in photography to 
 some of them when certain conditions prevent the camera 
 from being placed at a range favorable to getting a view 
 of the larger portions in one photograph. Sometimes 
 they are composed of three or four connecting sections, 
 each bringing a surprised delight to the visitor passing 
 from one to the other, but such an arrangement cannot 
 be satisfactorily portrayed in a picture. 
 
 One strange reason why some American gardens are 
 
 4 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 not photographed for the public is that occasionally people 
 are found who will not share their blessings with others 
 less fortunate; who jealously keep in seclusion all the 
 wealth of nature's sweetness contained in their garden 
 plot. 
 
 After all, is not the delight which belongs to a garden 
 but a bit of borrowed glory from the Creator of sunlight, 
 and of the kingdom of flowers? If a garden is worthy of 
 showing to our intimates, can we close it to the stranger 
 who may need even more to breathe inspiration from its 
 peace and loveliness? The foreign custom of opening the 
 fine places to the public on stated days is one that we 
 should freely emulate. And to those who may not come 
 to the gardens, what a boon is photography, especially in 
 color, placing in our very hands the beauty that we crave! 
 
 The views contained within this book show gardens 
 that were planned, with but few exceptions, by their owners, 
 earnestly laboring to express their sense of the beautiful 
 in these their outdoor homes. And so great is the individ- 
 uality evinced in most of them that there are hardly two 
 gardens that resemble one another; for the differences 
 in gardens are as many as the endless number of varying 
 characters written in the faces of men. Both are stamped 
 with the spirit behind them. In visiting gardens it is not 
 difficult to distinguish between the ones fashioned by 
 "love's labor" and those made by the practical gardener. 
 
 More and more we are getting away from the cold, stilf 
 planting of Canna, Coleus, and Salvia. Few of us can 
 
 5 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 tolerate the impression of newness and rigidity in the 
 garden, and as Father Time cannot help us fast enough we 
 try to emulate him by stamping his mark of mellowness 
 in innumerable ways upon the youthful garden. Then 
 Mother Earth is consulted as to her unrivalled way for 
 the grouping of her flower family, and she shows us the 
 close company they keep — hand in hand over the whole 
 meadow — nothing stands quivering alone, grasses and 
 plants blending to fill all spaces. Then above, in the rain- 
 bow, we learn the harmony for our color scheme, and unto 
 no nation on earth need we apply for the latest theories 
 dealing with these subjects for the beautifying of our 
 gardens. The more of the nature scheme we bring into 
 them the greater satisfaction will they give. 
 
 We should build the garden \vith a setting of fine trees 
 grouped upon the outskirts, othermse it will seem as in- 
 complete as a portrait without a frame. Half of the charm 
 attached to the beautiful old gardens of Europe lies in 
 the richness of their backgrounds of stately hedges and 
 trees. 
 
 If comparisons were to be made between such views as 
 those shown in this book and the pictures of English gar- 
 dens, for instance, the differences would not in every case 
 be favorable to England, although it must be admitted 
 that age has given a dignity and grandeur to many Eng- 
 lish gardens that could hardly be surpassed. Time, doubt- 
 less, will add this dignity to our gardens, but can we not 
 feel that we have already equalled some of the smaller 
 
 6 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 English gardens when we consider the poetical beauty 
 found in most of these illustrations? 
 
 Unfortunately, except in a few localities, our climate 
 does not encourage the perfect development of the choicest 
 of the evergreen hedge-plants, and yet with time we can 
 produce some moderately fine effects in hedges. We may 
 not hope soon to rival the best of the foreign gardens that 
 have been maturing through generations of continuous 
 care. Favored not only by climate but by riches unknown 
 to the early landowners of our States, the best of the old 
 gardens across the sea stand for the combined dreams of 
 the many minds which gradually evolved them, the loving 
 handiwork of innumerable patient toilers who have succes- 
 sively ministered to them. 
 
 Just as there are gardens peculiar to other nations, 
 Dutch, French, Italian, etc., might we not give serious 
 consideration to evolving some day a type peculiarly 
 American, inasmuch as it would embody the poetic and 
 artistic sense of our country? Such a result might be at- 
 tained even should we claim the privilege of our individual 
 liberty, to plant, each one for the expression of his own 
 soul, thus keeping our gardens distinctly variable and 
 original in type, and so ultimately national. 
 
II 
 
 CLIMATE IN AMERICA 
 
 Few subjects are more bewildering than that of climate 
 in the United States, and its effect on gardens in different 
 sections is an ever interesting study. Replying to the 
 question as to which locality in the East might be said 
 to have the longest continued flowering period, an expert 
 in the Agricultural Department writes: "The question of 
 plant life in relation to climate is a very large one and one 
 about which it is hard to generalize without close study in 
 the various parts of the country. Some little work along 
 these lines is being attempted, but as yet we have been 
 unable to make any report upon it." 
 
 Correspondence with gardeners in the various States 
 has furnished the brief data given in connection with the 
 following chapters, showing that the local conditions as 
 affecting garden culture are much more encouraging in 
 some places than in others. 
 
 Not only are there the matters of latitude and altitude 
 to be considered, but often quite as important is the influ- 
 ence of the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic or of the Japan 
 Current in the Pacific Ocean. Again, there is the moist 
 climate by the sea, or the quality of soil, the periodic tor- 
 
 8 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 rential rainfall of one section, and elsewhere the long 
 months of drought. 
 
 Generally speaking, our country is, in most parts, a 
 land of sunshine, with usually sufficient rain and mois- 
 ture to benefit plant life, and while we grumble at our 
 sudden changes in temperature, how few of us realize 
 the blessing of an abundant sunshine pervading the "great 
 outdoors" and incidentally the gardens! 
 
 Nowhere do flowers grow more luxuriantly, in greater 
 variety, or through a season more prolonged than on the 
 coasts of Oregon, Washington, and California, — soil, mois- 
 ture, and temperature combining to make gardening a 
 simpler task than it is elsewhere. The shore country of 
 Southern California is a perpetual garden, with a climate 
 almost unrivalled for plants and for humans. North of 
 San Francisco the near approach of the Japan Current 
 produces a climate quite similar to that of England, and 
 with the exception of possibly two months (and even then 
 an occasional Rose may bloom) flowers are found all the 
 year round. This favored section of the Northwest never- 
 theless is not visited with as much sunshine as is found 
 elsewhere, but its gardens blossom with little assistance 
 save from the frequent rainfall, more welcome to plants 
 than to men. 
 
 In Kansas and the other fiat and fertile States of the 
 Middle West the garden period, on account of the long, 
 dry summers, is usually limited to the weeks from late 
 March to late June. In the more northern temperature 
 
 9 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 of the lake region gardens which flourish all summer are 
 numerous. 
 
 The Atlantic States have a shorter blooming season 
 than those on the Pacific coast. Throughout the South, 
 east of New Mexico, the warm weather season is as pro- 
 longed as on the Pacific coast, and yet in the Southern 
 States garden bloom is checked half-way through the 
 summer by excessive heat and drought (except in the 
 favored mountainous localities), which at least interrupt 
 the continuous succession of flowers. For this reason gar- 
 dening in the South except in spring, or in high altitudes, 
 is generally discouraged. 
 
 Although not stated as an indisputable fact, scientifi- 
 cally, we are inclined to beUeve that the seacoast section 
 of the Maryland peninsula is the locality in the East 
 especially favorable to the most prolonged season of bloom. 
 Lying between sea and bay, this particular district in the 
 latitude for early spring and late frost enjoys also the bene- 
 fit of surrounding waters, escaping thereby the parching 
 summer climate from which gardens of the interior suffer, 
 to the west and south and to the north, almost as far as 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 In Maine conditions are different; April and May gar- 
 dens are conspicuously absent. The flower season gen- 
 erally begins in mid- June and does not much exceed three 
 months, but in that period the bloom is exceptionally 
 luxuriant. The season is necessarily a short one, as it is 
 throughout this latitude westward to Oregon, where after 
 
 10 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 reaching the Coast or Cascade Range there is a change and 
 the cUmate becomes more Hke that of England than Maine. 
 Along the Atlantic coast from Maine to New Jersey, where 
 the climate is ideal for flowers, the greatest proportion of 
 Eastern gardens may be found, on the shore and inland as 
 well. 
 
 So much for the general climatic effects upon flowers 
 of the more populous districts of our vast country. A 
 few lines will suffice to treat the climate question in con- 
 nection with hedge-plants. 
 
 While the summer climate in the Southern States has 
 not generally a salutary effect upon the flowers, yet it has 
 favored the best development of Boxwood, Holly, and 
 certain other choice shrubs and trees, which do not thrive 
 well north of Philadelphia. Fine specimens of Boxwood 
 are rare sights in New England, where the more severe 
 winters have from time to time destroyed the top growth. 
 Many old New England gardens show the characteristic 
 Box-edged path, but the shrub is usually not over two feet 
 high, and is likely to remain so unless eventually the 
 winter climate should moderate. Boxwood is seen on the 
 Pacific coast, north of San Francisco, but not to the south, 
 where Cypress is popular. There is little Boxwood in the 
 latitude of New York City, except for edgings, where for 
 tall hedges Privet, Arbor- Vita, Hemlock, and Spruce are 
 probaby the most reliable evergreens. Arbor-Vita is un- 
 likely to live longer than seventy years. 
 
 Although all of our States are not represented in this 
 
 11 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 volume, these views are taken so generally from almost 
 every section that the climatic conditions describing one 
 State may usually stand as well at least for the States im- 
 mediately adjoining. The only section of the Union omitted 
 is that part through which ran the Rocky Mountains. 
 As a rule, this part of the country is not in its nature open 
 to the cultivation of formal gardens, although its wild 
 flora is remarkable enough to deserve special treatment. 
 
 In the brief chapters to follow there will be given more 
 detail relating to climate, in order that we fellow gardeners 
 in all parts of the Union may know something more about 
 one another's garden program, our several problems, and 
 our privileges in this outdoor life that we lead. 
 
 12 
 
ni 
 
 NEW ENGLAND 
 
 With dreams of the English gardens ever before them, 
 our Pilgrim fathers and mothers brought flower and vege- 
 table seeds to the new land, and the earliest entries in old 
 Plymouth records contain mention of "garden plotes."* 
 John Josselyn, fifty years later, wrote a book called "New 
 England Rarities Discovered," including a list of plants 
 originally brought from old England, mentioning those 
 suitable or not for this climate, and showing that our an- 
 cestors had lost no time in planting not only vegetables for 
 the benefit of their bodies but flowers as well for the cheer 
 of their souls. 
 
 The New England States naturally have the largest 
 representation in this book, owing to the fact that the 
 climate of numerous Western and Southern States causes 
 many of the inhabitants to find summer homes near the 
 North Atlantic seaboard. It is not that the New Eng- 
 lander is a more ardent gardener, but rather that ardent 
 gardeners from elsewhere are tempted by the soil and 
 climate to join the Easterners in creating these flower 
 "plotes," which beautify hundreds of hamlets in this sec- 
 
 * Quoted from "Old Time Gardens," by Alice Morse Earle. 
 
 13 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 tion. On the coast particularly flowers grow most luxuri- 
 antly, even within a few hundred yards of the surf, where 
 snug gardens protected by windbreak hedges blossom as 
 serenely as in an inland meadow. Not long ago most 
 people believed that gardening or gardens near the sea 
 were an impossibility; but when they realized the hardiness 
 of certain dense shrubs that make perfect hedges and wind- 
 breaks, gardens on the shore sprang rapidly into existence, 
 and we of the inland are apt to envy nature's partiality to 
 seaside flowers. 
 
 MAINE 
 
 At Bar Harbor on the island of Mount Desert, Maine, 
 as in other places of this latitude, the season, of course, 
 begins later and ends sooner than near New York City. 
 The flowering period is from five to six weeks shorter at 
 Bar Harbor. However, the wonderful summer climate 
 somewhat atones for this briefer season, and the gardens 
 of Maine can boast of unusual luxuriance, in richness of 
 color and size of plants, with but little heat or prolonged 
 drought to affect their best development. The hardier 
 seeds sown in the open will germinate in mid-May; tender 
 annuals in June; the plants of tender annuals go out soon 
 after June 10. Daffodils appear about May 15, followed 
 by late Tulips; German Iris appears in the week of June 
 10; Sweet William and Roses in early July; Delphinium in 
 mid- July, and Hollyhocks about July 28. Late Phlox is 
 at its best by mid- August. 
 
