THE FLOWER GARDEN.
The results of the effort to produce a kitchen garden out of the raw
material of virgin sod was discussed in the last chapter. When it was
well under way, and after Weeville had, in his authoritative manner,
taken it off my hands, I turned my attention to the flower garden. Of
this I determined to take entire charge. I had not studied Bridgeman for
weeks, nor peered into seedsmen’s windows, and examined the
peculiarities of all the plants that fell in my way, for nothing.
Weeville might superintend the coarse vegetables if he pleased, but the
delicate and elegant parterre of flowers that already existed in my
mind’s eye was to be my credit and responsibility alone.
It was some time before I could induce the masons to remove the platform
for mortar that they had, with instinctive stupidity, placed in the
centre of what was to be my principal bed; but I got them off at last,
although they grumbled somewhat at being compelled to carry their loads
a considerably longer distance. I had already marked out the general
plan on paper with that skill which has been occasionally referred to;
the main idea was taken from a Chinese puzzle, and had no equal in the
most complicated productions of the ablest masters of landscape
gardening, ancient or modern.
It is well known that, according to the highest standard of the art, the
great point in laying out a garden is to avoid the monotony of tame
regularity; and in that line little more could be done. There were beds
shaped like stars and ellipses, worms and circles, triangles and
octagons; some were round on one side and flat on the other; some had
big heads and little tails, and others diminished to nothing at each
end; there were sinuosities and projections, sharp points and easy
curves, imitation bays and promontories; large beds suddenly contracted,
narrow ones expanded; what promised to be a long stretch was broken off
unexpectedly, and there certainly was no danger of monotony. Amid these
wound the paths in the most admired irregularity, never leading where
one would naturally expect, and giving the mind a vivid impression of
the labyrinth.
The arrangement of the beds on paper was not difficult, but to trace
them on the natural sod was another matter. This could not be intrusted
to a common workman; one, to whom the plan was shown, insisted upon
mistaking the walks for beds, and even proposed some alterations, which
he called improvements. Somehow, I never was very good at the practical
part of a design. Moreover, the weather had been dry, for this point had
been reached toward the close of one of the rainless terms that
alternated with the floods of this particular season. The ground was
hard, the sun was hot, and my experience with a shovel--spade my man
called it--had been limited; but the difficulty had to be overcome,
regardless of previous habits, and, grasping the shovel bravely, I set
to work at once.
The centre bed was a circle, and, by driving a stake in the ground, and
attaching to it a string, there was no difficulty in making a faint
impression of the outline on the grass. This outline I deepened into a
shallow furrow with my spade, although my arms and back ached, and my
clothes were damp with perspiration before I had finished. The next
figure, which was a star, was not so easy; and when it came to the
worms, and the bays, and promontories, there bid fair to be far too
little monotony. In fact, the figures would not take the shapes they
assumed on paper, and the more they were worked at the worse they grew.
If they were narrowed, they became immediately too long; if they were
lengthened, they had to be widened; if one part was taken off, another
portion immediately bulged out; bays were either too deep or too
shallow, promontories either stretched entirely across the adjoining
walk or disappeared utterly. The walks were continually being squeezed
into a strait that would not by any possibility admit the passage of
modern crinoline, or spread out into a sort of desert waste. The truth
is, such vulgar trivialities as are implied in practical performance are
not suited to the intellectual mind. After working the plan several
weeks, nearly killing myself, and sadly confusing the man I had hired
for this express matter, I concluded to let him finish it alone. It is a
matter of pride, however, that, in spite of some sad blunders through
his ignorance, it still bears palpable traces of the original design,
and entirely avoids the fatal fault of monotony.
While the man was completing the physical part, there was an excellent
opportunity to select the best flowers that were to be procured. The
study of botany is not a branch of the legal profession, nor even
included in the limits of a classical education; but, fortunately,
there is no necessity for knowing scientifically why the rose is red and
the lily white provided one has the innate appreciation to enjoy the
beauty of each. Perhaps it is desirable to be able to distinguish the
plants when not in flower, but that is not absolutely necessary provided
“Bridgeman” is always at hand.
