Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), Tuesday 5 April 1938, page 18


GARDEN WEEK OPENS TO-DAY

t

FLORAL FAIRYLAND

AT WIRTH'S

Flower and garden lovers will enjoy the opportunity this week

of inspecting the greatest exhibition of plant life ever held in Melbourne. Autumn Garden Week exhibition, which opens to-day at Wirth's Olympia, Prince's Bridge, brings to public notice the latest ideas and improvements in the | landscape gardener's art.

IN a State st» famed for its gardens as

Victorla, it is fitting that once a year all true followers of the gardener's craft should interest themselves in a model gardening exhibition such as is provided by Autumn Garden Week.

Love of flowers and God's green fields needs no prize or inducement to create beauty from the barren soil. The joy of growing things is its own reward.

Give fools their gold and knaves their power;

Let fortune's bubbles rise and fall; Who sows a field or trains a flower

Or plants a tree is more than all.

Thus did Whittier enshrine the un-spoken thoughts of the man or woman who fills the soil for pleasure. It is a mood more common to Australians than to most dwellers on this earth, for there is hardly a home, however so humble, that does not boast a garden of some kind or other. To the visitor to these shores it is one of the first things that makes an impression.

The Good Gardener

The good gardener, wherever he may be, is our best citizen. He leaves the land better than he finds it, he creates a home where formerly there was only a house, and, in Stevenson's words, he makes this earth our hermitage a cheerful and a changeful page." Nature's beauty spots, untouched by the hand of man, are treasure trove, indeed, but a garden, where man brings human intelligence to the aid of nature, is not less beautiful and very often more so. In the Dandenongs, on Mount Macedon, at Toorak, and Frankston, our gardeners have created works of art comparable with the finest gardens in the world, havens of rest and beauty, wherein their owners may find health, peace, and comfort of mind and body.

By the co-operation of the nurserymen and seedsmen of Victoria the State is offered each year the finest exhibition of plant life to be found anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere. Climate and soil play their part, no doubt, but the exhibition which opens to-day at Wirth's Olympia is the product principally of a co-operative and public-spirited effort on the part of our horticulturists.

For months the nurseries have been busy preparing for this exhibition. Ex! hibits have been transported from as far as the Western district, 200 miles away, with the result that today the park at Wirth's Olympia is a fairyland of bright flowers and sparkling waterways.

For weeks landscape gardeners have I been at work converting the ground inside

and outside the pavilions into lawns, rock gardens, and flower beds. One of the loveliest corners of the park is a sunken garden, complete with a trickling stream, and a reflecting pool bridged and illuminated at night by concealed lighting. Supporting rockeries are covered with choice conifers, azaleas, rock plants, and succulents, with bright backgrounds of dahlias in full bloom, maples, golden ash, and beech.

Across the front lawn runs a path of stepping stones leading to a paved court-yard and a sundial. A commodious bush house is well stocked with stag and elk horns, and a wide variety of fern life. Garden ornamentations, such as gnomes and furniture, lend additional interest to the exterior gardens.

The first of the floral halls, until recently the stamping ground of ponderous elephants, has been converted into a

beautiful setting for autumn in the hills with a winding stream, fed by a bubbling fountain, gurgling past cool fern bowers and a rustic bridge.

In the main floral hall is the cut-flower division, where dahlias, gladioli, roses, and annuals cast a riot of colour over the stands. The key piece is a formal garden, including a large pergola with lattice effects covered with climbing roses, and surrounding it rectangular beds of del-phiniums in full bloom, zinnias, and other annuals, flanked by lawns and connected with paths.

One of the most interesting exhibits is the glasshouse and garden frame, heated by the Electricity Commission, to demonstrate the use of electricity in the garden. The exhibit is beautifully illuminated at night.

The exhibition will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (except to-day, when the opening hour will be 1 pm.).

A 150th anniversary contribution to Garden Week. This floral map of Australia, 15ft. square, is surrounded by a sea of blue ageratum, and its sandy

coastline is represented by yellow pyrethrum.

In Quest of Roses

More Beautiful

By T. A.- STEWART (Editor "Australian Rose Annual")

It is most interesting for those of us who have watched the

development of roses over a number of years to see the remarkable improvement that has taken place, particularly in colour. *

WHILE our thoughts go back lovingly to the days of the sweetly scented La France, the gold of Maréchal Nell and Cloth of Gold, or the rich velvety sweetness of Prince Camille de Rohan, we have to admit that today we have a variety of colour and sweetness to choose from that would have been thought impossible a decade ago. And this applies not only to the wonderful golden and coppery tints that have been such a feature of our modern roses, but a great advance has recently taken place in the darker and crimson shades.

