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BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
IN AMERICA
BOOKS BY LOUISE SHELTON
PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
* * * * *
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS IN AMERICA. Illustrated. 4to _net_ $5.00
CONTINUOUS BLOOM IN AMERICA. Illustrated. 4to _net_ $2.00
THE SEASONS IN A FLOWER GARDEN. Illustrated. 12mo _net_ $1.00
[Illustration: PLATE I
"Mariemont," Newport, R. I. Mrs. Thomas J. Emory
_After an autochrome photograph by Miss Johnston--Mrs. Hewitt_]
BEAUTIFUL GARDENS
IN AMERICA
BY
LOUISE SHELTON
[Illustration]
SECOND EDITION
NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1916
COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
DEDICATED TO THE PRAISE OF THOSE AMERICAN
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 my 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
CHAPTER
I. THE GARDEN AND ITS MEANING 1
II. CLIMATE IN AMERICA 8
III. NEW ENGLAND 13
MAINE 14
NEW HAMPSHIRE AND VERMONT 27
MASSACHUSETTS 37
RHODE ISLAND 79
CONNECTICUT 89
IV. NEW YORK 99
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK 127
V. NEW JERSEY 155
VI. PENNSYLVANIA 187
VII. MARYLAND 205
VIII. VIRGINIA 219
IX. SOUTH CAROLINA 235
X. GEORGIA AND FLORIDA 247
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 337
XIX. VANCOUVER ISLAND 340
A FEW GARDEN GATES 347
ILLUSTRATIONS
COLOR-PLATES
PLATE
I "MARIEMONT," NEWPORT, R. I. _Frontispiece_
II }
III } "FAIRLAWN," LENOX, MASS. _Facing page_ 42
IV THE AUTHOR'S CHILDHOOD GARDEN 106
V SOUTHAMPTON, L. I. 130
VI "GLEN ALPINE," MORRISTOWN, N. J. 160
VII }
VIII } ROLAND PARK, BALTIMORE, MD. 210
_Plates I, V, VII, and VIII were reproduced from photographs colored by
Mrs. Herbert A. Raynes, the basis of which were autochrome photographs._
HALF-TONE PLATES
PLATE
1 "KENARDEN LODGE," BAR HARBOR, MAINE
2 "BLAIR EYRIE," BAR HARBOR, MAINE
3 }
4 } "HAMILTON HOUSE," SOUTH BERWICK, MAINE
5 }
6 }
7 }
8 } CORNISH, N. H.
9 }
10 }
11 OLD BENNINGTON, VT.
12 }
13 } "WELD," BROOKLINE, MASS.
14 }
15 WELLESLEY, MASS.
16 "HOLM LEA," BROOKLINE, MASS.
17 }
18 } "FAIRLAWN," LENOX, MASS.
19 }
20 }
21 } "BELLEFONTAINE," LENOX, MASS.
22 }
23 "OVERLOCH," WENHAM, MASS.
24 "FERNBROOKE," LENOX, MASS.
25 "CHESTERWOOD," GLENDALE, MASS.
26 }
27 } "RIVERSIDE FARM," TYRINGHAM, MASS.
28 }
29 "NAUM KEAG," STOCKBRIDGE, MASS.
30 "BROOKSIDE," GREAT BARRINGTON, MASS.
31 "ROCK MAPLE FARM," HAMILTON, MASS.
32 BROOKLINE, MASS.
33 LONGFELLOW'S GARDEN, CAMBRIDGE, MASS.
34 OLD WITCH HOUSE, SALEM, MASS.
35 "MARIEMONT," 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.
41 POMFRET CENTRE, CONN.
42 "BRANFORD HOUSE," GROTON, CONN.
43 POMFRET CENTRE, CONN.
44 } AUBURN, N. Y.
45 }
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.
50 }
51 } "WODENETHE," BEACON-ON-HUDSON, N. Y.
52 }
53 } THE AUTHOR'S CHILDHOOD GARDEN, NEWBURGH-ON-HUDSON, N. Y.
54 "ECHO LAWN," NEWBURGH-ON-HUDSON, N. Y.
55 }
56 } "MEADOWBURN," WARWICK, N. Y.
57 "RIDGELAND FARM," BEDFORD, N. Y.
58 SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.
59 }
60 }
61 } "THE ORCHARD," SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.
62 }
63 }
64 } "THE APPLETREES," SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.
65 SOUTHAMPTON, L. I.
66 }
67 }
68 } EAST HAMPTON, L. I.
69 }
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. J.