The amount of information in this work is as inexhaustible as it is
surprising. Under the author’s manipulation, plants assume a fresh
nature and exhibit new attractions; the most vulgar flower comes back
decked in an aristocratic dress, and endowed with a name that is
absolutely imposing. The common hollyhock--that vulgar, base, staring,
and offensive flower--is suddenly converted into the delicate and
refined althea; the larkspur becomes a delphinium; the old-fashioned
Johnny-jump-up, a viola grandiflora; the commonplace poppy, a papaver;
and the gaudy sunflower is transformed into the magnificent helianthus.
The human mind is hardly prepared to accept gomphrenas for batchelors’
buttons, and revolts from the association of the suggestive mirabilis
with the commonplace four o’clocks. The kingdom of flowers, as it is
usually called, becomes a model republic; the low and ignorant are
elevated; the humble dweller in the hedge-row is raised to a place
beside the tender production of the green-house; and the refined habitué
of the ballroom is found to be twin sister to the wild inhabitant of the
open field or native forest.
After some thought and careful consultation with the price-lists of all
the seed-stores in the city, lest the utmost advantage should not be
taken of the market, a list including the following principal varieties
was selected: roses, pinks, carnations, lilies, fleur-de-lys, jasmines,
peonies, verbenas, daisies, fuchsias, heliotropes, tulips, dahlias,
crocuses, tube-roses, forget-me-nots, jonquils, wall-flowers,
gillyflowers, mignonnette, fox-gloves, and china-asters. There were many
others, but this selection is sufficient to show that the garden was to
be well stocked. It is to be regretted that midsummer is not the most
appropriate time to plant flowers, and that many of them require to be
set out in earliest spring, or even the year before they are expected to
blossom. Drought is especially unfavorable to the sowing of seeds or
transplanting of roots, and the drought that had already begun to
distinguish this midsummer positively forbade immediate action.
It is my impression that in early youth I remember reading of an ancient
Roman who, having lost a valuable ring overboard at sea, subsequently
caught the fish that had swallowed the ring. On recovering his
property, he raised his eyes toward heaven, wondering what terrible
calamity the gods had in store for him to equalize such good fortune. If
there is no such story there ought to be, for nature is certainly made
up of compensations. If a woman is rich she is rarely handsome; if a man
is handsome he is not apt to be wise; if we are extremely fortunate we
may expect a reverse; one misfortune wards off another; if we lose a leg
in battle we are likely to save our head; the old motto says, “Lucky in
love, unlucky in play;” and if it rains in spring, it is apt to be dry
weather in summer. It had rained all through the spring as though the
flood-gates of heaven never were to be closed, but when they were
finally shut down they fitted so well that scarcely a drop trickled
through the cracks. May was a deluge; July was a drought. All
authorities coincide in holding that seeds must be planted before or
immediately after a rain, but they give no directions how to produce a
rain if it does not come naturally. It was in vain that I waited for
even a shower--in vain that I scanned the sky at sunrise or sunset,
watched the wind, or consulted the weather-wise. Clouds ceased to be the
harbingers of rain; a threatening sunset only insured a cloudless
morrow; an easterly wind was positive evidence of clear weather, and
the sky was as blue as my feelings.
The time for planting one species after another of seed or root passed
by. July came and went, August arrived and was slipping by, the list of
seeds was fearfully reduced, when at last clouds covered the sky and
rain began to fall. It is unnecessary to say that all such seeds as
might by any possibility germinate so late in the season were, in spite
of the pattering drops, planted ere the storm had fairly begun.
Bridgeman’s instructions had been learned by heart, and each kind was
set out in a circle, while a stick with the empty bag, marked with the
name, was stuck up in the centre. The trough in which they were planted
was dug about two inches deep, and filled with manure, to insure
vigorous growth. Two inches is deeper than was authorized, but it seemed
desirable that the plants should take a deep root. Hardly were the seeds
planted ere the rain stopped, the clouds broke, and the sun came out
hotter than ever. For three weeks that sun never ceased to blaze except
when it went to bed--for three weeks not another cloud appeared or drop
of rain fell.
Tending a garden is a pleasant occupation, but when the only thing to be
done is to water, every morning and evening, a spot of bare earth where
seeds are supposed to be, it is monotonous. Some puppies that were kept
by a neighbor, and which were forever trampling over my premises, chewed
up and pulled out the sticks, and the location of the future plants
became somewhat indefinite; and when Weeville asked me one day how my
garden was getting on, I answered evasively,
“Finely, so far as I can see.”
