Evening star., 1900-07-07

plants, she may be sure the results will be
soon apparent
Within a few ycars-and the desire en-
larges all the timc-the decoration Of house
IN winter and grounds i'll summer, with all
kinds of plant life, has made beautiful
many waste places.
Germans Love Flowers.
/ think the idea is borrowed or derived
from Germany, where 1t has fiourished tas
we'll as the plants for generations. a
friend, commenting the general beauty
of our city in consequence of this attention
paid to vines and flowers in summer, spoke
of its comparative novelty. Only few
years ago." she said. Il was driving around
Baltimore on an early summer day. ana on
the porches of a handsome house on Eutaw
place | saw large pots OF decorative plahts
/ called the attention of the friend with
whom | was to this innovation, quite start
ling in its novelty, and after commenting
upon 1t. l added, III an almost heSitatins
way, on accounts of its ncwness, 1 believe
l like it. too" An opinion in which all
America Joins heartily today. When L was
child | used to take long drives with my
father, going far ateld and on the mar
row. ''strngy'' little porChes OF lonely farm
houses | would sometimes see tubs of hy-
drangeas, always with pink blooms in those
days, when nature WAS unassisted in TINT
ing and l never remember Of thinking them
pretty, but only 'countIified.' That was
when our idea OF beautiful bouquets was
close as might be, with as ma::y colors as
Joseph's coat in vase, sud the more per-
feet the conical shape the more lovely ana
desira BILE the effect. 1t seems now as II we
had learned better things, and by sur
rounding ourselves With growing plants.
summer and winter, We have been impress
ed by the grace of natural development, and
artificial grouping is as much on the same
order may be.
Ones Youthful Fancies.
As however. we are often Influenced un-
consciously by what were our own childish
| ideas. or the ones, maybe, which prevailed
when were very young. l am always at
tracted in pictures by that very same stiff
arrangement of flowers which We so
studously avoid with fresh blossoms.
have recently bought two old paint
ings, probably by Dutch artist,
signed but by cipher, not by name, In
which vase in one, and old-time Chinese
jar in the other. is filled with closely
grouped bunch of rose, lily and tulip. sur
rounded by symmetrical tendrils-probably
from the tulip-and all toned by age to
delightful harmony to my eyes. l showed
them lately to one Of our foremost artists
here and much pleased TO have my
opinion of their merit confirmed. There is
a certain formality in matters artistic that
always attracts me, and in looking over
quantity of old prints with a view to buy
ing what pleased / found later that by in
stinct every one that showed a stiff. old
fashioned bunch OF flowers, on spindle
legged table or high mantel, had been put
aside among the must haves." In travel
ing in Holland one constantly feels that
charm Of formal arrangement of pictures
and furniture, and never did old Delft look
prettier than the rows of first high and
then low vases and jars, shown on the
black oak cabinets in the Plantn museum.
The Changing Fashions.
And so fashion changes our views and We
swing back and forth from the careless
rangements TO formal and back again, and
we are already beginning to feel in every
thing a reaction from the studied infor-
mality of few years ago, and little more
uniformity is creeping in with the tran
silently deep-rooted liking for colonial ways
in house and furniture. 1t is to be hoped
that the universal favor with which we re-
gard the green things growing" may ever
increase, however for the influence
only be for good. whether the sense of
beauty IS cultivated thereby or the respon-
sibilities are developed by care for some
thing outside our own selves the study
of the wonders of our world is increased
by our intimate association with our many
plants in the house.