USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > Chicago, the Garden city. Its magnificent parks, boulevards and cemeteries. Together with other descriptive views and sketches > Part 14
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There are a number of outhouses, of which the imposing and massive stable is the most conspicuous. It is inhabited by many fine draft and riding- horses, cows of the Jersey breed and also contains the wagons and coaches in use on the place. From this park the tree and shrub plantations extend in all directions; the plants may there be seen in endless straight rows like sold- iers in line stretching as far as the eye can reach and producing charming ef- fects with their various shapes and color-tints. With the view of laying down a crop destined to stand for generations, Mr. Peterson has taken every pre- caution to secure its vigor and success, by selecting plants of the most approved varieties of the species; he well understands the importance to obtain young plants grown from a good stock, or from the mnost approved trees of their kind. Another thing in which he excels is the process of transplanting large and heavy forest trees. Nowhere else has this branch of nursery-work been brought to such a high state of perfection. Trees that weighed from 15 to 20 tons and had attained the ripe age of 100 years, were successfully removed from their native soil and transplanted to new parts.
The growing of trees and shrubs on these lands is as a matter of course confined to the cultivation of such as are ornamental and suitable to climate and soil. The majority of the plants are propagated on the premises, some are imported from foreign countries and they comprise principally new or rare spe- cies, in fact mostly plants that may be classed among the latest achievements upon the field of tree and shrub-culture, and which possess all the qualities requisite to a successful growth as an ornamental tree in this section of our country. And what is very important, a rolling appearance can given to our flat land- scape by the judicious arrangement of trees and shrubs of different sizes and shapes.
Taking a stroll through the extensive plantation, we find among the trees many kinds, that have a large number of family relations, all adapted to our climate and many of recent introduction; all promising to become valuable and ornamental.
While wandering about, with Mr. Peterson as our guide, let us make brief notes of some of the best known and most popular ornamental trees and shrubs that present themselves to our notice.
The Mountain Ash is a well-known beautiful tree with smooth branches and the leaves pinnate, with uniform, serrate, smooth leaflets. The beauty of its foliage is hardly surpassed by any other deciduous tree.
The tall or common Ash attains to a great size, reaching in fine specimens to about 100 feet. It possesses a very elegant figure and forms during sum- mer a very desirable object in lawn or park scenery.
The chief use of the Linden or Lime tree is to form an embowering shade along avenues and as a park tree or lawn ornament. In Scotland on the lawn at Gordon Castle stands a Linden tree with a head of nearly 100 feet and a trunk of over 16 feet in diameter. Our American Linden is of a more ro- bust habit than the European tree.
GOTTFRIED
View in Waldheim Cemetery.
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The whole genus of Maple is remarkably handsome and some of the species grow rapidly at an early age in almost any soil. Many kinds are interesting on account of their flowering early at the time of the expansion of the foliage; and from their elegantly-lobed leaves, of the finest texture, which in autumn furnish the most exquisite tints of every shade of yellow and scarlet, they are highly prized in ornamental plantations.
The Elm (Ulmus americana) is a tall elegant tree of rapid growth. From the density of its foliage and its clustering habit of growth in bright weather it displays a variety of light and shade such as painters appreciate in such objects.
The Poplar tree, like the Willows, is unisexual-either a male or female plant. The poplar trees are remarkable for rapidity of growth and therefore they are frequently employed to furnish immediate effect in a bare locality.
Among ornamental Willows the Salix Babylonica (Weeping Willows) forms a very graceful and interesting tree, but the American varieties have a higher value on account of their being extremely hardy. Their long slender twigs droop down with much elegance and become agitated by the slightest impulse of the wind, like the spray of a playing fountain. The Mahogany- willow, coming from France, with its bright red stem and branches makes a warm and attractive addition to our cold and long winters.
The Birch, adapting itself to various soils and situations, possesses a wider range than any other plant. There are some very fine weeping birches, espe- cially the cut-leaved, which add a graceful variety of verdure to scenes in them- selves beautiful.
The Alder in a cultivated state and in good soil attains to a considerable size and often becomes very picturesque in figure and displays a ramification little inferior to that of the oak.