My conscience permitted me to presume all was going on right
underground, although nothing had yet come to the surface. Not
satisfied, however, he wanted to know exactly how I had set out the
seeds; and when he was told they were planted two inches deep in a rich
bed of manure, he burst forth,
“Why, you must have burnt them all up; plants want earth as much as
manure. And if you buried them two inches deep, you dug their grave; not
one will ever come up.”
This coarse confidence on Weeville’s part was not pleasant. I knew
plants--thistles especially--would grow in manure, for my beds were full
of them, and they appeared to do best when covered over and surrounded
with the strongest lumps; but my mind had troubled me a little about the
depth at which the seeds were planted; so, when he was gone, I took the
first good opportunity to rake off about two inches of the earth.
It rained at last; vegetation started in every direction except where I
supposed my seeds were; weeds spread over the beds, came up in the
walks, and exhibited great luxuriance. I watched my garden anxiously,
visiting it early and late; dreadful were my doubts and fears; but at
last a circle of beautiful delicate green began to show itself, not
exactly in the place I expected, but not far off. My delight was
unbounded. I watched that circle like a mother would watch a sick child.
I hung over it and tended it with most assiduous care. If the sun shone
two days in succession, I watered it; if it rained too hard, I sheltered
it. My triumph over Weeville was to be complete; it is true that only
one out of the numerous varieties that were planted had appeared, but it
would not be necessary to refer to the others.
That green circle grew slowly. The tiny leaves, in spite of the great
care bestowed upon them, seemed to be feeble; their thin, pale stalks
were hardly able to support their weight; the slightest rain threatened
to wash them away, and a few hours of sunlight to scorch them up. I
nursed them carefully through their infantile diseases; and when they
were fairly past danger and presented a circle of unbroken green, I
invited Weeville out to inspect my garden.
“Bare enough,” he said sarcastically, as he passed down the main path;
“plenty of walks and weeds, but no flowers this year.”
“Wait till you see,” was my triumphant answer.
“I can see pretty well now,” he replied; “there is certainly nothing to
obstruct the view. I have a fine prospect of muddy walks and
absurdly-shaped beds. You will learn to be practical before you are
through. Another year or two will take the city nonsense out of you, and
teach you some valuable lessons.”
He was going on with his egotistical homilies, when I stopped him in
front of my infant plants.
“Look at that!” I said, exultingly, grasping his arm and facing him
toward the bed.
“Look at what?” he repeated, staring stupidly about.
“At those plants. Are they not promising? I intend to separate and
transplant them: there will be abundance to stock half my garden. Rather
better than raising egg-plants, eh? We city boys know a few things,
after all. What do you think of those little beauties?”
“What on earth--or, more properly speaking, in the earth--are you
talking about? I don’t see any plants, or beauties either.”
“Not see any plants!” I replied, laughing at his ignorance. “Perhaps you
can not tell plants when you do see them: you must study Bridgeman.
These, sir, are the beautiful columbine _aquilegia formosa_, the most
lovely ornaments of the refined and elegant parterre.”
I did not know what they were, as the stick was gone; but this was the
only name I could recall at the moment.
“May I ask,” he replied, solemnly, “whether you are joking or crazy? If
the former, it is too damp here to make it worth while to continue the
entertainment; if the latter, the lunatic asylum is close by. What is it
you are talking about?”
“Why, those _aquilegia formosas_, that beautiful circlet of exquisite
green that I planted a month ago, and which assiduous care has finally
brought to its present vigorous condition,” I rejoined, smiling proudly,
although my mind somewhat misgave me as to the vigorous health; “that
fertile hot-bed of fragrant beauty, that will furnish the groundwork,
with skillful increase, for my entire garden.”
“What!” he demanded, in a surprised tone; “is that what you are talking
of?”
“Yes,” I replied, a little confused, but confident still.
“That your beautiful circlet of exquisite green which is to fecundate
your entire garden!” At this point he commenced laughing, and, between
shouts of merriment and the half-intelligible repetition of “exquisite
green,” it was ten minutes before he became comprehensible. “Why, that
circlet of exquisite green--” here he burst out again till he nearly
choked--“exquisite green is nothing but a lot of wild carrots, that you
have watered till you have washed all the life out of them.”
Alas! this turned out to be true. What became of my seeds I never
discovered; whether they were drowned out, or burnt up, or raked away,
is hard to tell; certain it is that they have not come up to the present
time. But the greatest mystery is, why should wild carrots grow in a
circle merely to arouse hopes that were to be blasted?