 14 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 Thus the plants beginning to bloom near New York 
 City in May and early June do not, on account of the 
 colder spring, appear at Bar Harbor for several weeks to 
 come, when they unite their bloom with the flowers of 
 a later period. The slow-coming spring retards earlier 
 bloom, but has less effect on that of midsummer. The 
 summer residents owning gardens in Maine rarely arrive 
 much before the last of June, and consequently such early 
 bloomers as Tulips, etc., are not seen as often as in the 
 milder climates. In this northern State frost usually de- 
 stroys the garden by September 15. 
 
 Not only is it possible to grow all the favorite flowers 
 along the shore, but even on the islands lying off the coast 
 of Maine there are innumerable little gardens, such as 
 those at Isleborough, which revel in the moist sea climate 
 of midsummer and blossom most satisfactorily until frost. 
 At this point it is interesting to contrast the climate of the 
 North Atlantic section with the region directly across the 
 continent along the Pacific coast, where at Vancouver's 
 Island, for instance, plant life enjoys a climate similar to 
 that of England, with a growing season quite as pro- 
 longed. 
 
 There are beautiful gardens at Bar Harbor, on the es- 
 tates along the shore as well as farther inland. Most of 
 them, screened by fine growths of trees and shrubbery 
 from view of the highway, are equally well protected from 
 sea-winds, blooming luxuriantly in spite of the fact that 
 not very long ago the best authorities believed that gar- 
 
 15 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 dens on this shore could never prosper. Two of the most 
 noted at Mount Desert are shown in the following pages. 
 
 At Kenarden Lodge the garden in the clear atmosphere 
 of this northern climate is most beautiful in form and 
 coloring, and its background of distant hills combines to 
 intensify the charm of this famous place, which is in bloom 
 all summer. The centre beds are filled with annuals in 
 prevailing colors of pink, blue, and white, noticeably Snap- 
 dragon, Ageratum, Sweet Alyssum, pink Geranium, and 
 Begonia. Planted in masses, these and other dependable 
 annuals blossom as long as needed. The broad green sod 
 paths act as a setting to the delicate hues covering the 
 beds. The perennials are banked against the vine-covered 
 walls. 
 
 The Blair Eyrie garden on the High Brook Road is 
 equally inviting and contains many other attractive fea- 
 tures beyond the limits of this restricted view. Peace- 
 fully retired behind its boundaries of trimmed hedge and 
 dense woodland, it must always delight the flower lover. 
 Perennials abound with a good supply of enlivening an- 
 nuals. Its surroundings of evergreen trees are in strong 
 contrast to the brilliant tones of Phlox, Lilies, Hydrangeas, 
 and Hollyhocks, and this garden as seen from an upper 
 terrace is a blaze of lovely color framed in green. 
 
 In southern Maine the garden at Hamilton House has 
 no rival in that section of New England. The hand of an 
 artist has wrought a perfect scheme delightfully in ac- 
 cord with an ideal environment; but pictures cannot do 
 
 16 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 it justice. Within the grassy court of the main garden the 
 several small open beds are filled with groups of annuals. 
 The rear beds contain tall-growing perennials mixed with 
 some annuals. There are weeks when the garden is all 
 pink, and again all blue and white. It is surrounded on 
 three sides \vith most artistic pergolas, from one side of 
 which the view down the Piscataqua River is a pictur- 
 esque feature. Stone steps on another side lead to an 
 upper garden filled with bloom surrounding a quaint and 
 ancient little building kept as a studio. In isolation, 
 simplicity, and ripeness the atmosphere of the whole place 
 breathes of olden days, and might well be taken as a 
 model for a perfect American garden. Its gates may be 
 seen in a later section. 
 
 17 
 
a 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 an 
 
 o 
 
 05 
 
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND VERMONT 
 
 Side by side, these twin States have much in common — 
 climate, mountains, and old historical associations included. 
 Owing to the short, cool summers of this latitude and alti- 
 tude, there may be less attention given to flowers than in 
 other parts of New England. But the few illustrations in 
 the following pages are fine evidences of garden art, at least 
 in the region of Cornish, the abode of artists, and where 
 gardens are plentiful. The season opens about four weeks 
 later than near New York City, and in early September 
 frost lays waste the splendid bloom while still in its prime. 
 Although flowers are slow in appearing, a perfection of 
 growth later makes up for lost time. In fact, climatic 
 conditions are so favorable to summer plants that, once 
 started, the garden tasks are lighter than in warmer cli- 
 mates, where drought and pests are more prevalent. 
 
 Possibly the most famous of Cornish gardens is that 
 of Charles A. Piatt, Esq., whose beautiful gardens in sev- 
 eral States are numerous and noted. His own hillside 
 place is a labyrinth of flowers, admirably suiting the en- 
 vironment, spacious and dignified in its rich simplicity. 
 
 Perfectly in accord also with the atmosphere of this 
 mountain country is the lovely garden of Stephen Par- 
 rish, Esq., delightfully unique and suggesting a little Eng- 
 lish garden. This enclosure of flowers is but a section of 
 a broader plan where pool, grass, and trees are pleasant 
 factors. 
 
 27 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 Mrs. Hyde's garden is a mass of bloom composed chiefly 
 of the longest-lived annuals and giving a charming color 
 effect to this picturesque spot. 
 
 The best gardens of Vermont, Avith its still greater area 
 of uplands, are probably those in and around Manchester 
 and Bennington. They are usually of the simplest char- 
 acter, and lovely under the personal care of devoted 
 owners. One worthy of special attention is seen in the 
 view of Longmeadow garden, which is an example of the 
 great value of trees as a background, and a strong argu- 
 ment in their behalf- As a gem needs a setting, so the 
 flowers, in even the most modest planting, are doubly fair 
 when framed in luxuriant green. 
 
 28 
 

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 PLATE 7 
 
 Cornish, N. H. Charles A. Piatt, Esq. 
 
 From photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beats 
 
 PLATE 8 
 
 Cornish, N. H. Mrs. George Rublee 
 
From a pholograph by Jessie Tarbox Seals 
 
 Cornish, N. H. Stephen Parrish, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 9 
 
From a pliolograph by Jessie Tarbox Beds 
 
 PLATE 10 
 
 Cornish, N. H. Mrs. William H. Hvde 
 
 PLATE 11 
 
 Old Bennington, Vt. Mrs. James A. Eddy 
 
MASSACHUSETTS 
 
 Probably no other section of the Union contains as 
 many gardens, old and new, as does this fertile State, 
 combining the advantages natural to the altitude of the 
 beautiful Berkshires with the favorable climate of the 
 coast. People representing nearly every State help to 
 form the summer colonies of New England, more espe- 
 cially in Massachusetts. Everywhere the luxuriance of 
 bloom is very marked and most noticeable on the coast, 
 where all plants, especially certain less long-lived annuals 
 like Poppies, Salpiglossis, and Mallows, reach their limit 
 of perfection and continue at their best for an unusual pe- 
 riod. In the latitude of Boston the season starts two weeks 
 later than near New York City, and the gardens, begin- 
 ning in the German Iris period, open about the fifth of 
 June. The Sweet William and its contemporaries follow 
 by late June; the Delphinium period is early July; Holly- 
 hocks come about July 20. Tender annuals can be safely 
 planted out soon after June 1. 
 
 The garden season in the hill country opens a few 
 days later than at Boston, and in the Berkshires the 
 frost is apt to destroy the garden before September 20. 
 Where the thermometer may drop occasionally to twenty 
 degrees below zero, ample winter covering is necessary, 
 and snow adds its still better protection to the plants 
 during most of the winter months. The average summer 
 heat is not excessive and, although droughts must some- 
 
 37 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 times be reckoned with, the water supply is generally 
 sufficient. 
 
 It would be a serious matter to attempt to name the 
 best gardens in this State, for who could judge where such 
 an infinite variety exists? At least some of the best ex- 
 amples in photography can be given, although each \dew 
 but hints at the fuller beauty to be found in the garden 
 itself. 
 
 Of the many wonderful gardens in Massachusetts pos- 
 sibly the most remarkable of all is Weld, in Brookline, 
 which is kno^vn to gardeners far and wide. There is noth- 
 ing in America more extensive and more richly planted. 
 The numerous beds are filled with bloom for many weeks, 
 and each bed contains a massing of one variety, whether 
 perennials or annuals, which, when it has finished flowering, 
 is replaced by something of another period. The French 
 features in the garden are prominent and the planting 
 may be considered American in some respects — altogether 
 a most pleasant combination. 
 
 Of a distinctly opposite t^^je but equally delightful is 
 Holm Lea, near Brookline, and a score of photographs 
 would be necessary to depict this place of flowering shrubs 
 and perennial bloom bordering the \\inding grass paths 
 leading from one lo^^ely spot to another. 
 
 An extremely interesting and unusual type in America 
 is the stately green garden at Wellesley, at this time 
 without a rival in its particular style of planting. Be- 
 cause of its frequent appearance in various magazines 
 
 38 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 of the country it is too well known to need further de- 
 scription. 
 
 Of still another class and very beautiful is one of the 
 most noted gardens in the Berkshires planned entirely by 
 the owner of Fairlawn, Lenox. It is a series of formal 
 gardens, in coloring and setting most perfectly devised. 
 But how useless a photographic description when applied 
 to a combination of gardens spread over one or two acres ! 
 Several pools and many old shade-trees play an important 
 part, and its charm is still more enhanced by the wide view 
 of the distant hills fitting so perfectly into the garden 
 scheme. 
 
 Three fine illustrations of Belle fontaine but feebly 
 suggest the beauty of a place made of splendid gardens, 
 pools, and temple, long shaded grass walks lined with 
 statuary and other features of Roman art, blending with 
 the natural attractions of this estate. Gardens, lawns, 
 and ponds have the rich woodlands as background, the 
 hedges and shrubs are developed maturely, and everywhere 
 there are charming effects in "green life." Most of this 
 work, it is interesting to add, has been accomplished under 
 the direction of the owner. 
 
 Picturesque indeed are other Lenox gardens, including 
 White Lodge. The latter place is noted for its little white 
 garden enclosed in a tall green hedge, and the main garden, 
 especially in June and August, contains a delicious color 
 scheme. Broad grass steps are another feature of the place. 
 Views were not obtainable in time for this volume. 
 
 39 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 At Fernbrooke is found the garden of an artist and 
 sculptor, a stud\' in color and in garden design most 
 artistically^ planned, but rambling enough to prevent a 
 connected view in photography. Golden Italian gourds 
 pendent from tlie pergolas; standard currant bushes 
 bordering a path and covered with red berries as late as 
 September; dwarf fniit trees too. used decora tively, are 
 among the happy points of interest. 
 
 The scheme of the garden of a famous sculptor at 
 Chesterwood, in Glendale. is not as dependent on flowers 
 as on the well-considered adjustment of garden equipment 
 to the natural beaut\- of the emaronment. Sunshine min- 
 gling Nnth the shadows of the spreading trees plays its 
 part by gi^*ing life and color in changeful tones to the old 
 stone seat and fountain. The vine-co\'ered arch frames a 
 ■\dew of the flower-bordered path which fades away into a 
 woodland, and these ^^dth other sights gladsome to lovers 
 of such art have given Chesterwood its place in the ranks 
 of beautiful gardens. 
 
 At Riverside Farm, o^'erhanging the beautiful Ty- 
 ringham \'alle>', and possessing possibly the most wonder- 
 ful of all Berkshire \'iews, is the dainty garden sho\\Ti in 
 the accompanying illustrations. It is the work of an artist, 
 and trvily a place of delight. The garden nestles to the 
 hillside, enclosed in a low stone wall. On one side the 
 sloping hill do\\ii which winding rough stone steps de- 
 scend to the garden; on another side a rustic pergola and 
 pool; the third side a line of old apple trees overhanging 
 
 40 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 the wall; the fourth side contains the simple entrance, 
 and beyond the boundaries on all three sides — the won- 
 derful view. 
 