For many years the quest for the crimson rose continued with only varying success, and it seemed as though Etoile de Holland, although possessing quite a number of faults, such as lack of patronage and the rapid development, had because of its other good qualities set a standard that it seemed almost impossible to sur-pass. Dally Mail Scented gave great expectations, and is undoubtedly a beautiful rose, with its many alluring charms of colour and perfume, but here again the fleeting nature of the bloom proved an obstacle to the perfection required. And Chateau de Clos Vougeot, another great rose, possessed everything that could be desired in colour and perfume, and although magnificent for decorative purposes was shapeless as a rose.

Crimson Glory

Continued efforts, however, to combine substance and I can with colour and perfume, seem to have at last been rewarded, and the year 1936 saw the introduction into Australia of what has been described by experts as the finest crimson rose that has ever been sent out. The name, Crimson Glory, seems perfectly to fit this wonderful creation of the German hybrids Wilhelm Kordes, for it possesses almost every attribute that makes for a good rose.

The same year France produced Rouge Mollerin, and it was somewhat unfortunate for the raiser (Malvern) that it should be distributed concurrently with Crimson Glory, because in the absence of the latter it would undoubtedly have received the plaudits to which experience has proved it to be justly entitled, and acclaimed as the red rose that we have been waiting for. The colour is not as dark as Crimson Glory, as the dark red buds open more to a brilliant scarlet red. The petals are large and build up to a high pointed centre, desirable in an exhibition rose, and in the past difficult to obtain in a red rose, and almost every bloom comes perfectly shaped. Added to this, growth, foliage, fragrance, and blooming are of the highest order, and it closely rivals Its darker coloured competitor.

Turning to roses of mixed colouring, one must refer to the striking advance in popularity of President Herbert Hoover. Sent out in 1939 it has slowly but surely proved itself an outstanding variety, and is now definitely classed among rosegrowers as one of the best. During a recent visit to New South Wales and Queensland, I found that there was only one opinion regarding its quality, and from the other States and New Zealand come similar reports proving that it is one of the few roses that will do well anywhere. Its colouring is unique, the outer petals being claret red with a crimson flush, while the inner petals are deep salmon flesh. The bud is long, pointed, and large. The flower is semi-double, lasts well, and is moderately fragrant.

From Sunny Spain

Condesa de Sastago, sent out by Dot, the Spanish grower, in 1933, is a rose with remarkable colouring. A decorative rose, it has qualities of growth and colour that are already making it very popular. The reverse of the petals is golden yellow, but when open the Inner face is coppery red, fading to coppery pink. It is a hardy, erect, and vigorous grower, with large glossy green leaves, and generally produces a very striking effect, and always stops the garden visitor.

For my next choice I like the Dutch rose, Comtesse Vandal, which I feel should be better known, as in my own garden

it has, during the whole of this season, given me some of the most exquisitely coloured roses that I have ever grown.

Lady Huntingfield is among the best roses of recent years, and Mr. Alister Clark has scored another pronounced success, and one that must further enhance his reputation as a hybrids. Sent out only last year it has made a rapid rise to fame, and from all parts of Australia glow-ing reports are coming forward regarding its qualities as a garden rose. It has large golden flowers on good stems, while ample foliage and constant flowering are added

virtues.

Warrawee hails from New South Wales, and was raised by Mrs. H. C. Fitzhardinge, the first, lady hybrids to receive overseas recognition. Warrawee is a seedling from Ophelia, and has extra long pointed buds of a clear rosy salmon, which, when open, discloses an inner face of silvery pink. The colours are clear and attractive, and very effective under artificial light. The fragrance is that of the old clove pink, while the bronze-tinted young shoots de-velop into robust foliage so necessary for useful garden decoration. Before being sent out in Australia, Warrawee was under test for over six years here, and five years in the United States, where it was patented under the new American Plant Act. It is a very vigorous grower, and during the two years that it has been in commerce the critics have been generally favourable, some objecting that the colour could be more pronounced. It, however, seems to be at its best in warm climates, and just revelled In the hot days of summer, when it was a glorious sight.

