Evening star., 1939-07-08

what appears in the following pa,
crowded memory!
The peak experience for me
was the blue and white garden:
Delphinium and regal lilies in the
background: profusely blooming blue
and white .petunias massed in the
borders. All blue and white flowers,
the cool loveliness of 1t brought
to mind, by contrast, something
atrocious that glared at me once:
Galardias and pink petunias.
Another perfect spot was an
irregular. but formal, pool of tropical
water lilies with an incurving back
ground Of blue petunias and white
nlcotlana. There are many lily
pools and, at least, one waterfall.
Potted Japanese iris and gleeful
little figure astride a sea monster
spouting water were in a shallow
pool by the long bed of japanese
iris, where mass of richly colored
blooms made one forget connotations
of beetles and bombs.
Three Gardens
Interesting.
The Garden of Yesterday, the
Garden of Today and the Garden
Of Tomorrow drew admirers. I liked
the Garden of Today best, with its
tree-shaded, restful bench of mellow
wood and its picket fence. The Gar
den of Tomorrow is modeEnistic,
with glass wall behind border OF
cannas: a place to look upon, not
to walk into.
The real garden of tomorrow is to
be found in the greenhouse, where
the amazing exhibits of the results
OF chemical gardening are kept.
Plants roofing in solutions. plants
blooming with their roots in gravel
under continuous drip of nutri-
ment, plants conditioned by lights
call up a vision Of a garden on the
pantry shelf And, of course, there
will be no weeds in such a garden!
The only weed I saw in Gardens on
Parade was appropriately enough in
one labeled "Anybody's Garden"
One bit Of perfectly palatable
propaganda is a shrine protecting a
group of wild flowers. Like many
small, suggestive things, it is very
effective.
The cut-flower exhibits in the
pavilion are changed with the sea-
sons. Rhododendrons and late
azaleas have had their day. Sweet
peas and roses, lilies and Japanese
iris were featured last month. This
writer was fortunate enough to see
the gold medal delphiniums. There
is no adjective for them. Their un-
believable spikes Haunted all the
blues from the electrically brilliant
to the orchid soft. Unlike other
things bred for size, the delphinium
never becomes distasteful The larg-
est flowers on the longest spike were
a combination of light blue and light
orchid and no more stabbing than
spray of forget-me nots. The dis
play was arranged in front of large
fern fronds spread out like a great
fan, and the whole corner had the
effect of soft clouds.
Not far from the delphinium show
and all the harsher because of it was
the most horrible fountain imagina-.
BILE. Sprays of water encased in
arched glass tubes and large metal
petals around the raised pool ex-
pressed for this observer all the
trends of the times toward regi-
mentation and bombast.
Knot Effect
Unusual.
In the Pavilion of Exhibits, Of
course. are many garden gadgets for
sale. But you will want to take
another turn around the outdoor
gardens. You will be especially in
terested in the knot gardens that are
part of the herb plot. Violets, ger
mander and wormwood are planted
and trimmed in curves like those of
rope knots. In the spaces a varie-
gated effect is achieved with small
bits OF black coal, white gravel and
red tile. This repelled me some
what, as the glass and metal foun-
tain did. The disciplined espaliers,
however, were very attractive. The
apple trees on low cordons seemed
happy. The green fruit looked
healthy, as did the lettuce and
thyme under it. There is plenty of
inspiration here for us of the WASH
ington area, where espaliered fruit
trees are practicable.
Outside the entrance gate of Gar
dens on Parade are topiary ever
greens, their darkness rising from a
border of white petunias. Further
along the wall are espaliers above a
border Of brilliant portulaca.
Elsewhere on the fairgrounds are
attractive plant arrangements. Near
the Perisphere there is a curving
serpentine hedge of evergreen trees,
clipped in waving line at the
top, that persists in my memory as
something to have if we ever trade
our little walled-in Georgetown gar
den for a country estate.