Considered as an ornament few trees attract more attention than the Beech. Its stem is massive and powerful, its bark is smooth and of a silvery cast, and when the heat of summer unfolds its silken foliage, it displays a ver- dure of softness and delicacy and when viewed in the park, amidst the sun- shine and showers of summer time, it is a gem indeed.
The weeping Beech is a very valuable and ornamental tree and so is the out-leaved weeping beech, whichi is one of the most elegant pendulous trees in cultivation. It has the advantage of at once assuming the pendulous habit of growth.
The Norway Spruce is also of great beauty, of very uniform growth and, when allowed sufficient space in a congenial soil, it retains even at an advanced age, its branches and luxuriant foliage.
The Pine tree tribe is too well known to need any description. It con- sists of evergreen trees, natives of Europe, Asia and America, and is perhaps one of the most valuable of any genus of ligueous plants.
The Sycamore grows to a great height and ample size, throwing out a wide- spread top. Its leaves are vine-shaped. Hanbury says, the Sycamore being wounded exudes a great quantity of liquor, of which is made good wine. There are three varieties of the Sycamore.
The beautiful Catalpa will grow to a height of 40 or 50 feet, and as the leaves are fine and large, it should be planted as a standard in the midst of fine openings, but these should be such as are well sheltered, for the leaves, being quite large, make such a resistance to the summer's high winds, as to occasion whole branches to be split off by that powerful element. Of great beauty are the white flowers breaking open late in the Spring and adding in a great measure to the elegance of this handsome shade-tree.
The Snow-drop tree or white Fringe trec, a native of Virginia, will grow to the height of about fifteen feet. Its leaves are large, shaped like a laurel, broad and roundish, and the flowers of a pure white, come out in bunches, in May, from every part of the trec.
As an ornamental tree Chestnut also has a degree of greatness belonging to it which recommends it strongly to the gardeners attention.
The Hydrangea seldom grows to more than a yard or four feet high and affords as much pleasure to those who delight in fine flowers as it does to the
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botanist. The leaves are a great ornament to these plants; being very large and having their upper surface of a fine green and their under rather downy. But the flowers constitute the greatest beauty of these plants, for they are pro- duced in very large bunches in August. Their color is white and the end of every bunch will be ornamented with them. They have an agreeable odor and make such a show altogether, as to distinguish themselves even at a con- siderable distance.
Of the shrubbery St. John's Wort, or Hypericum, there are several varieties, one of which will grow to a height of eight feet. The flowers are yellow and make a good show in June and July and are succeeded by oval black-colored capsules, containing ripe seeds in the autumn.
The deciduous Privet ( Ligustrum Vulgare ) will grow to a height of about ten or twelve feet. The dark green leaves continue on the tree very late and the flowers, which are white and very beautiful, are succeeded in the autumn by black berries, which at that season constitute the greatest beauty of the plant.
The black and garden Mulberry is principally cultivated for the fruit and in ornamental plantations a few of them will be sufficient to make the collect- tion generał.
The two thorned Acacia (Robinia) gets its leaves late in the Spring, but for this it makes ample amends by the beautiful foliage it will display soon after. But its greatest beauty it receives from its flowers, which are produced in long pendulous bunches in June, their color is white.
The Locust tree (false Acacia) grows very rapidly in rich, dry, well shelt- ered soil and becomes a tree of considerable height.
The Laburnum is the largest species of the very ornamental genus Cy- tisus. It is a low deciduous tree with trifoliate leaves.
The Elder tree comprehends several species and has been known medicin- ally from the carliest period of our medicinal history.
Besides those mentioned we also find many elegant species of Clematis, Ivy, Jasmine, Honeysuckle, Magnolia, Syringa, Sumach, Rose bushes, Lilac, Spiræa, Arbor Vitæ, Viburnum, Calycanthus, Mock Orange, Bignonia, Vir- ginia Creeper, Nightshade, etc.
Naturally there are not a few of the shrubs which find it very difficult to thrive and keep up a healthy growth in smoky factory-districts; others again can ill endure cold winds, while another class will demand a sunny location to ripen out its twigs and a fourth a position with plenty of shade; such con- ditions can be found many more. In laying out parks, gardens or cemeteries it is of the utmost importance to make a wise selection of shrubs and to place them in positions, where they will grow and become an object of delight to the beholder. Especially is this true in regard to cemeteries. There the gar- dener can produce much more pleasing effects and impressions, than the sculp- tor with masterpieces of his art.