 At Naumkeag, Stockbridge, the formal garden full of 
 bloom, which is part of a larger plan, has a wide-spread 
 reputation. It is especially noted for its battlement-cut 
 hedge, and has as an accessory a splendid landscape back- 
 ground, so common to the Berkshires and so desirable to 
 the garden beautiful. "Naumkeag" is the Indian name 
 for Salem, meaning "Haven of Rest." 
 
 Recently completed at Great Barrington, the spacious 
 garden at Brookside is the best piece of Italian work in this 
 section. The accompanying illustration gives but a faint 
 idea of its size, its flowers, and its many other fine points. 
 
 The two pictures illustrating the garden at Overloch, 
 Wenham, and at Rock Maple Farm, Hamilton, are still 
 other good examples of the variety and charm of the 
 flower planting of this coast State. Both of these views 
 are unique, and in fact how seldom do we find sameness in 
 gardens ! 
 
 Mr. Longfellow's place at Cambridge, Doctor Weld's at 
 Brookline, and The Witch's Place at Salem are typical 
 of New England — the paths all edged with Box, which 
 shrub, on account of frost blights, has never attained 
 great height. These gardens are just simple, lovable lit- 
 tle places filled with shadows and sunshine, some flowers, 
 and the good scent of Box, which latter always seems so 
 especially essential to old gardens. 
 
 41 
 
"Fairlawn" 
 
 From autochrome pJiolographs 
 
 "Fairlawn," Lenox, Mass. Miss Kneeland 
 
From a photograph by Thomas Marr and Son 
 
 "Weld," Brookline, Mass. Mrs. Larz Anderson 
 
 PLATE 13 
 
From a p!wtOi;raph by Thomas Marr and Son 
 
 "Weld," Brookline, Mass. Mrs. Larz Anderson 
 
 PLATE 14 
 
From a photograph by Wiirts Bros. 
 
 PLATE 15 
 
 Wellesley, Mass. H. H. Hunnewell, Esq. 
 
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 From photograph by The J. Horace MfFarland Co. 
 
 "Holm Lea," Brookline, Mass. Professor C. S. Sargent 
 
 PLATE 16 
 
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 From a pholograph by Miss M. H. Northend 
 
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 PLATE 23 
 
 From a photograph by Jessie J\i>l>ox iicals 
 
 "Fernbrooke," Lenox, Mass. Thomas Shields Clark, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 24 
 
PLATE 26 
 
 "Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. Mrs. Banyer Clarkson 
 
 From photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beats 
 
 "Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. Mrs. Banyer Clarkson 
 
 PLATE 27 
 
From a plioloKraph by The J . Floracc McFarland Co. 
 
 Longfellow's Garden, Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 PLATE 33 
 
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 PLATE 34 
 
 Old Witch House, Salem, Mass. 
 
RHODE ISLAND 
 
 Limited space permits but a suggestion of the various 
 types of planting along the Atlantic coast, which promises 
 to become almost a continuous garden by the sea from 
 New Jersey to Maine. Rhode Island contains some of the 
 most magnificent places in the country, the majority of 
 them situated near bay or sea, where they thrive in con- 
 genial environment. The quality of the climate as it af- 
 fects plant life will be easily realized after reading of the 
 climatic conditions of Massachusetts as well as of those 
 to the south, on Long Island, for instance. 
 
 The older gardens are found in the vicinity of Provi- 
 dence, while at Narragansett and Newport those of a later 
 period abound. Newport by the sea, more famous than 
 any other American summer resort, naturally possesses 
 the greatest number of gardens on an elaborate scale. 
 The coast at this point is somewhat sheltered, the air is 
 mild, and there is sea moisture so beneficial to flowers. 
 Windbreaks of hedges or walls are used where the winds 
 blow strong off the water. 
 
 Lovely and lovingly planned is the garden at Marie- 
 mont, a poetical spot, overflowing with color and sun- 
 shine, yet with shadowy retreats, and the stillness that 
 belongs to an enclosure of grass paths. It might be 
 taken for a bit of foreign garden from any part of the 
 world, and possesses a quality of beauty of which one 
 could never tire. The long, broad path with its brilliant 
 
 79 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 border and distant \dsta is the central dixasion of a 
 charming plan.* 
 
 Few estates in America are as imposing and as sugges- 
 tive of the grandeur of an Italian or English country-seat 
 as The Elms, and it is probably among the oldest of New- 
 port's famous places. The illustration is limited to a nar- 
 row \'iew of this great, green formal garden in some sec- 
 tions of which flowers are included in rich profusion. 
 
 Probably no place at Ne^^^)ort is more noted for its 
 beauty than \'emon Court, and, while necessity forces the 
 omission of pictures showing many of its most elaborate 
 features, a \dew of the stately formal garden is a welcome 
 addition to this collection which aims to present a variety 
 in t\TDes of planting in a few large formal gardens, as well 
 as in those which are smaller and more personal. \''ernon 
 Court is not a new garden; it is unspoiled by garish acces- 
 sories, and to the lover of the garden majestic it represents 
 a perfect t^^pe. 
 
 At Warren, near Pro\idence, the place at MUaserra 
 is delightfully located, sloping to a bay. Here is one of 
 the favored gardens where old trees take an important 
 part; in fact, of such consequence are they that the gar- 
 den was undoubtedly made to the scheme of the trees and 
 the water beyond — a beautiful sanctuary of blossoms and 
 green life, shut in from the discord of the outside world. 
 
 * See also the frontispiece. 
 
 80 
 
From a pholograph, copyrislil, by Miss Johnston — Mrs. Hewill 
 
 "Mariemont," Newport, R. I. Mrs. Thomas J. Emery 
 
 PLATE 35 
 

 O 
 
 s 
 
 
 > 
 
CONNECTICUT 
 
 Connecticut gardens are many, both inland and along 
 the shores of the Sound. Those of the hilly western sec- 
 tion have the advantage of a somewhat cooler altitude. 
 Otherwise it is unnecessary to give further details as to 
 climatic conditions,* as the northern boundary is about 
 a hundred miles distant from northern New Jersey and the 
 temperatures differ but little, although of course every 
 hundred miles northward makes gardening a somewhat 
 simpler proposition, because of slightly cooler conditions 
 as well as a shortened flower season. 
 
 In a reputed true story of the long-ago settlement 
 of Old Saybrook there is mention of a woman's flower- 
 garden, doubtless the earliest on Long Island Sound. 
 Here the sheltered inlets and bays must have seemed 
 a welcome haven to our Pilgrim fathers from the wind- 
 swept coast of Plymouth, whence they had wandered, 
 probably seeking fertile farmland. The gardens of this 
 State, with some notable exceptions, are mainly those of 
 a simpler type, made and tended by their owners, who 
 living in them, will continue to beautify them more and 
 more as time goes on. These unpretentious creations of 
 flower lovers often show originality not always found in 
 gardens of a more formal design, and might be considered 
 typically American. 
 
 Following the idea of simplicity, the first two illustra- 
 
 * These climatic conditions are explained in New Jersey chapter. 
 
 89 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 tions of this chapter portray the "lovesome spot," where 
 flowers predominate, with nothing to recall the splendor 
 of other lands. A place for the harboring of flowers for 
 the sake of the flowers, and this was surely the thought 
 that brooded over the first New England gardens planted 
 in the early half of the seventeenth century, when Amer- 
 ican gardens had their beginning. 
 
 The glimpse through the arched gateway of the garden 
 at Knock-Mae-Cree — in old Irish, Hill of My Heart — 
 (Plate 168), and the curtailed view of the flowery planting 
 in the Woodside garden stimulate a longing further to 
 penetrate into these lovely sanctums. 
 
 The garden at Elmwood is partly illustrated in the 
 accompanAdng picture — it is further gracefully adorned 
 with pergola and pool. Liberally designed without being 
 elaborate, it has a charm that is all its own. 
 
 Of quite another character is the perfect formal 
 garden at Pomfret Center, appealing to the garden lover 
 for its suipassing beauty in flower bloom, enhanced by the 
 graceful architectural lines of the buildings surrounding 
 the enclosure, and gi\ing it the sense of complete privacy. 
 
 Still another type of garden seen occasionally in Amer- 
 ica is that at Branford House, a magnificent estate at 
 Groton near New London, and one of the famous places of 
 that popular summer resort. This stately garden suggests 
 some of the foreign gardens familiar to us through travel 
 and books. 
 
 90 
 
From a pltotoj^raph by Miss E. M. Bauli 
 
 "Elmwood," Pomfret, Conn. Vinton Freedley, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 40 
 
"Branford House," Groton, Conn. Morton F. Plant, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 42 
 
 From a pholosraph by Miss E. M . Boult 
 
 Pomfret Centre, Conn. Mrs. Randolph M. Clark 
 
 PLATE 43 
 
IV 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 There are gardens, old and new, around the many 
 wealthy cities of this great State, through the upper sec- 
 tion, near Buffalo, Utica, Syracuse, Albany, etc., as well 
 as to the south. It must suffice to give a few of the 
 most picturesque views obtainable, almost all of which be- 
 long to places within one hundred miles of New York City. 
 
 The garden at Auburn offers a vision of flowers in 
 glorious profusion, combined with perfect order, which 
 latter condition is not always easily attainable when plants 
 are allowed a certain amount of freedom. The location of 
 this garden, in western New York not far from Lake 
 Ontario, is in about the latitude of northern Massachusetts 
 — a climate congenial to flowers. 
 
 A particular type of garden often predominates in some 
 localities on account of the conformation of the land; as, 
 for instance, in a mountainous section like Tuxedo Park, 
 where the places are scattered over hilly woodland country, 
 many of the gardens naturally develop into those of ter- 
 races, or else ideal opportunities have created the ram- 
 bUng wild garden with winding paths, shaded pools, ferns 
 and flowers. A glimpse of one of this kind is to be had in 
 
 99 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 an accompanying illustration — an exquisite bit of semi- 
 cultivated wildness that moves one to wish to see beyond 
 the picture's limits. 
 
 Among its formal gardens, Tuxedo at present has 
 nothing more imposing than the one at Woodland. The 
 wall-beds contain perennials in mass against the vine- 
 clad background, and the central fountain is framed 
 in broad beds of Roses, in bush and standard form. This 
 garden's stately effects are enhanced by the richly de- 
 veloped forms of clipped evergreens in Boxwood and va- 
 rious Retinosporas, to all of which age, as must ever be 
 the case, lends force and dignity. 
 
 The Cragswerthe garden, a spacious plan on three 
 connecting terraces, charmingly exemplifies the results 
 obtainable by the exercise of good taste upon desirable 
 opportunities. Each terrace illustrates, in harmony with 
 the whole, a special beauty of its own. 
 
 The hill gardens usually have also the advantage of a 
 landscape background, as a rule a pleasant feature also in 
 the Mount Kisco region of Westchester County, with its 
 numerous hilltop homes. A garden with a view possesses 
 a setting all its own; one that can hardly be imitated in 
 that particular landscape at least, varying under the chang- 
 ing clouds, and therefore never monotonous. Such also is 
 the opportunity in many Hudson River places, and only 
 those who have lived in the highlands by this most beauti- 
 ful of American rivers know the charm of the mountain- 
 sides, with their deep ravines and river vistas. 
 
 100 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 There is space for but a few of the river gardens in these 
 limited pages. The one at BHthewood, Barrytown-on- 
 Hudson, is a charming example of a more modern gar- 
 den, beautifully located and planted especially for May, 
 June, and September. A vine-covered brick wall sur- 
 rounds it on three sides, and a terra-cotta balustrade is 
 the boundary on the river side. Chinese Junipers, not sup- 
 posedly very hardy, are, however, the well-grown, clipped 
 evergreens in sight. Barrytown is about a hundred miles 
 from New York. 
 
 Up on the Beacon Mountain the Wodenethe gardens 
 were begun about seventy-five years ago, remaining ever 
 since in the same family, and always celebrated for their 
 beauty, due doubtless to the devoted and skilful care con- 
 tinuously given them. Trees, shrubs, and vines are rich 
 in maturity; the impress of Father Time has so kindly 
 marked the place, that of the older gardens Wodenethe is 
 probably the finest on the Hudson. 
 