80 }
81 "BROOKLAWN," SHORT HILLS, N. J.
82 }
83 } "DRUMTHWACKET," PRINCETON, N. J.
84 }
85 "ONUNDA," MADISON, N. J.
86 "GLEN ALPINE," MORRISTOWN, N. J.
87 "THORNTON," RUMSON, N. J.
88 HIGHLAND, N. J.
89 "ALLGATES," HAVERFORD, PA.
90 } ANDALUSIA, PA.
91 }
92 "EDGECOMBE," CHESTNUT HILL, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
93 "KRISHEIM," CHESTNUT HILL, PHILADELPHIA, PA.
94 }
95 } "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.
101 "CYLBURN HOUSE," CYLBURN, BALTIMORE CO., MD.
102 "INGLESIDE," CATONSVILLE, MD.
103 "THE BLIND," HAVRE DE GRACE, MD.
104 }
105 } MONTPELIER, VA.
106 }
107 }
108 } "ROSE HILL," GREENWOOD, VA.
109 }
110 "MEADOWBROOK MANOR," DREWRY'S BLUFF, VA.
111 RICHMOND, VA.
112 } "MAGNOLIA GARDEN," CHARLESTON, S. C.
113 }
114 }
115 } "PRESTON GARDEN," COLUMBIA, S. C.
116 }
117 }
118 } "GREEN COURT," AUGUSTA, GA.
119 }
120 TROPICAL GROWTH, PALM BEACH, FLA.
121 "ROSTREVOR," KNOXVILLE, TENN.
122 LONGVIEW, TENN.
123 "HAZELWOOD," KINLOCH, MO.
124 LAKE FOREST, ILL.
125 "HARDIN HALL," HUBBARD'S WOOD, ILL.
126 } "THE FARMS," MONTICELLO, ILL.
127 }
128 } THE ROCK GARDEN, "ENGLISHTON PARK," LEXINGTON, IND.
129 }
130 "GWINN," CLEVELAND, OHIO
131 }
132 } CLIFTON, CINCINNATI, OHIO
133 }
134 "SHADYSIDE," PAINESVILLE, OHIO
135 }
136 } "INDIAN HILL," MENTOR, OHIO
137 "ORCHARD HOUSE," ALMA, MICH.
138 "GARRA-TIGH," BAY CITY, MICH.
139 "FAIRLAWN," GROSSE POINTS SHORES, MICH.
140 } "HOUSE-IN-THE-WOODS," LAKE GENEVA, WIS.
141 }
142 LAS CRUCES, N. M.
143 } "KIMBERLY CREST," REDLANDS, CAL.
144 }
145 "GLENDESSARY," SANTA BARBARA, CAL.
146 }
147 } "PIRANHURST," SANTA BARBARA, CAL.
148 }
149 ROSS, CAL.
150 PASADENA, CAL.
151 }
152 }
153 } "CANON CREST PARK," REDLANDS, CAL.
154 }
155 TYPICAL GROWTH IN CALIFORNIA
156 }
157 } "THORNEWOOD," TACOMA, WASH.
158 }
159 }
160 } SEATTLE, WASH.
161 SECTION OF A ROSE HEDGE BORDERING AN AVENUE IN PORTLAND, ORE.
162 "ROSECREST," PORTLAND HEIGHTS, PORTLAND, ORE.
163 "CLIFF COTTAGE," ELK ROCK, PORTLAND, ORE.
164 "HIGH HATCH," RIVERWOOD, PORTLAND, ORE.
165 }
166 } VICTORIA CITY, VANCOUVER ISLAND, B. C.
167 LONGVIEW, TENN.
168 "KNOCK-MAE-CREE," WESTPORT, CONN.
169 }
170 } "HAMILTON HOUSE," SOUTH BERWICK, MAINE
171 }
172 } "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.
"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 running
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 imitations of lovely French, English, and
Italian formalism 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 American'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 attractive 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 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.
MORRISTOWN, N. J.,
October 28, 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.
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 overlook 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
absorbing occupation, we fail to give a full share of ourselves 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 revealed in the garden world.
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 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 harmony 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 beautiful 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 Architect 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
defaced by man's heedlessness.
Dating back their beginning some two hundred years in 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
planning 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 Philadelphia, along the Hudson River, and
in parts of Massachusetts, 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 generations. 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 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 individuality 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, stiff planting of
Canna, Coleus, and Salvia. Few of us can 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 rainbow, 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 with a setting of fine trees grouped upon the
outskirts, otherwise it will seem as incomplete 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 gardens, 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 English
gardens that could hardly be surpassed. Time, doubtless, will add this
dignity to our gardens, but can we not feel that we have already
equalled some of the smaller 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
successively 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 attained 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 influence 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 torrential 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 moisture 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, moisture, 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 nevertheless 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 flat 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 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 prolonged 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 gardening in the South except in spring, or in
high altitudes, is generally discouraged.