Scene in Waldheim.
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EGANDALE.
The prevailing disposition among the people of the eastern cities to turn away from the overcrowded and inconvenient summer-resorts and seek recrea- tion and repose in country-homes of their own, is rapidly taking hold of their brethren in the western states, but instead of having to choose worn-out, aban- cloned farms, like many of those in the New England states are, where natural scenery alone atones for the shortcomings indicated, "Chicagoites" have with- in easy reach of their city homes and business places a section of country, full of scenic beauty-where picturesque woodlands and water-views, fern-clad dells and velvety lawns vie with each other in well asserted claims for genuine admiration.
Commencing just north of our city and bordering Lake Michigan for forty miles or more is a magnificent stretch of land yet largely in its primeval beauty. Gradually rising, the surface extending northward culminates in a height of about ninety feet, forming at the shore-line bold and precipitous bluffs. From Winetka north to Waukegan for quite a distance landward the surface is ramified by heavily wooded ravines, gradually growing deeper as they approach the lake and widening out until they represent a "sunken for- est" of considerable area. At Highland Park, these ravines are at their best and within the last few years many of Chicago's prominent citizens have here selected sites for summer-homes. Here the surface is gently undulating, forni- ing numerous knolls, from which enchanting scenic-effects are everywhere vis- ible; commanding views of the lake, with a sail or two mostly always in sight, for along this shore the great commerce of the lake passes on its way north and south; magnificent ravine-pictures, showing the feathery tree-tops, spring- ing from a low level, nod their plumes as a greeting to the passing breeze, thus calming and quieting the mind through the medium of our vision.
The most conspicuous points of landscape-beauties are rapidly being taken for human habitations and many costly imrovements of this kind are under way. We choose for the purpose of illustrating some of the natural beau- ties of this north-shore paradise with its glades and groves and cool secluded nooks "Egandale," a typical and model summer home, where peace and re- pose reign supreme, where rural, rustic beauty exerts its soothing and refresh- ing influence. The broad vine-clad verandah suggests a cool retreat indeed during the mid-day hours. From this leafy bower is seen as charming a water- view, as some of the most renowned lakes of this country can boast of. A roadway near by, descending a ravine bank on its way to the lake some eighty feet below, cuts through the overlapping trees, through which is visible, en- bowered in emerald-green, the merrily dancing waters over the partly sub- merged pebbled shore-and by a lucky chance the bright light of the rising harvest-moon is spread out over the path of this vision and illuminates the rippling surface with its silvery fleece.
Egandale consists of five and a half acres. nearly one-third of which is composed of wooded ravines. A main ravine forms the southern and western boundary line and small sub-ravines extend into the tableland-thus forming lovely bays and other points of interest. Being heavily wooded they act as shrubbery belts to hide and mask "surprises," which the wanderer constantly meets with-be it a rustic bridge, or a vine-covered bower, or some unexpected enchanting lake-view-there are many of them. One lake-view is particu- larly fine, where from a point, looking over the main ravine eighty feet deep,
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which here makes an abrupt turn, a broad expanse of water is seen over the tree-tops. The trees of the upper portion of the banks form a V-shaped frame for the pictures and here again is seen the rising moon with all its accompany- ing glory.
We have room for only a few illustrations of the many interesting spots of this summer-home. The "Rockery" speaks for itself as a good illustration of what can be accomplished in this department of landscape work. The "Basket"-picture shows part of the lawn-the ravine trees bounding it on the south-the "Rockery," in the distance, in a line with the "Basket," and the roadway leading to the lake.
Egandale .- Porch Decoration
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DOMESTIC CONSERVATORIES.
There are degrees of beauty in the leaves of plants; and while it is not reasonable to suppose that any one cultivator can find accommodation for all the choice Exotics which are to be found in the principal gardens of this country or Europe, it is quite reasonable to conclude that from want of space he would be compelled to make a selection, retaining only those which most commend themselves to his admiration, cither on account of their bold and striking or distinct character, or from their delicacy and beauty.