 Not far away there was once another garden. Possibly 
 there is nothing fairer than the dearest memories of child- 
 hood — sometimes doubtless wonderfully interwoven with 
 the gossamer-like stuff of which air-castles are made — 
 and so it is with deep satisfaction that the author can dwell 
 upon views of an old garden relying on something more 
 real than semi-dreams. To be able to duplicate this happy 
 place for some other fortunate children would be a joy in- 
 deed, and some day the opportunity may be realized 
 while the dream still lives. Nearly three acres of land 
 
 101 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 might be required to contain the broad beds bordered with 
 peach, plum, pear trees and shrubs, and edged with flowers 
 — the great centre spaces filled mth vegetables or small 
 fruits. The outer court of this garden, on three sides, was 
 formed by two rows of arching apple trees, as shown in an 
 accompaming illustration. The fourth side was a lane 
 running between an evergreen hedge and a line of Poplar 
 and nut trees. The outer walks were broad, the inner in- 
 tersecting paths were narrower; the tall planting in the 
 various beds prevented a view from one path to another, 
 and this was half of the garden's fascination to the children 
 who played there in the games of make-believe. Always 
 there was something unexpected awaiting them around the 
 corner. Blissful the chance to become suddenly lost in 
 grape vines, com, or dense shrubbery when the world 
 seemed to consist of just tree-tops, sunlight, flowers, fruits, 
 and birds! What a contrast to the life of the average 
 fortune-favored child of the present period ! 
 
 Echo Lawn is another lovely place near the river, as 
 old, too, as Wodenethe, extensive in acres, abounding in 
 splendid trees, and full of a beauty and charm peculiarly 
 characteristic of the old places on the Hudson. The gar- 
 dens, although of a later-date creation, are admirably 
 fitted to the surroundings, and with pools, wall basins, 
 and flower planting, hardly discernible in the illustration, 
 are a rich addition to the noted river places. 
 
 Twenty miles to the west of the Hudson River is 
 Meadowbum Farm — famous through its ouTier, the 
 
 102 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 author of "Hardy Garden" books. Two photographs, 
 not hitherto pubhshed, must alone represent the acres of 
 bloom on this interesting place. In describing it, eight 
 gardens must be considered rather than the garden. The 
 Evergreen Garden (shown here), the May Flowering 
 Hillside, the Lily and Iris Garden, the Pool Garden, the 
 Perennial Garden, the Cedar Walk, the Vegetable Garden, 
 bordered with flowers, and the Rose Garden. A rare 
 treat for garden lovers who visit there by special arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 At Ridgeland Farm, in Westchester County, the owner 
 has shown that the smallest garden possible when fitted to 
 artistic surroundings and filled with harmonious bloom can, 
 as a garden and as a picture, satisfy our craving for the 
 beautiful quite as completely as a subject on a much larger 
 scale. This fair little plot, with its brick paths and gay 
 blossoms, continues in bloom for several months, which, in 
 spite of narrow beds, is always possible in a well-planned 
 and carefully tended garden. 
 
 New York includes within its borders the climate of all 
 the New England States, and, besides, the atmosphere of 
 its lake shores and the milder sea climate of New York 
 City and Long Island. Between the high altitudes of the 
 Adirondacks on the north and the sea-level of Long Island 
 on the south there is a difference of nearly four weeks in 
 the opening of spring. Within a forty-mile radius of New 
 York City and westward in the same latitude Daffodils 
 appear about April 15; early Tulips and Phlox divaricata 
 
 103 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 the last of April; late Tulips May 10; Lilies-of- the- Valley 
 May 15; German Iris May 22 (florentina alba a trifle 
 earlier); and by May 25 Lupins, Columbine, Pyrethrum 
 hybrid, and Oriental Poppies, etc., arrive; Roses, Peonies, 
 etc., about June 1; Sweet William, Anchusa, and their 
 companions June 5; Campanula medium June 15; Del- 
 phinium June 20; Hollyhocks July 1 or a few days earlier. 
 At the eastern end of Long Island Tulips, Lily-of-the- 
 Valley, Roses, shrubs and tree foliage appear about a 
 week later than the same near the city of New York. In 
 our extremely variable climate it is impossible to have 
 fixed dates for the opening of bloom. It must depend upon 
 whether spring is early or late, which sometimes causes a 
 difference of a week or ten days in the appearance of the 
 flowers. Lily-of-the-Valley and German Iris seem less 
 affected by variable springs than other plants. It is per- 
 fectly safe near Manhattan Island to plant out tender 
 annuals May 25, and many venture it by May 15. Kill- 
 ing frost may be expected between October 1 and Novem- 
 ber 1 — rarely earlier than October 1 . 
 
 Forty-five miles north of the city of New York, in 
 such higher altitudes as Mount Kisco or Tuxedo Park, the 
 spring opens about a week later. Within this radius of 
 the city the summer thermometer occasionally rises above 
 seventy-eight degrees, and in winter it may average pos- 
 sibly thirty to forty degrees above zero; only a few days 
 know zero weather, and rarely does it drop below. At least 
 once a winter there will come a period of weather as mild 
 
 104 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 as fifty to sixty degrees, when one almost fears the prema- 
 ture appearance of some of the plants. It is on account 
 of the thaws as well as the cold that the plants require 
 a moderate covering to keep the ground as far as possible 
 frozen hard and undisturbed by the sun, as frequent thaw- 
 ing injures the roots. 
 
 A garden at the other extreme of the State, in the Adi- 
 rondack Mountains, planted to begin with early Tulips, 
 Phlox divaricata, and others of this period, will make its 
 display about June 1. Lilies-of- the- Valley arrive soon after 
 June 8; German Iris, Lupin, Pyrethrum, Oriental Poppy 
 about June 15; Sweet William and Roses near July 1; 
 Delphinium July 15; Hollyhocks July 25. Tender annuals 
 are planted out about June 10, and a frost after that date 
 is of rare occurrence. The first killing frost of autumn 
 may be expected between the 15th and 20th of September. 
 While the thermometer in summer fluctuates between sixty 
 and eighty degrees, it often falls in winter to thirty degrees 
 below zero. The hardy plants are well protected under the 
 heavy snow covering which is usually the winter condition 
 there. 
 
 105 
 
o 
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 OS 
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PLATE 44 
 
 Auburn, N. Y. Mrs. C. D. MacDougall 
 
 From pholographs by Emil J . Kraemer. by courtesy of Wadley &* Smythe 
 
 PLATE 45 
 
 x\uburn, N. Y. Mrs. C. D. MacDoucrall 
 
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 PLATE 47 
 
 "Woodland," Tuxedo, N. Y. Henry L. Tilford, Esq. 
 
 From photographs by Jessie Tarbox Bcals 
 
 A garden in three terraces 
 
 'Cragswerthe," Tuxedo, N. Y. Mrs. Samuel Spencer 
 
 PLATE 48 
 
The centre section 
 
 PLATE 52 
 
 The outer boundary 
 
 The author's childhood garden, Newburgh-on-Hudson, N. Y. 
 
 PLATE 53 
 
The evergreen garden 
 
 PLATE 55 
 
 A path in the perennial garden 
 "Meadowburn," Warwick, N. Y. Mrs. Helen Rutherford Ely 
 
 PLATE 56 
 
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK 
 
 In considering the gardens belonging to the State of 
 New York, its most favored garden centre is undoubtedly 
 Long Island. Here soil and climate combine to encourage 
 both vegetables and flowers. And on the shores, particu- 
 larly of the south side and eastern end, the most satisfac- 
 tory bloom is obtainable as a rule with less trouble than is 
 expended upon the flowers of the interior. Not that Long 
 Island is secure from periods of drought and visitations of 
 rose-bugs, but on the whole the plants weather the obstacles 
 better here than in other places of this latitude. There is a 
 marked softness in the winter climate especially near the sea. 
 Possibly nowhere else except in southern California does 
 the Privet hedge make as remarkable growth as on the 
 south shore, and near the west end there are highly prized 
 specimens of old Box. Southampton, at the eastern end, 
 in proportion to population has probably a greater number 
 of gardens than any town in the State, almost all of them 
 designed and developed by their owners, who have thus 
 delightfully expressed their love for flowers. 
 
 Most soul-satisfying, unique in many points, and over- 
 flowing with bloom all summer is Mrs. Wyckoff's garden 
 at Southampton. Within three hundred yards of the 
 beach it is truly a seaside garden, but the great Privet 
 hedges, fourteen feet high, make perfect windbreaks for 
 the protection of its bloom. Connected by arched open- 
 ings in the Privet there are other enclosures for various 
 
 127 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 planting schemes, and noticeable is the rather unusual 
 variety of flowers growing in these several lovely gardens. 
 The color grouping in the long, broad beds against the tall 
 Privet background is as perfect as any planting kno\MTi. 
 The arbors on either side of the garden proper are formed 
 of arches of Dorothy Perkins and Cedar trees alternating — ■ 
 the Cedars are bent and strapped at the top to produce 
 a curve. The eft'ect is both unusual and delightful. 
 
 In the same place but farther from the sea is another 
 famous garden, at The Orchard, the estate of James L. 
 Breese, Esq. The garden was started about 1905 and is 
 entirely original in design. The artistic sense of the 
 owner is responsible for the dexterous touches which 
 beautify the garden and pergolas. Neither photography 
 nor word -picture could do justice to the exquisite harmony 
 of coloring throughout this wonderful place, where bloom 
 is continuous over a long period. 
 
 Fashioned in Box-edged parterres after the old-time 
 plan and dear to the heart of Americans is such a place 
 as the sunny Box garden at The Appletrees, so charm- 
 ingly^ portrayed in this chapter. There is a sweetness and 
 trimness in its simplicity intermingling mth the flowers to 
 make it one of the fairest of garden-plots. 
 
 We dwell with delight upon the picturesque view of 
 a section of Mrs. Curtis's garden which might well have 
 been taken from an English garden, so closely does it 
 resemble that type which has been our inspiration more 
 especially during the last ten years. In America the 
 
 128 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 walled garden is found to be useful near the sea, and not 
 undesirable in the cooler northern interior, but by many- 
 experts it is not advised in a warm climate, where it pre- 
 vents the free circulation of air within its enclosure, from 
 which condition some plants may suffer. 
 
 In the near-by hamlet of East Hampton, Mrs. Lorenzo 
 Woodhouse has an ingenious scheme of connecting formal 
 gardens that are as remarkable in conception as they are 
 exquisite in color harmony. In length the plan is con- 
 siderably greater than the width, and the long vista from 
 end to end presents to the artist's eye a lovely picture of 
 flowers, pool, and arches. 
 
 Near by, on Egypt's Lane, the wild garden belonging to 
 R. Cummins, Esq., is considered the best piece of work of 
 its kind in the country. It is wonderfully composed with 
 natural pools and streams, tea-houses and rustic bridges 
 suggestive of the Japanese art, yet lovelier than the trim 
 Oriental type of water garden because so delightfully wild 
 and overgrown with massive plants, vines, and shrubs, 
 without, however, being disorderly in appearance. It is 
 an especially rare treat in early July at the season of 
 Japanese Iris. 
 
 At the west end of Long Island, near New York, gar- 
 dens are almost as plentiful as those in the region of the 
 Hamptons. For lack of space the illustrations of the 
 lovely garden at Manor House, Glen Cove, and the pic- 
 turesque pool at Cedarhurst must alone represent this 
 section. Later periods of bloom succeed the Tulips at 
 
 129 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 the Manor House. gi\dng continuous color all summer to 
 this channing place. The view of Mr. Steele's garden at 
 Westbury is a fine example of an ideal hillside planting 
 leading to the flower-beds on a lower level. 
 
 Probably the oldest garden in New York State is the 
 one at Sylvester Manor, on Shelter Island, between the 
 shores of Long Island and Connecticut. This charming 
 little flower-plot is reached by a short flight of descending 
 steps. Some of its old Boxwood appears in the illustra- 
 tion of the pool which is a part of the garden scheme. The 
 original owners of Shelter Island were the Manhasset In- 
 dians. "In 1651 Nathaniel Sylvester came from England 
 \\ith his young bride, and here they planted the Box. still 
 one of the wonders of the place, and erected the first manor- 
 house \A'ith its oak doors and panels and mantels fitted in 
 England, and brick tiles brought from Holland. The pres- 
 ent house was built in 1737 \\-ith enough of the woodwork 
 of the old house to maintain symmetry- in traditions, and 
 stands to-day as it has stood the better part of two cen- 
 turies, filled with its old furniture, paintings, and curios. 
 Here is kept the cloth of gold left b\- Captain Kidd and 
 many other things that time and space forbid mentioning." 
 The old homestead has al\\-ays remained in the famih' in 
 direct descent. 
 
