THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2784, 24 July 1907, Page 77

THE GARDEN BEAUTIFUL.

"The'Gaxden Beautiful: Home Woods, Home Landscape," is tine name of a book to hand from. Mr John Murray, publisher, London. The work is by W. .Robinson, author of '"Ihe Wild Garden," and the price is 10s 6d net. This work, which is likely to arouse some controversy among landscape gardeners and others interested, is intended to be of use in the country house or in any place where there is woodland or land to plant. Its aim is to prove .-hat English trees are the most beautiful for P^ngland, and that its native flowers are as fair as any. The author has much to say in- condemnation of most pleesure grounds to be met with in the Old Country as "peer, sticky" things. The whole system of dotting trees on grass is said to be a wrong one ; the true way to enjoy their beauty and favour their growth being in woodland planting. The harmful talk about styles in garden design and the new and fooTish teaching of the forestry hooks, separating tree culture into two branches — arboriculture and sylviculture, — are denounced. The hard and ugly lines so often 6een about country houses, which often arise from modern ways of fencing and stereotyped plans, ire declared to have nu good reason to be. It must not be supposed that Mr Rwbirson is opposed to flower garcVns. His idea is to save the true flower gardan near the house from being torn up twice a year for spring and summer hedding. The only true test of effect planting or gardening, he maintains, is the picture produoed. and Mr Rfibinson applies as a test: Is the artist fr:;_rhter>c<i aw-iy or is he attracted to a garden fo free from ugly patterns and u^jly colours that, seen in a beautiful light, it. '.vnuM b» worth his while seeing and, perhaps, painting. The author is not i>toaly-mouth:d in describing as hideous many of the gardens j.nd pleasure grounds t ) be found in Enjrlard nrd Scotland, ami is especially severe on the gardens laid out by architects. Having cleared the ground, he prornds to irdioj»te how, in his oT>t!iiin, the <jar^?n can b-> made beautiful. He devotes chapters to flowering shniba and trees and their artistic use, to c'initers, alnine flowers, th°- wild garden, spring flowers, the rose garden, t^e flower garden in t^e various seasons, evergreen trees and coverts, underwoods, forming wo* <!' and rit'c-'. etc.. the hook in all comprising 32 chapters. In conclusion, Mr Rohir.son i-rsiste on the rec-d for finding T'iod En^l'^h Tnnv><* for trees and plants. H* points nut that in Frs.nce and Germany n\\ tho beet work* on £^rd«ninrg a^d woodland prire the native name of each tree or plan* . which dro* not prpoliu'e the use of t'«e Latin wim." in its richt pk<v«. ftrod Er>:lrsh nan-.es. h-e writes, often tell a <rreat den] to simple people, ps. for p-s-imyTp. Q erv ; an .spruce a.nd Lrb'-'T'on r=d"r, which at np^« cirvev their me'inins;. H< ronfp'-d^. f»r f }-T, t'b-nt there are minil:<"li»i« fa's? T-itiT Ti?m-p in iif<>. Thon there '« th* pmlWp multiplication of varieties with ruvnhrmiis Latin naiws jin owtrase.ins praTnuln. according to Mr Robinson, being th" T^nv lv=* of oonifors, pa-sres of which are (riven to r!»e-i 1 ii n <r with rariecrat^id (i.e.. disc' 1 6"xl^ ard deformed sports which are irv-" cranVn forms, an-d valwIpf.s as trees. There i« no <fcmbt tKat. de-snit-p his rather too fremvent use of d-emm-riat-orv terms in Teswt fo matters that he do#s not approve of, MV Robinson's work i<! a most valuable one. pt! will be apprpriated by all who wovld like the r«vlvan beauties of the Old CVimtrv maintained ?»nd preserved. AUhoiiorh his remarks are r-ot dirpctlv n.pn.lK-«bl? to this rsnrl of t^e world th» l(*s- r "'s V' n swVs to inculcate certainly are. Much more could be done

than has been .thr case in. the past by country settlers in making the surroundings of their homes beautiful. Plantations for shelter have been found to be invaluable, and on many a country farm gullies that are now useless could be transformed into' beauty spots in the course of a few yeans by the expenditure of a few shillings and spare time in planting trees and shrubs.