The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-31
MISS BEArR1x JoNEs,s vooAr1oM.
she Does Landscape Gardening OF All Kinds,
from the Ground Up.

from the Ground Up.
Miss BeRtrix Cadwallador Jones of this city
has mastered landscape gardening. Sho has
mastered 1t In oil its branches, architecture,
bodybuilding, drainage, arboriculturc, and hor'
ticulture, and Is putting her knowledge to prac'
teal use. There nre women gardeners in charge
OF private grounds, both in Europe and In this
country. One English woman has laid out lately
a city park or two, so limited In area and conven-
tional in design, that she could not have made n
mistake IL she had tried, but this young Amcri-
can has the distinction OF being the only woman
who can take hold Of wholly unimproved land
and convert it to order and symmetry.
Last summer Miss Jones laid out n cemetery
for n Maine town. and built the lych.gate,
the tool house, and other buildings on the
grounds. She has drained u twenty.t five
acre swamp and nut II in trim for cultivation,
cleared a forty.acre forest lot In Bar Harbor of
supcrfiuous trees and made it into a pleasing
grove, and, besides, has submitted designs and
suggestions TO the New York Park Department
on tho work which it has under consideration.
Tho fact that men many years her senior, and
emincntly qualified to judge Of such matters,
speak In high terms of her fitness for her work
and predict great things of her. is significant.
but there is another way of Judging her success,
and that is by the cold, unbiased dollars that
her work yields her.
IF I remained Just an amateur, I might have
studied and worked for years and never have
had the least standing in my profession said
Miss Jones. mo matter how good my designs
might have beon, they would have received
little attention. Things are OH n different foot
Ing when stamped with a recognized value.
81 was always fond OF gardening. As a child
in Bar Harbor. where we spent the summer l
was continually digging up things in the woods
and planting them out in the house yard. Pos.
sibly what first led me to think seriously Of
landscape gardening was u trip to the Worlds
Fair, taken in company with Prof. and Mrs.
Sargent. of Boston. THE professor became in
tercsted in me because loved trees and flowers,
and afterward | took u course of study in arbori-
culture under his direction in Boston. | got so
enthusiastic. after looking into, architecture
abroad and coming in contact with the English.
French. and German models, that / made up my
mind to so in regularly for landscape gardening.
which combined all the things | liked best"
And then you had to study soils and drain
age md all that 3 she was asked.
YES. After we returned from Il, stay in
Europe ] had private tutors supplied me from
Columbia University in such branches of civil
engineering as | should need. don't suppose !
realized. when ! began. quite how much hard
study | should have TO tackle, but it has all
been of great benefit, and | do feel that | am
thorough us far as l have gone. or course,
landscape gardening is an endless study. There
Will be always something more for me to learn
about it If Tive to be eighty. What do l think
VI IL as u III tltSSlo " Npblth ! L
should advise no woman to 20 into landscape
gardening unless she really cared more about
fen' that 9nt~ wa "" ss6outs it, t's She ~ would SuYId N Succeed; but
even then she must have good health, for she
has to pick up at u moment 5 notice and go here,
there, and everywhere, and has to stand on her
feet for hours outdoors. There are many ug-
rrayations to be counted on. aggravations that
don't appear on the surface. Maybe she can't
get the right kind of soil at the right time or the
right kind of plants, or perhaps the working
men misconstrue orders that seem to her to
In Na hn.nt NlIin y I nIn
81 give. orders TO my men in person nearly
always. | find it best to come In touch with
them. ! am at work now on grounds up on the
West shore road. | have been up there three
times this week. 1t will be a charming place
when done. See, here is the plan of the grounds.
] have made some changes in the entrance gate
since this was drafted, and am going TO arrange
for lanterns in place Of those ornaments but the
boundary wall is to have Just those panels. and
there will be large trees where those dark spots
are, and shrubhery in the lighter places. !
always wear my bicycle suit for business. IT Is
conventional, quiet looking. and Is not in the
1t is interesting TO look over the yoang gar
dener's plans with her and hear her talk ahou!
them. She has n long box full OF drafted plans
Of the grounds she has finished. OF books sh,
has over 800 volumes bearing on her art
Asked if landscape gardening was profitable, she
said she would not a wise any one to go into
it who had no other means Of support,
For the first few years, she said. the eN
pense would certainly exceed tho profits. and il
has been demonstrates that n young man just
AFFORD to marry on it, !" Asked II a yonns
woman could afford to marry on it, she laughed
and said that she did not think a young woman
dedicated to her profession could afford tc
marry at al.
My friends looked upon my studies at frs
ms a sort of mild mania - she said, " but they
have learned now to regard them seriously
Miss Jones Is - wears old and comely. She il
tall and slight. anG her beauty is of the majesti,
kind that dcii"s dc >cription. Although fond o
tennis and golf. ana in love with her profession
she yet finds time for society. Her office is
large sunny room in her mothers home. not
stones throw from downtown Fifth avenue.