 130 
 
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 O 
 CO 
 
From a pliologmph by Jessie Tarbox Beats 
 
 "The Appletrees," Southampton, L. I. Mrs. Henry E. Coe 
 
 PLATE 64 
 
PLATE 65 
 
 Southampton, L. I. Mrs. G. Warrington Curtis 
 
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 Ki^^J^^^H^ ,.• 
 
 From photographs by Miss Johnston — Mrs. Hewitt 
 
 East Hampton, L. I. Mrs. Lorenzo E. Woodhouse 
 
 PLATE 66 
 
The wild garden 
 
 PLATE 68 
 
 From fih/H'j^rapJis hy Miii Jo/iml'/n \l , ':. , in 
 
 PLATE e^ 
 
 The wild garden 
 East Hampton, L. I R. Cummins, Esq. 
 
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 PLATE 72 
 
 Westbury, L. I. Charles Steele, Esq. 
 
 From pkotosraphs by The J. Horace UcFarlaii Co. 
 
 "jNIanor House," Glen Cove, L. I. 
 
 PLATE 73 
 

 ^ o 
 
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V 
 
 NEW JERSEY 
 
 It would take much time and long travel to discover 
 the State possessing the greatest number of fine gardens, 
 but there is little risk of misstatement in placing New 
 Jersey as fourth or fifth on the list; New York, including 
 Long Island, in the lead, then Massachusetts, and possibly 
 Pennsylvania or California next. Near the sea the cli- 
 mate is, of course, an especial incentive to flower-grow- 
 ing, and along the Jersey coast, especially in Monmouth 
 County, there are numerous gardens. Many excellent 
 specimens are to be seen at Princeton, Trenton, Short 
 Hills, and Morristown, as well as in the country around 
 Bernardsville, in all of which places garden clubs are 
 rapidly developing the cult. Only about fifty miles sepa- 
 rate Trenton, Princeton, and Monmouth Beach, in central 
 Jersey, from Morristown, Short Hills, etc., at the north, 
 so that spring gardens practically begin in both sections 
 at the same time, with possibly not more than three 
 or four days' difference between them. While the south 
 Jersey soil does not always encourage gardening, the 
 northern half of the State may be considered on the whole 
 quite fertile, and the summer temperature is not too hot 
 for flowers. Occasional droughts are to be expected, but 
 
 155 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 the water-supply is usually adequate. In the northern part 
 of the State the usual date for Crocuses is March 25; Daf- 
 fodils, April 15; Lily-of-the-Valley, May 12; late Tulips, 
 May 10; German Iris, May 22; Oriental Poppy, Colum- 
 bine, Lupin, and Pyrethrum, May 26; Roses, Peonies, An- 
 chusa, and Sweet William, early June; Delphiniums, June 
 20; Hollyhocks, July 1. In fact, the climatic condition, 
 as it affects plant life, is very similar throughout the 
 region surrounding New York City — not different enough 
 to require special attention. 
 
 The beautiful garden at Glen Alpine is one of pro- 
 longed bloom from May 22 until frost, and its planting 
 plans are shown in the author's "Continuous Bloom in 
 America." Both English and Italian inspiration commin- 
 gle in this beautiful spot. Its setting of old trees on three 
 sides, with the upsloping hill to the rear covered with 
 choice blossom trees and evergreens, as well as the ancient 
 hedge, furnish a background in keeping with the dignity 
 of the place. The pergola is only the beginning of an in- 
 teresting upper shrub and bulb garden with rambling 
 paths. Other views are given in plates 87 and 172. 
 
 At Cherrycroft, the garden also blooms continuously, 
 and some of its plans are likewise given in the book 
 above-mentioned. The pergola and tea-house lead out 
 to a maze formed by a tall Arbor- Vitge hedge. Adjoining 
 is a Rose garden, more or less continually in bloom, and 
 near by a garden for cutting-flowers. The outlook over 
 the formal garden, both from house and pergola, is upon 
 
 156 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 a sea of flowers, possibly unequalled in its profusion of 
 bloom. The four beds encircling the pool are first covered 
 with Pansies and English Daisies, each bed containing one 
 large clump of German Iris, edged with Cottage Tulips. 
 For later bloom, white Petunias fill two beds, light pink 
 Petunias the other two beds. Surrounding the rim of the 
 pool there are Campanula medium, alternating with fall- 
 sown Larkspur, the former replaced by Balsam. The four 
 large beds opposite the pool-beds are planted in predom- 
 inating tones of yellow, blue, pink, and dark red respec- 
 tively, with white freely intermixed. The beds on the 
 upper level are treated rather similarly. 
 
 At both Glen Alpine and Cherrycroft nurseries of cold- 
 frames abundantly supply the many annuals and peren- 
 nials required to fill the broad beds. The prevailing colors 
 required in both gardens are pink, dark red, blues, and 
 yellows. Of the latter, the .stronger tones are used only in 
 yellow and blue beds. If there is strict adherence to their 
 planting schemes the richness of their bloom will continue 
 through future seasons. But, alas ! how uncertain the ful- 
 filment, when the most necessary flowers may disappoint 
 at the eleventh hour, or the gardeners fail to abide by the 
 plans, especially concerning the color scheme! 
 
 At Ridgewood Hill the planting is for spring and au- 
 tumn bloom, and its three-terraced garden is an excellent 
 piece of work, nestling to the hillside with its vista of hills 
 beyond. This lovely nook deserves to rank among the 
 best in terraced gardens. 
 
 157 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 Mrs. Eraser's garden, enelosed within the semicircle 
 of the house and a cur\in::i[ Hemlock hedge, is veri- 
 tably a gem in lovely color-blending. All the periods of 
 the garden season are represented here, difficult as it is 
 to accomplish continuous bloom in narrow beds. Eirst 
 Pansies and early Tulips, followed by the later ones, flood 
 the little court with wonderfulh' tinted tones. Tlien Lu- 
 pins, Canterbury Bells, Sweet William, Chinese Delpliin- 
 ium and Lilium candidum, followed by Larkspur, Zinnia, 
 Snapdragon, Scabiosa. Salpiglossis, Heliotrope. Ageralum. 
 and compact Petunias, Gladioli, and September hard\' 
 Chn.-santhemum. Constant ministration to tlie needs of 
 this garden keeps it in a state of fresh bloom and order. 
 
 The garden at "Onunda," Aladison. attracts many 
 visitors and has long been famous for its beaut>- and order. 
 It is ablaze with color from May to October. Annuals in 
 richest massing fill all the small beds, and perennials with 
 annuals are closely grouped in the wall beds. The color 
 effect is unusual and the adjoining Rose garden is com- 
 plete with choicest bloom. 
 
 The planting at Blairsden. near Peapack, is probably 
 the most perfect in the State. The accompan>-ing pictures 
 give a limited idea of its beauty. The hill covered with 
 wild shrubs sloping to the lake, the formal garden, the 
 water garden and Rose garden, with the long inclined path- 
 way seeming to lead out to space immeasurable into the 
 green Garden of E\-er\mian, combine with the scenery to 
 make it a place of remarkable beauty. The formal garden 
 
 158 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 with vine-covered brick wall is like the villa, Italian in 
 design. 
 
 The numerous gardens of Short Hills must be repre- 
 sented by one charming glimpse of Brooklawn, an idyllic 
 spot embodying the creative sense of a poet. Its design 
 is quite unusual in the garden world, and perfect in its 
 simplicity. Informal rather than strictly formal, with 
 beds of curving lines and grass paths it may be considered 
 the most original plan in this collection. 
 
 Old Princeton, with its picturesque university, is ad- 
 ditionally favored in possessing gardens worthy of such 
 associations and equalling the best in our country. The 
 one at Drumthwacket is probably more reminiscent of 
 English gardens than any other. The broad beds, pro- 
 fuse in glowing yet orderly bloom, are especially lovely in 
 June. The garden has the benefit of ancient trees as a 
 setting and the richness of its planting combined with the 
 white balustrade lends a noble effect, comparing favorably 
 with many of those abroad. The beautiful water garden, 
 reached by a winding stone stairway, is encircled by willows 
 and forest trees which fill the little lake with green reflec- 
 tions. 
 
 A winter garden is a luxury so rare that one dwells 
 with keenest pleasure upon the view from Thornton — a 
 most perfect specimen of its kind. This evergreen plant- 
 ing is the central scheme of an elaborate plan and divides 
 the perennial and Rose garden on one side from the "cut- 
 ting" garden on the other. The best of the evergreens in 
 
 159 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 clipped rornis. Barberry with its bright winter berries. 
 Laurel, and Rhododendron foliage unite to enliven the 
 winter scene in this pleasant space, when outside all is 
 gray and lifeless. 
 
 Mrs. Seabrook's garden belongs to still another dis- 
 tinctly different class, illustrating a planting which appeals 
 strongh' to the many Americans who ardently admire sim- 
 plicity in outdoor art. Here we find a sweet place in which 
 to li\-e in idle hours, with fa\-orite flowers well-kept, a pool, 
 and shaded retreats from summer sun. 
 
 160 
 

 
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Reproduced by courtesy of Doubleday, Page &■ Co. 
 
 "Blairsden," Peapack, N. J. C. Ledyard Blair, Esq. 
 
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Reproduced by courtesy oj Doubkday, Page &* Co. 
 
 "Blairsden," Peapack, N. J. C. Ledyard Blair, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 80 
 
From a photograph by Parker Brothers PLATE 86 
 
 ''Glen Alpine," Morristown, N. J. Mrs. Charles W. McAlpin 
 
 
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 PLATE 37 
 
 "Thornton," Rumson, N. J. Mrs. J. Horace Harding 
 
VI 
 
 PENNSYLVANIA 
 
 The most zealous advocate of gardening in the early 
 days was William Penn, the original proprietor of the 
 State, who persistently urged his Quaker followers to 
 plant gardens around the homesteads. With numerous 
 old ones and an ever-increasing number of new gardens 
 the State stands among the foremost as a garden centre. 
 In olden times the Quaker ideas against extravagant ap- 
 pearances resulted in the making of simpler places than 
 those built by the people who settled in the Southern 
 States; but these modest Pennsylvania gardens did not 
 suffer the ravages of war, and many of them have lived 
 serenely through the years. 
 
 Andalusia came into the possession of the family of its 
 present owners in 1795, and a village has gradually grown 
 around the place. The garden is about one hundred 
 years in age, and has been long noted for its trees and 
 hedges, its fruits and old-fashioned flowers. The simplic- 
 ity of its plan, so characteristic of the early gardens, de- 
 tracts nothing from its charm, but rather is it filled with 
 picturesque features that are truly American. 
 
 At Fancy Field the formal garden is made somewhat 
 
 187 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 on the plan of a type of small English garden that is be- 
 coming familiar to us through the English prints. This 
 formal \aew is but one of a group or series of lovely en- 
 closed and connecting gardens, all seemingly bound to- 
 gether by a long pergola bordering their rear; — a most 
 pleasing study, as is also the garden at Edgecombe, with 
 its old Box and perennials, shut in peacefully from the 
 outer world and suggesting the type so dear to the heart 
 of the lady of the olden time. 
 
 Krisheim was the name given by some early German 
 settlers in 1687 to a locality where is now a famous gar- 
 den. This beautiful enclosure, in its spring garb, so unique 
 in style, and \vith an adjoining flower garden, has its place 
 among the best of the many that adorn the State. 
 
 The garden at Willow Bank is a charming home of 
 flowers, and its attraction is enhanced by the spacious 
 green court surrounding it, giving double privacy to the 
 flowery sanctum within. 
 
 Typical of some of the splendid newer gardens of the 
 State is the one at Timberline, rich in its background of 
 old trees, gracefully designed and planted. It is one of 
 the best productions of a celebrated architect. 
 
 The Ballygarth garden, a section of which is sho^^^l in 
 this chapter, is beautifully situated on one of the oldest 
 estates near Philadelphia, and is of the kind so evidently 
 the creation of a garden lover. 
 