Amateur plant growers have everywhere largely increased during the last few years and the collection of plants they cultivate is a proof that their con- ception of the beautiful is not confined to brilliant colored flowers alone, but that they are able to appreciate grace and elegance in the form and markings of the leaves, independent of bloom, which has been for so many years the sole aim of the horticulturist. But although the beautiful-leaved plants are exceed- ingly ornamental and gay when grouped together by themselves, a judicious selection from both classes, according to the space at disposal, is the surest means of producing a gay and cheerful effect throughout the entire year.
As a well known writer says: "For so many years it was the sole aim of the horticulturist to look forward to the development of flowering plants as the sole reward of a whole seasons labor. Now, however, we live in happier times, and derive a greater share of pleasure from our plants, because we grow and prize many which have beautifully variegated or otherwise richly orna- mented leaves. How it was, that we were so long learning to love these highly ornamental plants, it is difficult to say; but we are becoming thoroughly alive now to the noble and massive beauty displayed by some, to the graceful and elegant outlines of others and to the richness and singularity in the colors and markings of the leaves of many more."
The love of the beautiful in nature, from a pansy to a forest oak, is deeply implanted in the human breast, and constitutes a source which requires only to be reached and acted upon in order to diffuse on every side innumerable ad- vantages to individuals and to society. We see the love of plants and flowers existing, apparently under the most discouraging circumstances, and in spots where poverty chokes almost all the springs of wholesome pleasure. It is piti- able to see these sickly objects of care in the peut-up city pining under the influence of the dry atmosphere; and deep must be the inherent taste which can persevere in resisting the obstacles to healthy vegetation, caused by dele- terious matter floating constantly in the air, the excess of aridity or moisture, excessive heat and cold, sudden alternations of temperature, and nipping blasts from over the level plains.
Against these destructive influences, the green-house or conservatory, which formerly was regarded as exclusively the appendage of the stately man- sion, or the suburban residences of the opulent, is a protection. The domestic green-house has been made an inexpensive means of gratifying a taste, which, while it is at once refined and elegant, excites an inquisitive spirit that raises those who are fortunate enough to be under its influence, above low and friv- olous pursuits.
The exclusion of particles of soot and other noxious matter adapts the green-house for the city as well as the country, and we may select any space of sufficient size in which to build our green-house and bid the plants of tropi- cal regions flourish in the most unpropitious spots in the heart of Chicago. In prisons, men have solaced themselves for the loss of liberty by the visits of a
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spider or a mouse, whose motions they have studied and watched with delight; but here is a study open to a great many of those who enjoy the comforts of a home, which is pregnant with the most admirable results, at once gratifying the eye and informing the mind and opening a page of the book of nature to the dweller of the city.
The foregoing must not lead the reader to the belief, that a treatise on greenhouse-gardening and plant-culture is to follow. That is left to those who possess the necessary qualifications and knowledge of plants.
The subject presented itself to the author during his visits to several of the most complete private collections of plants under glass-roofs in this city and among them none have obtained a greater celebrity than the plant-houses of the gentlemen named in the pages following. These men have spared nei- ther time nor money in gathering together from almost every quarter of the world some of the most wonderful and remarkable productions of the veget- able kingdom.
ADOLPH SCHÖNINGER'S CONSERVATORY AND GARDEN.
Mr. Adolph Schöninger is one of the few Chicagoans that have realized their youthful ideals. They had clung to him; he had never deviated from the pro- gramme he had mapped out in his mind many years ago. And later he set about putting them in concrete shape. For a number of years he had found untold pleasure in horticulture and hot-house gardening at his residence, and recently, with practically illimitable means at his disposal, he resolved to real- ize his boldest dream. So he bought a large plat of desirable property on Mel- rose Street, way out in Lake View, midway between Evanston Avenue and the lake. And on this he laid out a spacious garden and built him a fine house -- commodious, just to his taste.
And then he proceeded to build, adjacent to and directly connecting with the house, a fine and large private conservatory. And it is this conservatory and the propagating houses belonging to it which are worthy of a description. Among the 1,500 kinds of foliage plants, flowers and fruit-trees represented in the green and hot houses under the care of a gardener, there are a hundred or more of the rarest and costliest. Some new varieties have been propagated by his own skill, and a few of these are as yet not generally known to florists, and are still awaiting baptismal ceremonies.
