Evening star., 1933-04-01
THE LIBRARY TABLE
BY SARAH G. BOWERMAN.
GARDENING WITH HERBS; FOR
FLAVOR AND FRAGRANCE. BY
Helen Morgenthau Fox. New York:
The Macmillan IN

AhC maSiilliidil W.
Mrs. Fox, expert gardener and au-
thor of How to Grow Lilies in the
Garden" and Patio Gardens" has
grown at her country place all the
herbs for which she could obtoin seeds
In this country or abroad and has for
three seasons kept accurate records of
their planting, termination, culture,
growth habits, appearance, taste, smell
and practical uses. Prem these records
she has written her book, which is il
lustrated with delightful drawings
made from the plants themselves
About sixty herbs are thus described
and all are suitable for small Amer
lean gardens. At the end of the book
are number of recipes in which these
herps are used, all OF which have been
trled IN the authors kitchen. Some CT
these recipes have most interesting
names, as Balm Wine, Maydrink, the
Kings Mead, French Herb Soup, Tansy
Pudding, Nasturtium Sauce. Marigold
Custard, Rose Geranium Jelly, Rose
Petal Jam. Sesame Cookies, Seed or
Saffron Cake, Anise Seed Cookies. Fresh
Curo CheeSe with CaraWay Seed.
Oh value to the gardener and offer
ing pleasure to the mere reader, Gar
oenmg with Herbs" owes much of its
fascination to the fact that its author
so heartily loves her garden and her
herbs. She says: LAS T weed and cuI-
tlvate the baslls, savories and thymes
IN my garden, touch their furry or
glossy leaves and breathe in their spicy
scent, they seem like such old friends
IL Is difrcult to realize that only three
years ago these aromatic herbs, except
Ior the parsley, sage and mint, were
quite unknown to me- Three years
ago she discovered a new joy in life,
very Keen one. Something of the
history OF herbs is given, their trans
portatlon by men in their wanderings.
the myths and legends associated with
them, their employment from the ear
lest times as medicines, their han
ding in the medieval converts and
monasteries, their use for love potions,
the Superstitions regarding different
herbs. Under 'Dramatis Personae" the
olr1erent herbs of Mrs. Fox's garden
are introduced, alphabetically, and for
each is given its botanical classifica-
tlon, description, habitat, culture, his
tory and legend, and uses. There is an
atmosphere among some of them of a
witches cauldron, among others of a
very old-fashioned, Old World or Colo
MAI garden. Fennel, hyssop, poppy
rue and wormwood suggest the dark
ness OF a night without a moon and
OLD women brewing messes over dull
nres In lonely huts or gloomy woods.
But angelica, balm, cowslip, dill. rose
geranlum, lavender, marjoram, pepper
mint, rosemary, Savory, sweet flag
thyme and wintergreen make us think
OF Shapespeare's garden at Stratford-
on-Avon.
ARRANGING FLOWERS THROUGH
OUT THE YEAR. BY Katharine
Thomas Cary and Nellie Dryden
Merrel. New York: Dodd, Mead
& Co.
To make an effective garden, flowers
must be arranged in their planting
not only so that there will be some
thing in blossom at all seasons, but
also so that flowers will not clash with
each other in form and color But in
their growing, on stalks, bushes and
trees. they are usually left to arrange
themselves, except in the case of care
1uily trained roses, and rarely make
mistakes. When flowers are cut for
decorative purposes, they are at the
mercy OF any artistic or .inartistic per-
son who chooses to attempt to arrange
them. Some amateur church decora-
tions and many vases of flowers in
private homes bear witness to the in
eptitude of the hands which have
placed them. Garden clubs all over the
country have done much to teach the
art OF arrangement as well as the cul-
tivation OF flowers, but there are
countless persons who have yet to be
made aware of the decorative posi-
bilities Of the flowers they put into
Their homes II ely they would give
the subject intelligc,t attention"
Mrs. Cary and Mrs. M3rrell have laid
down some principles of flower arrange
ment, necessarily very general and
quite capable Of giving little assistance; !;
for, after all, taste Is the chief requisite
IN ability to arrange anything well.
They find freedom, grace, naturalness
and beauty the essentials in flower ar
rangement. as well as the expression of
individuality. Rooms have personality,
too, which must be considered when
flowers are chosen for them. The con-
tainers must, Of course, harmonize with
the flowers. Sturdy zinnias look well
in a copper bowl, but would be unhappy
IN a French vase. A brown pottery vase
Is becoming to purple-red tulips and
sprays of blue lupin. Three types Of
arrangement are in common use-the
japanese, the massed and the line
arrangement. In the Japanese arrange
ment there is a strong, fine stalk for
the primary line, which may be straight
or take various curves. The secondary
stems, which may vary IN height, but
always start from the same base as the
primary stalk, are arranged ION the
outer side OF the curve Of the primary
stalk" There Is third stalk, which
may come from different base, and is
arranged inside the curve Of the pri-
mary stalk. Massed and line arrange
ments are less exotic, more American
In them must be considered material.
color combinations, perfection of bloom.
1t is advised that a line arrangement
be not attempted when minds are filled
with domestic problems" or the children
are coming down with whooping-
cough" 1t seems inconceivable that
anything so beautiful and satisfying
as flowers could become cantankerous
at the crucial moment. Alas it Is only
too true. and I believe the reason for
It Is that We do not truly understand
flowers. We try to bend them to our
wills instead Of allowing them to sug-
geSt the form they would take and
granting them will of their own"
For the illustrations Mrs. Cary arranged
the flowers and Mrs. Merrell photo
graphed them.
Some other books on gardening both
old and new, for the gardener of action
and the gardener of reflection only are
the following: Down the Garden
PATH" by Beverley Nichols, tells of the
authors first adventure with a seed
catalogue. The Gardeners Bed-Book."
by Richardson Wright. is collection of
plthy, clever, practical and philosoph-
ical essays and short paragraphs-just
the thing for bedtime reading "The
1gnoramus Garden Book" by Mary w.
Rush, is for the person who does not
know TOO much about gardens and rec
ognizes his ignorance. Adventures in a
suburban Garden" by Louise B. Wilder.
tells OF what was done in a one-acrc
garden, so that something beautiful was
Towering every month of the year.
Ine Garden Month by Month";" by
Mabel c. Sedgwick, is very practical and
gives in tabular form information about
all the flowers and hardy plants. Gear