 Near Philadelphia the climate is slightly warmer than 
 in north New Jersey, to which spring bloom comes at 
 
 188 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 least a week later. In this vicinity German Iris appears 
 about May 15, Sweet William, May 28, and Delphiniums, 
 June 10, Hollyhocks, June 18. The time of the first frost 
 is as variable as it is elsewhere. Pansies are usually win- 
 tered in the open, with a certain amount of covering. 
 Tender annuals are set out about May 10. The soil is 
 mostly fertile enough for good results in the garden. The 
 best-known gardens lie chiefly in the neighborhood of 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 189 
 
From a pimtosraph by Jessie Tarhox Beak PLATE 89 
 
 "Allgates," Haverford, Pa. Horatio G. Lloyd, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 90 
 
 Andalusia, Pa. Mrs. Charles Biddle 
 
PLATE 94 
 
 The outer court 
 
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 PLATE 95 
 
 "Willow Bank," Bryn Mawr, Pa. Mrs. Joseph C. Bright 
 
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 PLATE 97 
 
VII 
 
 MARYLAND 
 
 Flower gardens adorn many of the places in Mary- 
 land, most of them of the old-fashioned kind so char- 
 acteristic of the Southern States, and others of a more 
 recent date. The latter, though less elaborate than those 
 of New England, are quite as attractive in the studied 
 simplicity of their design. 
 
 Conspicuous often are the Ivy-edged paths some- 
 times replacing the low Box border, and the great growths 
 of Box and rare shrubs, once imported luxuries from old 
 England, speak the prosperity of early days. 
 
 In the low country of the interior the midsummer cli- 
 mate is humid and hot enough to discourage the flowers of 
 this season, but when certain annuals are kept sufficiently 
 moist and mulched they may pass unscathed through the 
 trying season and join the few fall perennials for several 
 weeks of bloom. 
 
 Winter protection is not a matter of importance and 
 Pansies need but an ordinary covering of leaves. An ex- 
 treme of cold, which is rare, might bring disaster to the 
 leaf-covered Canterbury Bell in the open, but this is one 
 of the gambles in garden life. 
 
 205 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 In Man'land. as generally elsewhere in this section, 
 spring and June gardens prevail. The Crocus season 
 opens in early March; Daffodils follow a little later; late 
 Tulips and German Iris come near May 1; Sweet William 
 and Peonies about May 20; and soon after the Delphin- 
 iums and Hollyhocks appear. Spring work begins three 
 weeks earlier than in the latitude of Long Island, and 
 frost may finish the persistent Marigold near November 1 ; 
 but, as elsewhere, by that time green life has had its day, 
 ^^tality has been spent, and nothing satisfactory can be ex- 
 pected of any but the hardy late Chrysanthemum. 
 
 There is another region of this State to be separately 
 accounted for that has been more or less overlooked, and 
 where the climate is more in\iting to summer gardening. 
 From near Snow Hill, on the narrow peninsula south of 
 Delaware, a resident writes in part: "As to this eastern 
 shore, its flowers, climate, etc., too much cannot be said in 
 its praise. The wonder is that this section has been over- 
 looked by wealthy people seeking homes. With proper 
 planting one can have flowers in the garden ten months 
 of the year. During the -winter Holly and other choice 
 evergreens give plenty of color for the lawns." The dis- 
 tance across between the Chesapeake Bay and the sea is 
 about thirty-five miles. Near the shore the place has a 
 climate of its o\vn, and summer gardens need not ^vilt 
 as they do inland, pro\dding they can at times be mod- 
 erately sprinkled. Usually the summer climate is pleas- 
 ant with an evening sea-breeze in hot weather; some- 
 
 206 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 times a prolonged dry spell causes many things to suffer, 
 but as a rule all sorts of flowering plants succeed — Roses, 
 China Asters, and bulbous plants especially grow to per- 
 fection. 
 
 The illustrations representing Maryland are gathered 
 from the vicinity of Baltimore, the particular garden 
 region of the State. Hampton is the oldest of them all, 
 being an entailed estate and one of two old manor-houses 
 in Maryland still extant. A severe cold snap a few win- 
 ters past did great damage to the Box, which in conse- 
 quence had to be cut back, but time, it is hoped, may 
 restore its original form and beauty. The spring view of 
 one of Hampton's gardens was taken recently prior to the 
 period of fullest bloom. This charming Box-edged parterre, 
 with its fine surroundings and associations, is possibly the 
 best-known in the South. 
 
 Evergreen-on-A venue is delightfully located on the out- 
 skirts of Baltimore, where many old country-seats abound. 
 The lower garden only is discernible in the illustration, 
 showing the dignity and charm of an evergreen gar- 
 den, relieved by a massing of color in narrow beds which 
 form a setting to the clipped Box and other shrubs. 
 The upper garden is full of bloom and kept chiefly as a 
 place for cutting-flowers. Some of the paths on this es- 
 tate are edged with broad bands of Ivy. 
 
 The wild garden at Roland Park is a work of art too 
 intricately devised to be treated satisfactorily by picture 
 or pen. The eye can only absorb and memory retain it, 
 
 207 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 but description will ever fail to present it. At every turn 
 there is a delightful surprise, at every season it is lovely; 
 even January finds it so dressed in evergreen that winter 
 seems far away. A few years ago the hillside was a 
 wooded and abandoned stone-quarry until purchased for 
 the purpose of creating a place of beauty out of chaos. 
 An inspired imagination only could have wrought this 
 miracle. 
 
 The old Indian name for the Cylbum plantation was 
 Cool Waters; it covers two hundred acres, about five 
 miles beyond Baltimore. Cylburn House is of stone with 
 broad verandas, and stands majestically on a high plateau, 
 surrounded by gardens, shrubbery, and an extensive lawn, 
 which is fringed by a beautiful primeval forest that 
 stretches away on three sides to the valley below. The 
 garden is one of the old-fashioned rambling kind, made 
 lovely \vith a combination of tall shrubs and flowers and 
 occasional trees. 
 
 The fair little glimpse of a section of the garden at 
 Ingleside breathes of spring perfume and color, with that 
 indescribable sense of peace pervading especially a little 
 enclosed garden where good taste and harmony prevail. 
 So great is the impression of seclusion produced by the 
 attractive picture that the farmer's cottage in the near 
 background seems almost disconnected from this inviting 
 spot. The four white standard Wistarias are remarkable 
 enough to demand special attention. The beds are early 
 filled with the Tulips of both periods, blooming in com- 
 
 208 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 pany with the Wistaria. Annuals follow, and the place 
 is kept in long bloom under the careful supervision of the 
 owner. 
 
 At The Blind, Havre de Grace, on the Chesapeake, is 
 a charming and typically Southern garden with ancient 
 Box hedges for a background, and filled with the bloom 
 of many old-fashioned hardy plants and shrubs. The 
 property of two hundred acres is partly under cultivation 
 and partly covered with Holly and ancient trees. Around 
 the gray stone mansion in springtime the place is like a 
 fairy-land, with hundreds of blossoming shrubs and fruit 
 trees. Originally the land belonged to the Stumpp family, 
 who acquired it by grant from one of the early English 
 governors. It is now in the possession of a New Yorker, 
 who keeps it as a shooting-preserve and stock-farm. 
 
 209 
 
I " 'x yr '~^;^ 
 
 PLATE VII 
 
 A rock garden 
 
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 After autocUrome pJwtographs 
 
 A rock garden 
 Roland Park, Baltimore, Md. Mrs. Edward Bouton 
 
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 "Ingleside," Catonsville, Md. Mrs. A. C. Ritchie 
 
 PLATE 103 
 
 "The Blind," Havre de Grace, Md. James Lawrence Breese, Esq. 
 
VIII 
 
 VIRGINIA 
 
 Virginia was the first of the States to adopt a luxuri- 
 ous mode of living. Its early men and women, so recently 
 English, were not many of them of the strictly Puritan 
 type, but rather the ease and pleasure loving class, and 
 shortly their fertile plantations, developed by countless 
 slaves, yielded rich results, and Virginia, followed soon 
 by the neighboring States, became famous for homes and 
 gardens on an extensive scale. 
 
 One of the earliest and best of these estates was Mount 
 Vernon, so well preserved and yet so familiar as not to 
 need an introduction or even a space in this book. Bran- 
 don, Westover, Shirley, Berkeley, Castle Hill, and others 
 on the River Jamics, as well as some of the splendid places 
 in the "hill country," have been renovated in recent years 
 and should be considered among the treasures of America. 
 
 Mr. William du Pont is the fortunate present owner of 
 Montpelier, the home of President Madison, in Orange 
 County, and situated between Charlottesville and Rich- 
 mond. This splendid garden was planned by Mr. Mad- 
 ison soon after 1794. To quote Mr. Capen:* "On the plan 
 
 * " Country Homes of Famous Americans." 
 
 219 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 of our House of Representatives, it is made in a series 
 of horseshoe terraces leading down to a flat rectangular 
 stretch of ground. The walk from the entrance to the 
 garden passes first under a charming rustic arbor, and 
 then through a dense Box hedge in which some of the 
 bushes have gro\\Ti so high that their branches form an 
 arch overhead . . . and when one emerges from the arch 
 of Box he finds spread before him in panorama the entire 
 garden . . . the Box-edged aisle down its centre and 
 every bed in flower. ... It must have been a rare gar- 
 den, for trees and shrubs sent to Mr. Madison bj' admirers 
 from all over the world were jealously guarded and nur- 
 tured." 
 
 At Rose Hill the terraced garden, with its distant view 
 of hills and \-alle\', is among the best-known places of this 
 section. Here the flowers, most carefully tended, bloom 
 considerably during the period from April to October, 
 which is unusually prolonged for a Southern garden. 
 Flowering plants and clipped evergreens border the broad, 
 grassy terraces and an air of simple stateliness pervades 
 this charming Mrginia garden. 
 
 Delightful indeed is the spacious formal garden at 
 Meadowbrook Manor, on the James River. So cleverly ar- 
 ranged is the combination of trees and flowers that the 
 latter do not suffer from near association with the trees — 
 many of w^hich are evergreens combining with the Box 
 border to gladden the winter garden with summer green, 
 and gi\ing the li\-able, homey sense to this lo\'ely enclosure 
 
 220 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 in summer-time. In the old days the property was known 
 as Sequin and belonged to relatives of Sir Thomas Gates 
 of the same name. Upon this land in 1619 were operated 
 the first iron-works in the country. 
 
 Characteristic of the gardens of the older period is the 
 lovely view of the garden on the Valentine place over- 
 grown and ripe as only a garden can be that has lived 
 through the years; unpretentious, yet richer in that mel- 
 lowed growth than the most costly planting of modern 
 date. 
 
 In Virginia, mountains cover a part of the State, and 
 the temperature necessarily varies according to locality. 
 The climate, at least of Albemarle County, brings out 
 the Crocuses in February or early March; winter Jessa- 
 mine in early February, sometimes January; Daffodils in 
 mid-March; Lily-of -the- Valley and Cottage Tulip early 
 in April; German Iris in mid- April. Roses and Sweet 
 William appear in early May; Delphinium in late May; 
 Hollyhocks in early June; Phlox, July 1. And thus before 
 midsummer's heat many of the best hardy perennials have 
 come and gone. While summer bloom in the highlands is 
 not necessarily destroyed by hot weather, unless unusual 
 drought occurs, yet the autumn garden is apt to be a more 
 refreshing sight with its fresh crop of Roses, the late 
 Chrysanthemum, Cosmos, and indefatigable Zinnia. Of 
 course to the south, and where altitude is lacking, the 
 somewhat higher temperature will more or less alter these 
 garden dates. 
 
 221 
 

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 J' .•i'-fg--r ■• - 
 
 
 Montpelier, Va. Mrs. William du Pont 
 
 PLATE 106 
 
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 PLATE 107 
 
 Montpelier, Va. Mrs. William du Pont 
 
PLATE 108 
 
 "Rose Hill" 
 
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 PLATE 109 
 
 "Rose Hill," Greenwood, Va. Mrs. W. R. Massie 
 
SOUTH CAROLINA 
 
 There are few new gardens in South CaroUna, but an 
 untold number of old ones deserving to be revived. Around 
 Charleston, especially, old-time mansions, quaint walls, 
 and gateways abound that are an inspiration to lovers 
 of graceful antiquities. To restore an abandoned garden 
 must be indeed a joy to one with enough imagination to 
 recreate flower places fitted to the surroundings. 
 