Although not stated as an indisputable fact, scientifically, we are
inclined to believe 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 benefit 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 gardens are
conspicuously absent. The flower season generally 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 reaching the
Coast or Cascade Range there is a change and the climate becomes more
like 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 connection 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-Vitae, Hemlock, and Spruce
are probably the most reliable evergreens. Arbor-Vitae is unlikely to
live longer than seventy years.
Although all of our States are not represented in this 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 immediately adjoining. The only section of the Union omitted
is that part through which run 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.
III
NEW ENGLAND
With dreams of the English gardens ever before them, our Pilgrim fathers
and mothers brought flower and vegetable seeds to the new land, and the
earliest entries in old Plymouth records contain mention of "garden
plotes."[1] 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 ancestors 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 Englander 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 section. On
the coast particularly flowers grow most luxuriantly, 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 windbreaks, 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.
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 destroys 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 prolonged.
There are beautiful gardens at Bar Harbor, on the estates 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 gardens 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 Snapdragon,
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 features beyond the limits of this
restricted view. Peacefully 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 annuals. 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 accord with an ideal environment; but pictures
cannot do 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 with most artistic pergolas, from one side of
which the view down the Piscataqua River is a picturesque 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.
[Illustration: PLATE 1
"Kenarden Lodge," Mrs. John S. Kennedy, Bar Harbor, Maine]
[Illustration: PLATE 2
"Blair Eyrie," Bar Harbor, Maine
Garden of the late D. C. Blair, Esq.]
[Illustration: PLATE 3
"Hamilton House," South Berwick, Maine. Mrs. George S. Tyson]
[Illustration: PLATE 4
End of pergola]
[Illustration: PLATE 5
Garden looking east
"Hamilton House," South Berwick, Maine. Mrs. George S. Tyson]
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 altitude, 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 climates, where drought and pests are more
prevalent.
Possibly the most famous of Cornish gardens is that of Charles A. Platt,
Esq., whose beautiful gardens in several States are numerous and noted.
His own hillside place is a labyrinth of flowers, admirably suiting the
environment, spacious and dignified in its rich simplicity.
Perfectly in accord also with the atmosphere of this mountain country is
the lovely garden of Stephen Parrish, Esq., delightfully unique and
suggesting a little English garden. This enclosure of flowers is but a
section of a broader plan where pool, grass, and trees are pleasant
factors.
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, with its still greater area of uplands, are
probably those in and around Manchester and Bennington. They are usually
of the simplest character, 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 argument 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.
[Illustration: PLATE 6
Cornish, N. H. Charles A. Platt, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 7
Cornish, N. H. Charles A. Platt, Esq.]
[Illustration: PLATE 8
Cornish, N. H. Mrs. George Rublee
_From photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 9
Cornish, N. H. Stephen Parrish, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 10
Cornish, N. H. Mrs. William H. Hyde
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: 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 especially 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 period. In the latitude of Boston
the season starts two weeks later than near New York City, and the
gardens, beginning 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; Hollyhocks 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 sometimes 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 examples in photography can be given, although
each view but hints at the fuller beauty to be found in the garden
itself.
Of the many wonderful gardens in Massachusetts possibly the most
remarkable of all is Weld, in Brookline, which is known to gardeners far
and wide. There is nothing 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 type 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 winding
grass paths leading from one lovely 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. Because of its frequent appearance in
various magazines of the country it is too well known to need further
description.
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 Bellefontaine 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.
At Fernbrooke is found the garden of an artist and sculptor, a study in
color and in garden design most artistically planned, but rambling
enough to prevent a connected view in photography. Golden Italian gourds
pendent from the pergolas; standard currant bushes bordering a path and
covered with red berries as late as September; dwarf fruit trees too,
used decoratively, 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 beauty of the environment.
Sunshine mingling with the shadows of the spreading trees plays its part
by giving life and color in changeful tones to the old stone seat and
fountain. The vine-covered arch frames a view of the flower-bordered
path which fades away into a woodland, and these with other sights
gladsome to lovers of such art have given Chesterwood its place in the
ranks of beautiful gardens.
