BRITAIN’S FLOWER GARDEN.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 24 January 1925, Page 16

BRITAIN’S FLOWER GARDEN.

ENCHANTING SCILLY ISLES. ■ Where will one find flowers growing m sucii quantities as in those isles which lie in tne wild Atlantic some 25 miles south from Land’s End? (asks a writer in the Melbourne Age). In the Scilly Isles enchantment lingers; and an industry ot the moist peaceful kind is carried on by men and women, who find the richness of life in paths that the etiy industrial worker knows not. Perhaps those fisherfolk, who cultivate flowers, have won back tranquility of soul which was lost in the Garden of Lden. In the degend of man’s fall the spiritual disaster is symbolised by Ins exclusion from a garden, and so “the moral tragedy of modem industrialism is only the repetition of that ancient 'fable.” We may visualise the Scilly isles, clothed in flowers, decorated in magic colours, more wondrous than an Oriental carpet. Over those isles acres upon acres of flowers are cultivated for tn© markets of* the chief cities of England and Scotland; and by means of the flower industry Scilly has been saved from starvation and decay. The- climatic conditions of the Scilly Isles are ideal for growing a great variety of flowers. For soil, these fine rocky islets are covered with a thin layer of disintegrated granite, which is excellent for flower cultivation. From Christmas to May the flower industry is at its height, and a regular sapplv of 100 tons of blooms per week is sent to the mainland. During the season of 1922-1923 is is estimated that 1200 tons of flowers were transhipped from Scilly. it is only during recent years that flower farming has assumed such importance iScilly. Necessity drove the fishinig population to cultivate flowers as a supplementary living. Modern inventions had killed the shipbuilding industry of the isles, and the fishermen found it expedient to add to their pecuniary store when' their roving sea’ life was over. For generations the common white narcissi had bloomed in riotous profusion in the Scilly Isles —had bloomed and faded, without special notice being taken of its commercial possibilities. On one occasion a small supply was forwarded to Covent Garden, for which a good price was paid, and from that time the steady cultivation of nar c'ssi blooms began in Scilly. Although the cultivation of narcissi blooms is the most ''popular among seafaring folk, yet many other kinds of flowers are grown or profit. Some tao hundred or more varieties of flowers are grown by the islanders, fe. arum lilies being among the chief. These lilies are largely in demand for ohui-cli festivals in England, and yield very profitable results. Each lily has to- be carefully packed in cotton-wool and handled 'with the utmost care. The flower transportation begins each yea." about Christmas, according to voaiher conditions. Then every soul s engaged in picking, packing, and shinning the blooms. Women are the chief nickers, and have to use great discretion as to the most suitable blooms for commercial purposes. The opening V ds\ are usually selected. These are arranged in bunches, and treated in ■pccial ways for preservation during the ourney to the mainland. ■ j' The" Scil’cnian fisherman is sure of his market, for his flowers bloom usally before those of the Channel Isles, and. so he gets first into the big city markets. His has been an ncreasing industry, year by year, during the past forty years, until last -.ear the profits from the flower firms .mounted to. many thousands of pounds. On Christmas Day, 1923, a quarter of a million bulbs were sent from Tresco, oiie of the main Scilly Isles, for shipment to France, where they were planted on the graves o.f the soldiers. This Christmas we may in fancy picture ithe.se golden emblems from the magic isles beautifying the resting places of the fighting men in such a way as only flowers can. To visit the Scilly Isles when the flowers are in full bloom is to witness an unforgettable sight, to experience indescribable emotiohs. Innumerable flowers of all shapes and hues cover the land from the crest of each hill down to where the ocean laps the. sand dunes. Here one is aloof from the wor’d of hurrv and machinery. No distracting, sound disturbs the perfect peace of Nature’s harvest. All the magic of time seems to dwell in these isles of flowering beauty.