 The illustrations in this chapter give some idea of the 
 richness of the early gardens laid out by the wealthy owners 
 of many generations past. Magnolia-on-the-Ashley, con- 
 sidered by some as one of the world's most beautiful sights, 
 especially in springtime, is the most famous place in the 
 State. It is owned by Colonel Drayton Hastie, who in- 
 herited it from his grandfather, the Reverend Mr. Dray- 
 ton, an Episcopalian minister, in whose family it had re- 
 mained since the latter part of the seventeenth century. In 
 the days of the Reverend Mr. Drayton it was discovered 
 that the garden had been laid out over land containing 
 extremely valuable phosphate deposits, but neither he nor 
 his descendants would have the place disturbed for the 
 sake of an increased fortune, and the garden continues as 
 
 235 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 it was, the delight in early spring of visitors from all 
 over the world. To quote one who resides near by: "The 
 garden first came into notice about a hundred years ago. 
 In spite of all the cultivation, it still suggests the heart of 
 the forest, with the old Oak and gray moss and wild flowers 
 mingling with Cherokee Roses, Jessamine, etc. These Mag- 
 nolia gardens are not only wonderfully beautiful, but, I 
 believe, quite unique. The great show is not Magnolias, 
 or even the Camellias, although they are lovely — but the 
 Azaleas, which grow in such profusion and variety of 
 shades that one loses all sense of individual plant and 
 flowers and perceives only glowing, gleaming masses of 
 color veiled by festoons of gray moss, giving one a deli- 
 cious feeling of unreality, almost enchantment. In Owen 
 Wister's 'Lady Baltimore' there is a beautiful description 
 of Magnolia. The coloring on the post-cards is not in the 
 least exaggerated." Live Oaks over two centuries old 
 draped with gray moss suspended from the branches ! This 
 wonderful growth is not an uncommon sight in the South- 
 em States. 
 
 Columbia, the capital, has the famous Preston garden, 
 and for many generations this beautiful property remained 
 in the families of the Hamptons and Prestons. By a 
 marriage a century ago the Hampton estate came into the 
 possession of the Prestons, and for many years the stately 
 garden with its aged Box and shade trees, its choice shrubs 
 and plants, has been an object of veneration to garden 
 lovers. A descendant writes: "There is no interest of im- 
 
 236 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 portance attached to the past history of the Preston place, 
 except that it has sheltered quite well known persons in its 
 day, Henry Clay, Thackeray, and Miss Martineau among 
 others, for its owner had acquaintances among prominent 
 people in this country as well as abroad, and delighted in 
 showing them hospitality when they happened in his 
 neighborhood." After the war it shared the fate of al- 
 most all the other Southern estates that could no longer 
 be maintained as in former years, and finally became a 
 woman's college, and once more receives the needed care. 
 
 In the low coastal country, including Charleston, spring 
 opens in February with Camellias, Daffodils, and bulbs. 
 German Iris appears at Charleston soon after March 15, 
 Phlox in June. Delphinium and Hollyhock and some 
 others do not thrive in this section. The flowers that 
 are carried over for autumn bloom are hardy Chrysan- 
 themum, with Cosmos, Salvia, Marigolds, and Zinnias, and 
 a few others able under care to resist the summer heat. 
 Frost may come by November 15, but in winter thin ice 
 forms only about three times, with the thermometer at 
 twenty-five degrees. White Camellias sometimes begin to 
 blossom at Christmas time. Such is the climate of this 
 level. In the higher regions of the State climatic condi- 
 tions are somewhat different and the summer heat is not 
 as extreme. 
 
 237 
 
From a photograph by Lyle 6r Escobar 
 
 PLATE 114 
 
 'Preston Garden," Columbia, S. C. 
 

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 PLATE 115 
 
 "Preston Garden" 
 
 From pholosrap!is by Lyle b' Escobar 
 
 PLATE 116 
 
 "Preston Garden,'' Columbia, S. C. 
 
X 
 
 GEORGIA AND FLORIDA 
 
 Summer gardens, on account of the climate, are not at- 
 tempted in the States of the far South; but as popular 
 winter and spring resorts the grounds at these seasons 
 about the villas and hotels are adorned with Palms, Roses, 
 and other plants adapted to the climate. Charming spring 
 gardens in formal designs are found in Georgia, where, 
 because of its somewhat cooler climate and better soil, 
 there are a greater number of private estates than in Flor- 
 ida. The former State doubtless suffered more than any 
 other in the Civil War and, consequently, enforced neglect 
 of the old gardens brought ruin to most of them. At pres- 
 ent some of the finest places in Georgia are delightfully 
 located outside of the larger towns, and many gardens, 
 some new and others renewed after a half-century of obliv- 
 ion, adorn the home grounds of those who are so fortu- 
 nate as to reside here at the most favored seasons. 
 
 The illustrations of the gardens at Green Court are 
 fair samples of the extensive planting in many places. 
 Spring bulbs begin to open in this lovely spot by the middle 
 of February, Camellias often come in January, German 
 Iris appears the middle of March, Delphiniums in April. 
 
 247 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 In Georgia the summer heat finishes most of the bloom, 
 and few would venture with autumn flowers. "The 
 Roses, however, when well tended, rest during summer 
 to bloom gloriously again in October and until the time 
 of light frost, which comes in December." The interior 
 of the larger garden at Green Court, surrounded with its 
 splendid outer court, is more spacious than the glimpse 
 through the gateway would suggest. The charm of this 
 enclosure, like Southern hospitality, is a combination of 
 bountifulness and grateful simplicity. Green Court de- 
 serves to stand as a representative garden of its State. 
 
 With an almost similar climate the adjoining State 
 of Alabama has its gardens also, but, unfortunately, pho- 
 tographs are not now available. 
 
 Palms of every description are the characteristic plants 
 of Florida. The State is generally flat and open, but in 
 the north the country is more wooded, often wild and 
 swampy, with picturesque ^vinding little rivers meander- 
 ing to the coasts. 
 
 The conditions in the populous districts of Louisiana 
 and Texas are so similar to Florida, where gardens are 
 concerned, that it is unnecessary to use further space in 
 describing plant life in these States. 
 
 248 
 
o 
 
 u 
 
 K 
 
 O 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
XI 
 
 TENNESSEE AND MISSOURI 
 
 From Tennessee the following description of its gar- 
 den life is agreeably presented: "Here in the South inter- 
 est in this subject is always increasing. We have many 
 old and beautiful gardens full of sentiment. The mistress 
 of the place is always head gardener, and in no instance 
 does she relinquish her position to another. I am filled 
 with enthusiasm in garden matters, and would preach 
 the gospel of the garden to all women." 
 
 Daffodils appear in February, Lilies-of-the-Valley and 
 Cottage Tulips in mid-April, German Iris soon after. 
 The droughts of midsummer may injure but not neces- 
 sarily destroy the flowers. The winter thermometer oc- 
 casionally falls to twenty degrees above zero in the cooler 
 districts, and such plants as Snapdragon and Campanula 
 medium are more safely wintered in a slat-frame. But 
 winter once over the tender annuals can be put out as 
 early as April 25. These conditions apply almost equally 
 to the neighboring States of Kentucky and North Caro- 
 lina, having as well their records for old-time gardens. 
 
 The planting at Rostrevor speaks delightfully for the 
 many others belonging to this section of the South. This 
 
 255 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AiMERICA 
 
 garden, filled with Lilies and other blossoms, shows that 
 the Southern woman is as truly a flower lover as were they 
 who planted the early gardens in the days before the war. 
 
 What more tantalizing to the garden devotee than the 
 glimpse beyond the gates of Long\dew garden as illus- 
 trated in this chapter, and again in a later section? Such 
 views as these, so exceedingly artistic in themselves, sug- 
 gest a still more lovely interior, at present mthheld be- 
 cause adequate photographs are lacking. 
 
 In Missouri, as in Kansas and elsewhere in the Middle 
 West, there is great variableness of climate from year 
 to year, and never is it an ideal district for summer flower 
 gardens, ^\^lile much attention is being given to shrub- 
 bery and perennial beds bordering the la^^^l, there are few 
 actual gardens, formal or otherwise. The discourage- 
 ments of a trying summer climate limit the bloom in 
 most of the places to the flowers of spring and Jime. 
 Early flowering plants and bulbs, German Iris, Foxglove, 
 Canterbury Bells, Columbine, Peonies, Lilium candidum, 
 Roses, and Hollyhocks, give considerable satisfaction. 
 But many other perennials are not at all permanent. To 
 quote an experienced amateur gardener: "The climate of 
 Kansas City, Missouri, is subject to every eccentricity, 
 and at times is very trying. One of my experiences was 
 a four or five inch snow-storm on the 3d of May after a 
 month of warm spring weather, when German Iris and 
 many other things were in full bloom, and Peonies in 
 bud. E^•er^'thing was mashed do\\Ti and then it froze. 
 
 256 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 Often when Peonies have been in bloom torrential rains 
 have nearly ruined them. The greatest trouble with the 
 summer garden is the extreme heat and dryness of the 
 air. The earth can be kept moist around the plants, 
 but many things wither in the dry air. With the greatest 
 care a garden of. annuals might be kept looking fairly well 
 through July and August, but I am glad to get away from 
 mine early in July." 
 
 The climate of these adjoining Middle States is prac- 
 tically the same throughout, with possibly even more 
 sunshine than in the eastern States. "In May and June 
 there are frequent heavy showers, but rarely all-day rains. 
 In the later summer and autumn cloudy days are excep- 
 tional. The eastern side of Missouri is said to be slightly 
 cooler than the western part; Kansas City averages a 
 somewhat higher summer temperature than Washington, 
 D. C, which is in the same latitude. Spring bulbs and 
 many spring perennials appear three weeks earlier than 
 near New York City." The gardens usually look spent 
 by September, but in the cooler sections, with an extra 
 amount of summer care, there may be still seen flowers 
 sufficient to adorn a garden during some weeks of autumn. 
 
 The garden at Hazelwood, near St. Louis, is laid out 
 with curving grass paths and broad beds. The bright 
 display begins with Daffodils, and the beds retain rich 
 bloom into the middle of June. In September, after good 
 care. Marigolds, Zinnias, Snapdragon, Cosmos, hardy 
 Asters, Chrysanthemum, and Helenium are the autumn 
 
 257 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 decorations. Frost usually finishes everything about Octo- 
 ber 15. The winter temperature is often ten degrees be- 
 low, and the tender plants, like Foxglove and Pansies, 
 are more safely wintered under slat-frames covered with 
 straw, and Larkspurs should have a light covering of leaves. 
 Surely the gardens that are faithfully tended through such 
 changes and chances of climate as found in this section be- 
 speak the highest degree of devoted patience. 
 
 258 
 
XII 
 
 ILLINOIS AND INDIANA 
 
 Illinois, with its claim to countless fine estates, in- 
 cludes a plentiful share of gardens, and more especially 
 in the lake region, where luxuriant growths of trees tell of 
 congenial soil and climate. As a background the great 
 lake stretches like a sea beyond many of the beautiful 
 flower-borders, which bloom almost as richly as those near 
 the distant ocean. 
 
 Unfortunately some of the finest plantings are not 
 illustrated in this book, which is limited to gardens of a 
 formal design, and the type characteristic of Illinois is 
 mostly informal, as so frequently seen in America, — an 
 arrangement which does not lend itself satisfactorily to 
 photography. In such a plan the fiowers are usually 
 massed in long, broad beds bordering the lawn, the front 
 lines are laid in irregular curves, with trees and shrubs 
 for the background. Groups of shrubs with other beds 
 are sometimes used to break a wide stretch of lawn, and 
 make a rambling and delightful sort of garden scheme. 
 But in photography detail is lost when the camera is at 
 sufficient distance to include more than a small section of 
 such a design. For this reason pictures can never do full 
 
 265 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 justice to the flower planting on such notable places as 
 those of Albert N. Day, Esq., Lake Forest; Wm. C. Egan, 
 Esq., Egandale, Highland Park; George Higginson, Esq., 
 Meadow Farm; and W. G. Hibbard, Esq., both at Win- 
 netka, and many others. 
 