, One would like to mention others of outstanding quality, such as Editor McFarland and William Moore, as among the best of the pink roses. Verlanden, a perfectly shaped rose of brilliant colour-ing, and perhaps finalise on Better Times, which surely is a fitting case to grow these days. It is described as crimson carmine, and scored an immediate success in America, and should be better known here. An interesting development has recently taken place regarding Mr. Alister Clark's wonder rose Lorraine Lee, a deeper coloured sport having developed in the garden of Mr. Russell Grimwade at Frankston. It has been described as a deep fuchsia pink, and has all the attributes of growth and vigour of the original rose. It has been named Mrs. Russell Grimwade, and is being distributed this year by the National Rose Society of

Victoria.

Lorraine Lee, raised by Mr. Alister Clark, of Bulla, was placed first at the head of the list of 12 best garden roses in the plebiscite held recently

by "The Argus."

AUSTRALIA

AND

THE ROSE

By DR. A. S. THOMAS

Few people realise that over 100 new varieties of roses are imported into Australia from oversea growers each year. Although the rose is considered a British flower, a great number are imported also from Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Northern Ireland, Holland, and America. In growth and flower-ing, English-grown roses cannot compare with those grown in Australia, California, Rumania, and the shores of the Mediterranean.

In the last quarter of a century we have seen marvellous advancement in roses. Thanks to M. Pernet Duchess, of Lyons, France, we have gained our wonderful yellows, copper, tangos, and other fancy colours. His first production. Soleil d'Or, was gained by using the Persian yellow briar as one of the seed parents. Later he also used the Austrian copper briar. Among his well-known early productions were Lyons Rose, named after his home town, and Mdme. Edouard Heriotafter the wife of the man who was then mayor of Lyons, but who has since been, on several occasions, Premier of France. Among his later productions are Angela Pernet, Souv. de Mdme. Boullet, Ville de Paris, Julien Potin, Souv. de Georges Pernet, Souv. de Claudius Pernet, and Mdme. Nicholas Auster. Truly the rose world is the poorer by his recent death !

Other hybridised used Pernet Ducher's roses as seed parents, and we now get Pernetiana roses-as they have come to be called from all parts of the world. The Austrian and Persian briars are prone to disease, particularly black spot, wilt, and die-back. They are also very soft in their wood, and so suffer badly from cold conditions. These characteristics have unfortunately, but not surprisingly, been passed on to Pernetiana roses, making many of them difficult to grow satisfactorily even under good conditions. To-day the hybridised are endeavouring to retain the colours gained while improving the constitution of new roses marketed. This is done by recrossing Pernetianas with tea roses and hybrid teas, until the variety is often no longer really a Pernetiana.

Perfect Red Rose

For instance. Pedro Dot of Barcelona has sent us many of our most vivid rosesreally marvellous achievements in all respects except constitution, until in the last two or three years he has produced Condesa de Sastago, Luis Brines, and Frederico Cases, all of which are good, clean, healthy growers. Condesa de Sastango will be in every garden within a very

few years.

For years the rose world has been keek-ing the perfect red rose. The perfect rose will probably never be raised in any colour, but despite our speaking of a colour as rose pink, red is the colour inevitably associated with the rose. To-day our roads are nearly the equal In form of our pinks and whites and yellows. Look at William Orr, Dally Mail Scented, Crimson Glory. Rouge Malierin, Kurt Scholz, Malar Ros, Better Times, W. E. Chaplin, and Texas Centennial - and the oldest of them distributed only in

1926

A Famous Grower

The National Rose Society of Victoria is fortunate in having as its president Mr. Alister Clark, the raiser of such deservedly popular roses as Lorraine Lee, Black Boy, Sunny South,. Lady Huntingfield, Lady Fairbairn, Zara Ruthven, Cicely O'Rorke, and many others which warrant more widespread recognition than they get. To-day Mr. Clark's roses are rapidly grow-ing in favour in America.

Each year he releases several new varieties. The proceeds of the sale of these novelties go to the funds of the N.R.S. (V.) in most instances, although he frequently presents a variety to a sister society. Lorraine Lee, shown by the recent "Argus" rose plebiscite to be Victoria's most popular rose, was distributed by and for the National Rose Society of South Australia. It represents a very big step toward the ever-blooming rose, and will probably be used by many hybridised as one seed parent in their attempts at propagation of new varieties. A row of Lorraine Lee will give armfuls of blooms in late winter, when flowers are scarce. Mr. Clark's roses can be relied on to be free blooming, vigorous, and highly resistant to disease.