Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-04-25


man, to whom l have been indebted for
information on various subjects, tells me
that there is growing and in bloom at his
home this moment Lamarque rose vine
eighty feet long. The stem is eight
inches through in the thickest part. 1t
was planted seventeen or eighteen years
ago. 1t is twined around veranda, and
its gorgeous clusters of cream-tlnted
roses are splendid to behold
At New Orleans the Marechal Mel
roses cause the NortheIner to stare in
speeches. wonder. l saw one of the
plants that must have been fifty feet
long. l have seen vines of the same rose
that belong in the North, but they were
scraggy and lean looking. and in the
florists greenhouses At New Orleans
they run wild revel, like midsummer
nights dream. The blossoms grow in
gorgeous clusters of half dozen or
more, and the flowers are so large that
they would more than cover the top of a
large sized coffee cup. A single one of
the pale gold beauties will fill a room
with perfume. They are as plenty down
here IS "white top" in a Northern
meadow And they sell for one dollar
bud up North
In some of the private citizens yards
in New Orleans, there are as many as a
hundred different kinds of roses all in
bloom at once. They do not require
protection from cold at any time, either
They all stand out doors in TIE open
ground, and many varieties bloom more
or less all the winter through. The rose
is a favorite flower in New Orleans. At
the Jockey Club races we saw dozens of
handsomely dressed ladies with exquisite
punches of rosebuds at their belts and
elsewhere in their dresses the sweet,
lovely flower that nature made, none of
your abOminable artificial things.
The rose the French inhabitants of
New Orleans are fondest of for decora-
ton is called the "Gold of Ophir."
Northern florists have it, but it is not
common. The bud is especially priced
for its beauty 1t is smallish rose, of a
very pale pink, shading off toward the
heart in a deep, rich gold color. Faint
streaks of crimson touch the outer petals.
1t is one of the loveliest roses ever saw.
Another favorite here is the Madame
Duprez, the purest white rose known.
1t almost gllstens with whiteness, like a
a
tiers. Speaking of lilies reminds me to
say that the fragrant common while lily
(lil51n cGndiduD1) is now in the glory of
full bloom IN the South. New Orleans
people frequently border the walks about
their grounds with it. The flowers CLEAN
like long rows of shining white stars
There seems to be plenty of room in
New Orleans The houses are mostly
twO-stOry, with verandas and wide yards
full Of flowers. Everywhere there are
trees and flowers, and New Orleans needs
no identifying beyond these. No
architectural decorations improve on
them. A large part Of the trees are ever
green. The streets are so wide that the
horse cars have an avenue all to them
selves. These avenues are generally
bOrdered with live oak trees. There are
two kinds of live oaks, and a favorite
way is to plant alternating trees of each
variety. The trees are very graceful and
pretty, and between these rows of living
green the street car mules trOt merrily,
day in and day out.
Still another lovely rose, unfamiliar to
Northern eyes, is the climbing Safrano.
Like the Lamarque ana the Marechal
Mel, it roams and revels around col
umns and along porches, opening its
rich salmon-hued buds by the hundred
to the warm Southern sun.
The Louisiana region is the fortunate
land of tea roses; but our hardy hybrid
perpetuals. which are the mainstay in
the way of roses in the North, do not do
well here Our Southern brethren can't
have the splendid blood-red General
Jacqueminot" in its richest perfection.
We have that advantage over them, any
how. Then, too, in the South the moss
rose does not flourish. 1t shortly loses
its moss, the beautiful feathery covering
tender nature has thrown around it to
keep the cold out in the North. The
messy coat is not needed in the South,
so by the law of evolution it disappears.
There are innumerable other varieties
of the rose family in New Orleans which
there is not space to mention. Our stay
in the city was so short that | had not
time to find out the plants and flowers
that flourished here and do not thrive at
the North, even in greenhouses. l dis
covered, however, that our favorite smi-
lax vice, which does such beautiful and
effective duty in our Cincinnati winter
decorations, can scarcely be made to
grow at all down South, It does not do
any good. don't know why. Neither
does the fuschia. A fuschia blossom in
New Orleans is the greatest rarity. We
have one or two beautiful plants they
can't have South. We saw one apple
tree, cherished by a family from the
North, in remembrance of their old Ohio
home. But the poor thing was home
sick exile in a strange land. Apples
won't grow in Louisiana. It reminded
you of Heine's palm tree signing for the
transplanted pine "In the North on a
barren height"
We had only time for feeting glance
at this glory of roses in the South. Then
we gave another glance, equally short
and sweet, at the Towering trees and
climbers, and that was all. The magno.
liza trees were just coming into bloom.
1t is worth journey to the South to see
them. With us a little magnolia few
feet high and having one or two bios
SONS is treasure and rarity. In New
Orleans the great shiny leaved trees are
everywhere. They are sometimes plant
ed in avenues, alternating with the live
oaks. Only twice in my life, before this
pOuVhClu UP udu oCCu LudSuOlld DlUS-
SONS. 1t was, therefore, a sight to be
remembered to zee whole trees full of
the splendid things, pale, creamy and
glistening. In full bloom some OF the
flowers are nearly foot in diameter.
In the North, too, we think we have
something worth seeing when we are
able to rear a Towering pomegranate
shrub few feet high. But we must
protect it carefully from the touch of the
chilling frost One breath from the ice
king and it shrivels and turns black, and
that is the end of it. In winter it must
be put into the cellar or somewhere.
Think now how it would look to see our
small shrub expand into a good sized
tree. fifteen to twenty feet high, bloom
ing and growing out doors the year
around. The flowers, too, are much
handsomer than with us. The finest
variety is Of a brilliant, burning red
color and much larger than we commonly
see them. The flowers sell in bouquets
in the French market, and are as plenti,
full as balsams in the North in midsum-
mer.
You will remember, too, the little coral
nlant with ita ouainf duskv.red snoka.