File:The century book of gardening; a comprehensive work for every lover of the garden (1900) (19966706354).jpg

Title: The century book of gardening; a comprehensive work for every lover of the garden
Identifier: centurybookofgar00cook (find matches)
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors: Cook, E. T. (Ernest Thomas), 1867-1915, ed
Subjects: Gardening
Publisher: London, The Offices of "Country life" (etc. )
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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FERNS UN THE LION FOUNTAIN AT ALTON TOWERS. FERNS—HARDY AND EXOTIC. By Charles T. Druery, F.L.S., V.M.H. TO the studious and appreciative eye the delicate cutting and graceful form of a Fern are fully as attractive as a flow er, and its lovely shades of green constitute indeed a welcome change from the brilliant hues of the parterre where Flora flaunts in dazzling costumes as gay as varied. Popularly, however, Ferns, especially the native hardy Ferns, are regarded as little better than weeds, and although in innumerable gardens we find specimens of one or two species, sometimes well grown and handsome, but more often starved and wretched looking, the full capacity of the plants as decorative foliage plants is utterly unknown to most people even among those who grow them. Our temperate island climate being decidedly congenial to Ferns, as is evidenced by their profusion in our Western Counties, certain forms of our particular native Ferns ranking, as we shall presently see, with the most beautiful ones the world produces, we propose in this article to do what we can to enlighten our readers as to their real and proper merits. Before, however, we enter upon this particular phase, we may point out that Ferns, incredible as it appears, are the accepted progenitors of all our flowers. There was a time in the history of the world w hen no flowers existed ; the earth's surface was mainly covered with warm ocean waters and steamy marsh lands, roofed in with cloudy vaporous skies. Vegetation evolved from the humble seaweeds gradually found a footing on the land, and in adapting itself to aerial conditions was developed into gigantic Mosses, Ferns, and their allies, which age after age and a?on after aeon grew and flourished and died to form our present coal-beds and make us heirs to the wealth and power thence resulting. In time presumably cooler and drier conditions and brighter skies and sunshine bred the

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