It is in the matter of orchids, those eccentric and luxurious children of the tropics, that this conservatory is especially rich. The collection comprises several hundreds of them, and among them are a score or more of very rare ones. The dining-room connects with the conservatory by a broad, high glass door which is generally left open. Entering through it a scene of sur- passing vernal beauty meets the eye. A balmy air, slightly saturated with grateful moisture, fills the lungs. All around and over head blossoms of deep tint give out a rich fragrance, and the eye feasts on the graceful, feathery fol- iage of palms and ferns. In a small but pretty aviary birds of tropical plum- age hop and chirp and sing, and an aquarium of handsome design is alive with glistening goldfishes and other creatures that love the water as their native element, while pinky shells and ferns of softest green make a harmonious color- effect about them. The foot treads on a smooth, polished surface of stone, and through the glass doors beyond a glimpse of still rarer and more delicate plant life is had. As we look down these long lines of fantastic vegetation, glorying under the beams of a burning sun, and wrapped in a bath of humid half-suffocative air, it requires no great stretch of the imagination to conceive ourselves translated to those tropical countries where nature at play laughs at the rules to which she succumbs in our own more temperate country.
Amidst the noble palm-trees the mind is struck with a feeling almost of awe. Ile must be apathetic, indeed, whose thoughts are not elevated in such a scene. Well did Linnaeus call palins the princes of the vegetable world; the beautiful character of their crown of leaves amply justifies the title. The species of palms and other plants found in Mr. Schöninger's houses are nearly all of them dwellers of the other plant-houses named in these pages and can be
Residence and Conservatory of Adolph Schöninger.
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admired by any respectable person, who may apply for admission to any one of these conservatories.
Mr. Schöninger has rendered his conservatory pleasing by selecting prin- cipally ornamental plants of robust constitution, with green leaves of different shades or variegated and stout in texture. There are among a host of others: Palms, Dracaenas, Ferns, Begonias, Agaves, Yuccas, Anthuriums, Aralias, Crotons, Rhododendrons, Pelargoniums, Gloxinias, Geraniums, Fuchsias, bul- bous plants in great variety, Camellias, etc.
During the summer months Mr. Schoninger divides his early summer morning hours and the time after his return from his factory between the conservatory and his many outdoor plants, which latter, on account of their being spread and scattered over a large piece of territory, require a great deal of care and nurturing. This garden is a beauty indeed, with its handsome floral decorations, its artistically embellished lily-pond, its stately trees and shrubs, forming in all a very appropriate assemblage for the elegant house in their midst.
EDWARD UIHLEIN'S CONSERVATORY.
To the friends of nature, who on their excursions to the parks make use of the street car-lines, the horse-railway on North Avenue offers a most desir- able means of reaching Humboldt Park after having paid a visit to Lincoln Park, or to those who desire to go from Humboldt Park to the park on the North Side, for the cars of said line form a welcome connection between those two pleasure-gardens. They pass by Wicker Park, a finely ornamented square, or rather triangle, with beautiful trees, lawns, walks, ponds, etc, surrounded on all sides by handsome private residences, many of these having pretty little flower-gardens in front, by which the owners or tenants of the houses evince their love of flowers in a marked degree. But foremost among these friends of the children of Flora stands Mr. Edward Uihlein, one of the vice-presidents of the Chicago Horticultural Society, a gentleman of fine tastes and great pop- ularity, and one who commands the honor and respect of all who have the good fortune of being acquainted with him.
Mr. Cihlein resides on Ewing Place, between Robey Street and Hoyne Avenue, where he and his family occupy a palatial residence that stands on the western end of a large park-like garden, richly but at the same time very tastefully embellished with flowers, shrubs and shade-trees. In the rear of these grounds and in close proximity to the family residence are situated the highly interesting greenhouses of Mr. Uihlein, which contain a collection of plants equal if not superior to any other private collection in this city. ()n these plants Mr. Uihlein bestows a great amount of loving care and under his judicious and skilled treatment they thrive and prosper like grateful children under the influences of affectionate parents. The total space devoted to the indoor-culture of flowers and plants covers an area of 34x56 feet and occupies an elevation high enough to furnish flowing water to a grotto of stalagmite situated in front of the pavilion-like conservatory. A neat fountain and a small goldfish-pond are attractive appendages of the warm-house filled with a wealth of rare and beautiful plants.
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