Sharp County record., 1888-08-23
SOUTHERN AGRICULTURAL.
OId-Fashioned Carolina Gardens.


of OdOr-laden breezes, of fitting birds,
those words bring one who was so fort
unate as to spend many happy hours
of childhood in the vast spaces of the
CharlestOnian ''gyarden" in the good
old days! There was no attempt to
produce dwarf plants covered with
blossoms, and so losing all beauty of
proportions but there was a generous
allowance of space for each plant, and
a generous number of plants to each
bed, so that visitors might Gull the
flowers to their hearts COntent-and
they always did The garden was a
place, too, where one might take con-
stitutiOnals or sit in the shade of the
fragrant spice laurel and read; the
children might play hide and seek in
the sturdy, glossy bushes of the box
Birds came in for share of the de-
lights; the spirited cardinal grOsbeck
shOne like a jewel against the dark
leaves of the magnolia, and the
dainty humming bird was lost
to view as it futtered among the love-
ly, creamy petals of the magnolia's
queenly blossoms. Thrush and mock
ing bird poured out their songs from
hidden hooks, and the blue jay flew
eXcitinglv near to the well-watched
bird trap, so skillfully set by ebony
fingers. Among the prominent plants
were camellias in endless variety,
growing to small trees in favored
localities; the snowy syringa, the
lilacs, red and yellow w0Odbine Qoni-
cera); the sweet shrub (calycanthus),
its rich maroon blossoms perfuming
the air; the sweet bay (magnolia
glaVca), with its flowers, so soft in
texture, so milky white, so fragrant;
the oleanders of varied hue; the fringe
tree (chionanthus), with ethereal, al
most unique white blossoms; the Grape
myrtle OagerstrHmia), originally
from Eastern Asia, its marvellous
quantity Of flowers almost fatiguing to
the eye, though lovely in texture
and color; the cape jessamine
(gardenia), with camellia like
flowers and delicious perfume; the
spiRas and SNOWFALL; the Semi-trOpical
opopanaX, with most delicate foliage
and fascinating, fluffy, yellow balls
and lasting perfume; the sweet olive,
and one might add the citrina, as
under favorable circumstances its
height was often from five to six feet.
Conspicuous in some gardens was the
wild Cherokee rose, its ambitious
white blossoms and glossy green leaves
waving provokingly from the very top
of neighboring trees. Another favorite
rose was the Old-time sweet, its petals
pale pink, and remarkably fragrant.
In some soils it blossomed so lavishly
that the gardeners would snap the
roses off at the base, and send them by
the basEetful to be strewn among the
household linen or converted into rose
water of excellent quality. A fine
variety of this rose was brought, it is
said, by General Thomas Pinckney
from France in 1898. Unfortunately it
is now dying out rapidly.
Among the useful as well as orna-
mental trees and shrubs of the garden
one must not overlook the oranges,
''sweet" and "sour,n the latter by no
means to be despised by mortals sub
ject to bad colds, for, when properly
treated, it makes a most soothing and
pleasant drink. To carve and preserve
these golden balls was a matter Of no
small pleasure and pride to many a
country hOusekeeper. There was the
myrtle orange, too, the small size, the
rich cOloring and abundance of both
fruit and foliage, making this shrub
most valuable one for decorative pur-
poses. The flavor Of the fruit, too, is
agreeable Then there were the true
myrtles, single and double, both worthy
of mention, and a wild variety, the
"swamp, which bears a small berry,
from which it was the custom at one
time to make candles To have these
of the required clearness and paleness
OF color (green) was a matter of
domestic interest in the good old days;
but, alas, these little arts are a thing
of the past, and we now use parattine
candles, gelatine preserves and coal
tar navorings. If to the above list the
sweet and Ogecchee lines and olives
are added, some idea of the larger
growth of an Old-time garden has been
given.
Among the bulbs were the snow
drop, datfodil, narcissus, ionquil, all
coming into favor once more. Among
geraniums the hardy varieties were
favorites; the rose, whose branches
sometimes grew 10 the length of five
or six feet; the spice ard ottar, gener-
ally cut down in the fall and putting
out fresh shoots in the first days of
spring; the fish, commonly planted as
hedge, growing four to five feet high
and blooming generously, No garden
in city or country was considered quite
complete without a protecting hedge,