THE ENGLISH LOVE OF GARDENING

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 309, 24 September 1918, Page 9

THE ENGLISH LOVE OF GARDENING

A NATIONAL ATTRIBUTE

THE GERMAN WAY OF

THINKING

•The art of a people is essentially the expression of national temperament. Even in the matter of whatever- debts thora may have been to other races, in course''of time-the borrowed refinements or" techniques will express the distinctive taste and genius of those who havo . made them their own. This process of adaptation goes on' constantly between .nation and nation,' but "each in some way has arts- peculiarly its Own'. 'The Englishman,' for example, is a lover' of the open air, of the active life, of the countryside, .and of Uaturo in' her more expansive moods of mountain, moor, and sea. The industrialism of the nineteenth century lias been a of all national traditions, and an. artificial phase, which is already giving'way to areassertion of the older.ideals. In two directions at least the English people have always remained faithful to this national characteristic—in tho passion for open-air ■ -sports and in tho cultivation of thepleasure garden. , English horticulture has too much individuality to bo sot down among the borrowed arts. It is true that •'. the Romans! were tho first in the-British Isles to'.cultivato the private garden, .and in tho light of what, has been later ' achieved bv nativo talent it can be imagined that the pleasure grounds of the sumptuous villas of Roman Britain rivalled in- luxury, of colour and design those'"triumphs of the gardener's; pit whioh linei the banks of the Tiber and studded ,the Bay of Naples. That the gardens 'of, Britain v.had'-some- renown may be, gleaned, from; a passage inTacitus, which runs: "The soil and . climateof, Britain. is.'.very, fit for all kinds of fruit trees except vines and olives; and for all. kinds of edible vegetables," But .all these horticultural amenities were swept away by the Saxon' barbarians, who ' scorned '.the ■ refinements of life. Not a traco was left of them, and -only, the, picks of, the archaeologists have produced tho evidence that they ever existed. "Where all. is oMumption, however, it may bo supposed that tho Roman gardens of Britain had few of -the characteristics .which niake the typical English garden unique; they-were-pretty, formal affairs, depending .for Affect more upon artifice than upon, nature. But whatever tliey,may,liave : been;-they did 'not survive to' set a The,.rou'gh, dark- centuries-whioh followed the collapse of the Roman 2mpire made, the struggle' for existence too precarious for men to cultivate the soil except, for daily b'read. The i : rst small beginnings of a revived, interest in* the-garden were essayed :in tho Security of .castle courtyards and behind the walls of monasteries. They served utilitarian purposes. Tho norbs' provided medicinal remedies,-and tho custard apples the cider. It was ;not. until tho strong Tudor sovereigns, brought stability;. ,a-nd pr-' 'dered-govern'ment to-English communal life that.the open gardens became the common;adjunct of tho. stately manor House;and:the yeoman's cottage alike. ■Then the natural ; English genius for floral display for the first time'had uufottered... scope.; ;The' English garden fas it.is.khownto-day'was.cvolviidin all its essential qualities in tho sixteenth 'century." It has been improved and elaborated in;the general progress of cultured tastes, hut tho- fundamental characteristics have changed little. Indeed the tendency of modern times has b'eeri' "r'athef-'-to 'return' to ! tlio older models than to seek now devices. The qualities which give the English garden its peculiar- distinction and make it an unallojed expression of the national-temperament arc .ably explained, by Commander Clayton Cnlthrop in his book on."The Oliarm.of Gardens." .In contrasting tho ideals of tho English arid those of their Roman predecessors as expressed in the art of landscape • gardening, be enys\ "We prepared for ourselves wildernesses, in which the spring shall, paint.her wonderful pioture of anemone", daffodils, crocuses, and such flowers: where "blue bells and primroses, ragged robin, and foxgloves hold us' by their vivid colour. Our scarlet armies.of geranium, our banks, of purple asters, or the flaming panoplies.of roses with which we illuminate our gardens would seem to tho Roman something wonderful and strange. Yet in a sense his taste was more subtle. .Ho held green against green, a bed of herbs, the occasional jewel of a clamp of violets, more to his manner of liking, And he arranged his garden so as to contain as many varieties-of walks as possible;". .'Not Englishman..has..lacked enterprise and adaptability in iiig his horticultural resources.'' Ho may be said to have laid the whole world "under tribute for contributions for his garden. The agents of tho great floral firms have, ransacked the tropins and tho-farthest East'-for new varieties. The Royal Gardens at Kew have spread the. knowledge of every discovered specie. Yet the fact.remains"that the /English'garden, a "."haunt of ancient peace," is a thing apart which cannot quite be imitated ■ elsewhere. The nearest approaoh to it is found where an Englishman 'seeks a new home overseas arid 'strives to reproduce the condition's of'-the beloved Motherland. If he does not quite succeed, it is the. difference of Eoil and climate which mars the' perfect achievement; '_ And tho quality of age may be lacking, for .the perfect English garden- is the product of many years of assiduous care and of the mellowed harmonies of. nature which timo alone can givo.