The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-02-04
DOORSTEP GARDENING.
4 Picturesque Custom Imported
From Italy and France.

Investments ranging ali the way from $40
to $500 are now cheerfully made by the
wealthy city residents for the purpose of
decorating the exterior of their home with
ornamental greeuery. This fashion comes
directly to us from Italy and France
where. since time immemorial, it has been
the custom to embower the entrances OF
the great stone palaces and hotels OF
Rome. Paris. etc, In shrubbery. clipped
and grown and potted in big tubs for tho
special purpose OF threshold embsllish-
1nent. Now that rich Americans are be-
ginning to have decidedly impressive city
palaces OF their own. and that enormous
expense is being layished on the b ONE
and plate glass front door stoops, garden
ing has suddenly grown into a very taken
for-granted feature Of complete house fur
nishiug.
English ivy, Italian laurel. priyet dwarf
; cedar. Canadian spruce, English yew or
hawthorne and Dutch box are some Of the
most popular and serviceable shrubs for
door step portieres and not to have at
least a couple Of some one OF these ever
greens Just inside the glass storm doors
or outside on the stone landing of the
street steps is to fall In arrears to ones
duty toward fashion.
Mop headed Italian laurel trees are the
most expensive choice in this kind of YER
dure, for a good healthy pair cost, all the
way from $50 to $3.50. Fine specimens Of
English yew come next In estimation.
while a richly leafed and quantity shaped
pair of Dutch box brushes are wonderfully
ornamental, sturdy, and valuable. Plain
green painted boxes or tubs give the prop
er foothold to any one Of these species OF
evergreen. though now the bric-a-brac
dealers, keen to seize freshly opened op
portunity for trade. are importing from
Italy, France. and England time melfowed
but beautifully chiseled old marble vases
that glorified once splendid eighteenth
century gardens. and In these the veal
thier residents put their outdoor plants.
Early in the spring the smartly kept
city house will display brace Of fine
privet or prettily blooming hawthorne
bushes in green tubs. while pots on the
stone newell posts of rough green pot
terry are filed with dwarf cedars and at
the bases of these scarlet geraniums
bloom. In the lower windows handsomely
tiled window boxes OF geraniums and
green vines are set, and such an exterior
decoration costs the owner a good $50 or
SIS. In the autumn laurel trees in tubs
replace the privet until there is danger
OF heavy frost. which tie laurel does
not often weather. and then comes cou-
pie of four or sixsided box pyramids or
handsomely shaped steeple-pointed yews,
and the window boxes are cleared and re-
planted with little pines and sturdy
spruce and cedar, well bedded and draped
with the richest English ivy. The result
of all this is to take away in no small
degree from the stony hardness and mo-
notony of our close-set resident streets.
and against the new houses Of cream
brick. grey stone, and white marble. built
SO faithfully after the French architeo-
ture, the display Of greenery is delightful
and the consequences have opened new
avenues of riches to the florists.