File:Dreer's garden calendar for 1887 (1887) (21024241862).jpg

Title: Dreer's garden calendar for 1887
Identifier: dreersgardencale1887henr (find matches)
Year: 1887 (1880s)
Authors: Henry A. Dreer (Firm); Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection
Subjects: Seeds Catalogs; Nursery stock Catalogs; Gardening Catalogs; Flowers Seeds Catalogs
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Henry A. Dreer
Contributing Library: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library
Digitizing Sponsor: U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Library

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38 DREER'S RELIABLE SEEDS
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" Bless me, what a delightful prospect is here! And so it ought to be, for this garden was designed for pleasure—but for honest pleasure; the entertainment of the sight, the smell, and the refreshment of the very mind."—Erasmus. "f- Among the oldest gardens on record are those belonging to the ancient Egyptians, who are said to have been ex- tremely fond of flowers, and cultivated all the varieties they could obtain : so much were they in love with them, that they exacted tribute of rare and foreign plants from the nations they conquered. The Hanging Gardens of the Assyrians, the "Paradises" of the Persians, and the gardens of Solomon and other He- brew Kings bear witness to the love of flowers among the nations of antiquity. Later on the Romans became abso- lutely extravagant in their use of flowers at their feasts. Singular as it may seem, the most warlike nations have ever been foremost in advancing the cultivation of flowers. Many of the varieties grown to-day can trace their lineage back to even an earlier date than when Solomon, 3,000 years ago, mentions " Camphire with spikenard," also "Saffron, calamus, and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices," while roses and violets, narcissus, iris and lilies are lost in the maze of an- tiquity. To Persia we owe many of our favorite flowers ; its climate bringing to perfection in a remarkable degree the bright hues and lovely forms so necessary in modern gar- dens. The taste for gardening is rapidly spreading in this country, so that not alone, in the centres of civilization, but in the smaller towns and villages, there is a growing love for the beautiful in nature, which must bear fruit in years to come in improved dwellings, better surroundings, and happier homes. The ease with which they are cultivated, the large return in beauty and fragrance for a small out- lay, and the cheering influence they dispense should make the cultivation of flowers, even to a much greater extent than it is, a source of pleasure and comfort. Many fail in their attempts at gardening by undertaking too much. A little garden neatly kept will be far more satisfactory and beautiful than one of large pretensions which receives too little care. Harmony of color and form (by this we do not mean likeness, nut the blending and interchanging of shape and hue,) should be studied, and at- tention paid to exposure and perspective, to soil and situation and the adaptability of the plants desired. As these points are watched or neglected, so the result will be: the attainment of the beautiful, or the (Isolation which is born of failure.

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