Evening star., 1925-07-05
GORGEOUS ARRAY
OF RARE BLOOMS
Walter Reed Hospital Gar
denS' Floral Display Rated
Among Finest in World.

cally no public expense. the most in
elusive collection of Towering plants
and shrubs in this section of the
country and one of the finest in the
world.
In the gardens at Walter Reed Hos
p1tal Gen. James D. Glennan. post
commander, has assembled growing
things from all corners of the world
in such variety and profusion that
the work has attracted wide attention
among scientists. Foreign florists
and botanists who come to Washing
ton and find no inclusive Government
collection are advised by Department
of Agriculture officials to visit Walter
Reed, where they will find the near
est American duplicate of some of the
great European gardens.
Gen. GIennan Nature Lover.
Gen. Glennan himself is an intense
nature lover. The commander. SOL
dlers and nurses will tell you confiden.
TALLY, is crank on that sort of
thing" When he came TO Walter
Reed he found practically nothing in
the line of floral decoration. The
hospital had just undergone the un.
precedented expansion of war DAYS.
6eauty had been sacrificed to utility.
II was an Army war camp-stern
cold, businesslike.
Inc new commander set to work to
y produce out of the raw material of
the Army post work of art. He
previously had accomplished much the
same sort of thing at the Lettern1s n
Hospital, in San Francisco, and at
ooldlers Home here. The work has
progressed slowly and without pub
hclty ever since. until this Summer.
When the result is recognized as a
very notable achievement, indeed.
Gen. Glennan's first appeal was to
the Department of Agriculture, al
ways coming into possession of new
and rare flowers and shrubs from all
parts of the earth, but with no place
or its own where these can adequately
De exhibited for the benefit of the
American public
Opportunity Is Welcomed.
Officials of the department grasped
the opportunity given by the Army
off1cer and the almost virgin reser-
vatlon at their disposal within the
National Capital. A large collection
was sent to the hospital and DIR,
Iumsden, formerly of the Bureau of
horticultural Investigations, yolun.
teered to assist in the classification
and landscape work. This collection
formed the nucleus of all that has
been gathered since-a collection so
large that the names fill so pages
of fine type.
Some of the material has been
purchased. Those in charge of the
gardens are unable to resist the lure
of an especially attractive plant. But
the greater part of il has been
donated. There is an especial appeal
for plant breeders to give of their
best to the hospital, where so MANY
wounded in the World War now are
recuperating. Some of the donations
would have cost very considerable
sums if bought in the open market.
Among the most notable OF these
is an extensive collection of Perne-
tiana roses, practically everything
produced in recent years by NJ. Per
net and his collaborators, which was
sent to Gen. Glennan from France and
almost fills one of the small green
houses.
Two Aides Appointed.
The gardens, borders and shrub
berry groves now are in charge of the
Department of Occupational Therapy,
and two aides have been detailed
especially to look after the work.
These are Miss Hedwig Kruger. who
has studied in the horticultural
schools of Europe, and Miss Frances
johnson. They are now engaged in
going over the labels and seeing that
every bush and flower is marked with
both its English and Latin name.
Gen. Glennan has directed the
building up of the gardens with two
ideas in mind. The first is that it
fits in with his belief that the sur
roundings of a hospital should be
beautiful because of the psychological
effect on both patients and the pub
lie. TIE surroundings of Walter Reed
now are such as to make life worth
living for sick men, who might have
much less incentive to recover amid a
dismal environment. The second and
more important idea is that the great
est remedy for a great number of all
ments, especially nervous ailments, is
getting close to the heart of nature,
that there is more remedial efficiency
in the sunshine and the soil than in
shelves full of medicine.
Opportunities for Patients.
Patients are encouraged to spend
as much time as possible in the gar
dens. 1t gives them fresh air, but this
could be accomplished in simpler ways.
The great thing, according to the oc-
cupational aides in charge, is that
the lesson of patience taught by close
watching of growing things acts as a
wonderful opiate for frayed nerves
and that the imagination is stirred
by the labels giving the geographical
and historical associations of the diff
ferent plants. There are some sec
tions of the garden, enriched by the
Department of Agriculture importa-
tfons of Asiatic growths, where pa
tientS can hardly avoid being trans
ported into the colorful Orient itself
The object has not been to make
botanists or florists of the men,
although any one with an interest in
such things could obtain d liberal
education without leaving the grounds
Some men have come to the hospital
tradeless and left experienced garden
ers, able to command good wages on
private estates. They are taught not
only the simpler processes of garden
work, but the more complicated op-
erations, such as slipping and bud
ding bushes, crossing species and like
work.
Garden Behind Each Ward.
Behind each ward is a flower gar
den, planted and cared for by the
men themselves. A considerable COM
petition has grown up among the
buildings The Red Cross offers a
prize each year. Every ward, those
in charge say, has at least one man
who is becoming an artist in flowers.
The shrubs are distributed widely
about the grounds. Most of the flowers
are massed in five gardens. The first
and largest of these is devoted to
hardy perennials and contains several
species of flowers of this type which
cannot be found elsewhere in Wash
ington. There are great masses of
sweet williams and scarlet Scotch
pinks, coreopsis, phlox, bachelor but
tons, hrysanthemeums, feverfews.
lace flowers, fuchsias, cockscombs and
dwarf zinnias, most of which have
just passed the great flush of bloom