At Riverside Farm, overhanging the beautiful Tyringham Valley, and
possessing possibly the most wonderful of all Berkshire views, is the
dainty garden shown in the accompanying illustrations. It is the work of
an artist, and truly a place of delight. The garden nestles to the
hillside, enclosed in a low stone wall. On one side the sloping hill
down which winding rough stone steps descend to the garden; on another
side a rustic pergola and pool; the third side a line of old apple trees
overhanging the wall; the fourth side contains the simple entrance, and
beyond the boundaries on all three sides--the wonderful 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 background, 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 little places
filled with shadows and sunshine, some flowers, and the good scent of
Box, which latter always seems so especially essential to old gardens.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Quoted from "Old Time Gardens," by Alice Morse Earle.
[Illustration: PLATE II
"Fairlawn"]
[Illustration: PLATE III
"Fairlawn," Lenox, Mass. Miss Kneeland
_From autochrome photographs_]
[Illustration: PLATE 12
"Weld," Brookline, Mass. Mrs. Larz Anderson
_From a photograph by The J. Horace McFarland Co._]
[Illustration: PLATE 13
"Weld," Brookline, Mass. Mrs. Larz Anderson
_From a photograph by Thomas Marr and Son_]
[Illustration: PLATE 14
"Weld," Brookline, Mass. Mrs. Larz Anderson
_From a photograph by Thomas Marr and Son_]
[Illustration: PLATE 15
Wellesley, Mass. H. H. Hunnewell, Esq.
_From a photograph by Wurts Bros._]
[Illustration: PLATE 16
"Holm Lea," Brookline, Mass. Professor C. S. Sargent
_From a photograph by The J. Horace McFarland Co._]
[Illustration: PLATE 17
"Fairlawn," Lenox, Mass. Miss Kneeland
_From a photograph by William Radford_]
[Illustration: PLATE 18]
[Illustration: PLATE 19
"Fairlawn," Lenox, Mass. Miss Kneeland
_From photographs by William Radford_]
[Illustration: PLATE 20
"Bellefontaine," Lenox, Mass. Giraud Foster, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 21
"Bellefontaine," Lenox, Mass. Giraud Foster, Esq.
_From a photograph, copyright, by the Detroit Publishing Co._]
[Illustration: PLATE 22
"Bellefontaine," Lenox, Mass. Giraud Foster, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 23
"Overloch," Wenham, Mass. J. A. Burnham, Esq.
_From a photograph by Miss M. H. Northend_]
[Illustration: PLATE 24
"Fernbrooke," Lenox, Mass. Thomas Shields Clark, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 25
"Chesterwood," Glendale, Mass. Daniel Chester French, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 26
"Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. Mrs. Banyer Clarkson]
[Illustration: PLATE 27
"Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. Mrs. Banyer Clarkson
_From photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 28
"Riverside Farm," Tyringham, Mass. Mrs. Banyer Clarkson
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 29
"Naum Keag," Stockbridge, Mass. Joseph H. Choate, Esq.
_From a photograph by Jessie Tarbox Beals_]
[Illustration: PLATE 30
"Brookside," Great Barrington, Mass. Mrs. H. Hall Walker
_From a photograph lent by Ferruccio Vitali_]
[Illustration: PLATE 31
"Rock Maple Farm," Hamilton, Mass. George von L. Meyer, Esq.
_From a photograph by Miss M. H. Northend_]
[Illustration: PLATE 32
Brookline, Mass. Doctor Stephen Weld
_From a photograph by The J. Horace McFarland Co._]
[Illustration: PLATE 33
Longfellow's Garden, Cambridge, Mass.
_From a photograph by The J. Horace McFarland Co._]
[Illustration: PLATE 34
Old Witch House, Salem, Mass.
_From a photograph by G. A. Spence_]
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 congenial environment.
The quality of the climate as it affects 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 Providence, 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 Mariemont, a poetical spot,
overflowing with color and sunshine, 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 border and distant vista is the central division of
a charming plan.[2]
Few estates in America are as imposing and as suggestive of the grandeur
of an Italian or English country-seat as The Elms, and it is probably
among the oldest of Newport's famous places. The illustration is limited
to a narrow view of this great, green formal garden in some sections of
which flowers are included in rich profusion.
Probably no place at Newport is more noted for its beauty than Vernon
Court, and, while necessity forces the omission of pictures showing many
of its most elaborate features, a view of the stately formal garden is a
welcome addition to this collection which aims to present a variety in
types of planting in a few large formal gardens, as well as in those
which are smaller and more personal. Vernon Court is not a new garden;
it is unspoiled by garish accessories, and to the lover of the garden
majestic it represents a perfect type.