 The spring display of late Tulips at Highland Park 
 and Lake Forest is especially remarkable. Masses of Dar- 
 wins and Cottage varieties in perfect color blending are 
 planted everywhere, in the woods, in shrubbery, and in 
 borders. 
 
 The illustration of the formal garden at Lake Forest, 
 owned by Harold McCormick, Esq., gives a vivid idea of 
 the form and finish of this charming place, which must 
 always stand among the best of middle West gardens, 
 well favored in the beauty of its surrounding trees and 
 generously planted with perennials and shrubs. It has 
 the charm of individuality rather uncommon to large 
 gardens, and stands for that welcome type which seeks 
 to be itself. 
 
 Hardin Hall garden, with the great lake as a back- 
 ground, has recently joined the ranks of beautiful Ameri- 
 can gardens. Every new garden is as a jewel added to 
 the crown of its State, and this little gem in planting is 
 noted throughout the North Shore. Stepping-stones in 
 the grass lead to another green enclosure, designed on a 
 less formal plan, — the whole scheme being most artistic- 
 ally conceived. 
 
 The climate near the lake is slightly cooler than in 
 
 266 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 other localities, spring opening from one to two weeks 
 later than inland. The difference in time of spring bloom 
 on this shore and near New York City is only about a 
 week. The climate on the lake front is especially variable. 
 The country is a flat upland broken with wooded ravines. 
 
 Out in central Illinois, in Piatt County, there are fif- 
 teen thousand acres belonging to a famous estate beyond 
 Monticello. The Farms contains delightful gardens on 
 an extensive scale, quite English in design, and as far as 
 possible in keeping with the Georgian architecture of the 
 house. Juniper Hibemica is freely used over the main 
 garden, enriching with its deep evergreen tones the broad 
 expanse of flower-bordered beds. The walls are covered 
 with Chinese Wistarias, Japanese Honeysuckle, trained 
 peach trees, nectarines, pears, and plums. 
 
 Monticello is in the latitude of Philadelphia ; the 
 blooming dates almost correspond, but frost destroys a 
 trifle earlier. The highest summer thermometer rarely 
 reaches one hundred degrees, sometimes dropping in win- 
 ter to twenty-seven degrees below. Tender annuals can 
 usually be planted out after May 15. Mulching and 
 watering is necessary to preserve the summer bloomers. 
 
 Famous in the annals of southern Indiana is the large 
 estate at Lexington known as Englishton Park, and for 
 six generations the property of the English family. 
 
 Problems of insufficient rain, poor soil, and rocky 
 ground have been overcome by most scientific measures, 
 and now a pool filled with Lilies and bordered with water- 
 
 267 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 loving plants is a feature of a wonderful rock garden 
 abundantly and tastefully planted with the perennials 
 most suitable for rocks or for moisture. The Rose garden 
 near by and long path leading to the house, bordered with 
 beds of perennials, are further delightful tributes to the 
 devoted labor of one who has spent much time on this, 
 her gladdest task. 
 
 268 
 
PLATE 126 
 
 ' The Farms ' 
 
 ^.^"^'^^ 
 
 PLATE 127 
 
 'The Farms," Monticello, 111. Robert Allerton, Esq. 
 
PLATE 128 
 
 The rock garden, "Englishton Park" 
 
 The rock garden, "EngHshton Park," Lexington, Ind. Mrs. W. E. English 
 
 PLATE 129 
 
XIII 
 
 OHIO 
 
 The difference is slight between the cUmate of Ohio 
 and other States of its latitude in the East and middle 
 West. While there is no mountainous region, northern 
 Ohio has the advantage of a great lake as its border. On 
 a line with central Connecticut, the temperature of Cleve- 
 land is similarly favorable to flower growing, and garden 
 enthusiasts are increasing. Like most of the Middle 
 States, the country is rather flat and the soil fertile as a 
 rule. But, except on the lake shore, the gardens suffer 
 more or less from the hot weather and scarcity of mois- 
 ture. 
 
 In the northern half of Ohio spring bulbs appear si- 
 multaneously with those in northern New Jersey, and the 
 later plants follow in the same succession. The southern 
 half of Ohio is in the latitude of Maryland and its climatic 
 conditions are almost similar. The spring and June gar- 
 dens in the middle West give the best satisfaction. The 
 climate is variable, as it is elsewhere throughout the 
 
 country. 
 
 One charming illustration conveys some idea of the 
 garden at Gwinn, which is eight miles from Cleveland, 
 
 277 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 and undoubtedly the most notable in this State. By- 
 early April the spring garden blooms with Hepatica, Cro- 
 cus, Chionodoxa, Scilla, Sundrops, Pansy, English Daisy, 
 Spring Beauty, Bloodroot, Trillium, Cypripedium, Violet, 
 Tuhp, Hyacinth, and Daffodil, followed soon by many 
 later garden favorites. Sufficient water is supplied to 
 carry the bloom safely through midsummer and Septem- 
 ber, and year by year the beauty of this garden is increas- 
 ing with the maturing of its trees and shrubbery, and all 
 that tends to complete the dignity of so noble a design. 
 
 So artistically wrought are all the various features con- 
 tributing 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 an- 
 other 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 set- 
 ting as well. 
 
 Indian Hill offers a glimpse of a fair little garden, 
 with no suggestion of display; a vine-covered bower sur- 
 rounded with flowers, — a creation of simple loveliness. 
 
 278 
 
PLATE 131 
 
 A picturesque spot in Mrs. Taft's garden 
 
 PLATE 132 
 
 A corner in the pergola 
 
 Clifton, Cincinnati, Ohio. INIrs. Samuel H. Taft 
 
The water garden 
 Clifton, Cincinnati, Ohio. Mrs. Samuel H. Taft 
 
 PLATE 133 
 
 The water garden 
 "Shadyside," Painesville, Ohio. Mrs. H. P. Knapp 
 
 PLATE 134 
 
PLATE 135 
 
 ^Indian Hill" 
 
 "Indian Hill," Mentor, Ohio. Mrs. John E. Newell 
 
 PLATE 136 
 
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 fer- 
 tile and flat, with a climate superior to that of New Eng- 
 land 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 dis- 
 tance southward and partly to the warming influence of 
 Lake St. Clair." 
 
 The garden at Orchard House, Alma, so vividly de- 
 scribed in "The Weil-Considered Garden," is too familiar 
 to most gardeners to need description. Briefly, the plant- 
 
 287 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 ing 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 gar- 
 den is not gay with flowers from June until frost. 
 
 To the northeast of Alma is the lovely garden at Gar- 
 ra-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 Del- 
 phinium 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. 
 
 288 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 plant- 
 ing 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. 
 
 289 
 

Studio from main house 
 
 PLATE 140 
 
 Court from studio terrace , 
 "House-in-the- Woods," Lake Geneva, Wis. Frederic Clay Bartlett, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 141 
 
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 slight- 
 est 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, 
 
 299 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 also German Iris, Lilac, Periwinkles, Cornflower, Mi- 
 gnonette. 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 ex- 
 tremely 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 delight- 
 fully 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. 
 
 300 
 
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 moun- 
 tains are admirable settings to tropical gardens, and from 
 there to the sandy shores a delectable climate with pre- 
 vailing 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 Cali- 
 fornia; 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 Heli- 
 otrope grow all the year around and become large bushes. 
 Roses cover the tops of some villas; Cosmos, California 
 
 303 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 
 Temata." 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. Box- 
 wood is little used in this climate. Toward San Fran- 
 cisco 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 myrtifoiia, 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 ver>^ cool. The climate of Santa Barbara 
 is quite similar to Sorrento, Italy, only better. The far- 
 ther 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, Sep- 
 tember, 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, 
 
 304 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 some of which must give an idea of the favored vegetation 
 of California. 
 
 At Kimberly Crest, as in the other views, most con- 
 spicuous 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 abun- 
 dantly 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. 
 
 305 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 in- 
 teresting study in the horticulture of California — this 
 most favored State of the great Union. 
 
 306 
 
PLATE 143 
 
 ■ Kimberlv Crest" 
 
 PLATE 144 
 
 "Kimberly Crest," Redlands, Cal. Mrs. J. A. Kimberlv 
 
The Greek Theatre — the stage 
 
 PLATE 146 
 
 i^»h^>"- 
 
 
 PLaTE 147 
 
 The Greek Theatre — the boxes 
 "Piranhurst," Santa Barbara, Cal. Mrs. Henrv Eothiii 
 
■K -^SHB^^ 
 
 i^fe. 
 
 
 
 ■Ky' 
 
 ^^ 
 
 
 ''0 4^^'W,i<'^ 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 ^' lli^H^^^^S^^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 ^ -^>,- ■ 
 
 
 
 . 
 
 PLATE 14-8 
 
 "Piranhurst," Santa Barbara, Cal. Mrs. Henry Bothin 
 
 PLATE 149 
 
 RosSj Cal. Mrs. Henry Bothin 
 
PLATE 151 
 
 " Canon Crest Park 
 
 PLATE 152 
 
 'Canon Crest Park," Redlands, CaL Mrs. Daniel Smiley 
 
PLATE 153 
 
 " Cation Crest Park " 
 
 /''■'.■ . ■'.'■ ■ .''>■-■."■■■':-■■■. ■■ ■■■' 
 
 ■ ii/-^'- - ■■■'-■' :' ■;;■;■ ': "■" 
 
 
 
 ' ^',^^ 'mr-'^'^^^}i^.^^m^^^^^^^M 
 
 
 
 
 r¥ ~'^'^'^v.^^^:iM^^k«^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H 
 
 PLATE 154 
 
 "Canon Crest Park/' Redlands, Cal. Mrs. Daniel Smiley 
 
From a photograph by Brown Brothers 
 
 A Cactus garden, Riverside, Cal. 
 
 Typical growth in California 
 
 PLATE 155 
 
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 Novem- 
 ber 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 clip- 
 ping. Several shrubs, such as the Laurestinus, remain in 
 foliage throughout the entire winter. Usually a few be- 
 lated 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 Wash- 
 ington the climate differs but slightly from that of Port- 
 land, 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 sprin- 
 
 323 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 kling but not to the extent necessary in most portions of 
 the country. Another authority states that in this north- 
 west coast district it is clear 43 per cent of the year be- 
 tween 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 tour-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 Thomewood, rich in flowers and shrubs 
 and splendid garden architecture. Trees and hedges will 
 mther and die, but the "everlasting hills" and the silver 
 waters of American Lake mil 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, 
 
 324 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 vegeta- 
 tion 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 gar- 
 dens in their beginning, both interestingly planned and al- 
 ready 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 consider- 
 able 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. 
 
 325 
 
PLATE 157 
 
 " Thornewood " 
 
 "Thornewood," Tacoma, Wash. Chester Thorne, Esq. 
 
PLATE 159 
 
 Seattle, Wash. Robert Merrill, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 160 
 
 Seattle, Wash. Robert Merrill, Esq. 
 
PLATE 161 
 
 Section of a Rose hedge bordering an avenue in Portland, Ore. 
 
 PLATE I 62 
 
 "Rosecrest," Portland Heights, Portland, Ore. Mrs. F. I. Fuller 
 
PLATE. 163 
 
 A garden in three terraces 
 "Cliff Cottage," Elk Rock, Portland, Ore. Peter Kerr, Esq. 
 
 A rock garden leading to formal garden 
 "High Hatch," Riverwood, Portland, Ore. Thomas Kerr, Esq. 
 
 PLATE 164 
 
XVIII 
 
 ALASKA 
 
 Lasl, 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 modem 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 beauti- 
 ful 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 fulfil- 
 ment 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 
 
 337 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 douTi 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 wher- 
 ever 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 
 
 338 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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 climb- 
 ing 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 dis- 
 tant 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." * 
 
 * From The Alaskan Churchman. ' 
 
 339 
 
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 ad- 
 mits 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 resem- 
 blances as well as in many of our ideals ? The garden in 
 the accompanying illustrations shows a beautiful combina- 
 tion of flowers with picturesque old trees. 
 
 The climate of this favored place is even more de- 
 lightful 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 
 
 340 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA 
 
 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. 
 
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 PLATE 17b 
 
 " Thornewood," Tacoma, Wash. Chester Thorne, Esq.