Pennsylvania School of Horticulture for Women - Wise Acres Yearbook (Ambler, PA)

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ALUMNAE NOTES Upon request the following reports were - received from the graduates of the School of Horticulture for the year 1921: Booth, Barbara, Class of 1920. “From the middle of March to Thanksgiving Day I was at Movilla Gardens, Ilaverford, Pa. My chief work was seeing that all the varieties of iris, peonies, phlox, lilacs, hemerocallis, delphiniums, climbing roses, aquilegias, oriental poppies and astilbes were correctly labeled, and their locations recorded in a card index system. I also pruned the roses, sowed and transplanted delphiniums and aquilegias, filled orders, cultivated the rare varieties of iris, helped select the iris, peony and poppy blooms for exhibition in the Main Line Flower Shows of the Penns lvania Horticultural Society, cultivated a collection of rock plants.’’ Broadbent, Marjorie W., Class of 1920. “I have been fitting myself as .landscape architect and gardener at Lowthorpe School, hoping to finish here in June, with a position in view. This is a splendid place to continue horticultural studies and to equip as landscape architect after completing the two } ears’ course at Ambler.” Carter, Louise, Class of 1916. In charge of work upon the estate of Mrs. Clement Griscom, at Tallahasse, Fla. Dorothy and Katharine Cloud, Class of 1916. “The work of the past season was filled with varied and interesting experiences. It was our third year in business for ourselves as consulting horticulturists and landscape gardeners. The actual work we had last year consisted in the supervision of large country places, where we had entire charge of directing all the work and placing the orders. This comprised: Planning the flower and vegetable gardens, outlining the daily work for the gardeners, overlooking the lawns, shrubbery, greenhouses, gardens and general upkeep of the place. In some cases where the head gardener as competent, our services were required to supervise only the flower gardens and shrubbery borders. This branch of our business, together with our consultation work, always continues throughout the season. Our landscape work comes with a rush during the planting seasons. The greatest number of calls in this line were for making, and doing over, gardens and perennial borders.” Cohen, Katharine, Class of 1917. “My news is not particularly entertaining, being again this year merely an account of my activities here at Cornell. This is my third year in the School of Landscape Art, but, in our department, they count a professional landscape architect's career as necessitating some eight years of college, office work and travel before he or she can hang out a shingle. So I don’t feel very far on my way yet, though I do expect to undertake jobs of my own long before the expiration of those eight ear of training, and largely shall I attribute any premature capabilities to my good practical training at Ambler, and to the outside work 12

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land. The canals are teeming with life, large families of children swarming over the tiny one-room sampans they call home. Now and then one drops overboard, but there are plenty more! In five hours I arrive in Hangchow, the beautiful, where I am met by my friend. We jump into rickshas and race thro the electric lighted streets, so narrow at times that a fat man has to draw in his corporosity to escape a bump. Hangchow was the summer play place of the Emperors, reached by canal from Peking. The longer portion of the Grand Canal was made in the sixth century, A. D., and it is almost 900 miles long. In places it is often 100 feet wide, with sides frequently faced with stone. Fine stone bridges, memorial arches, and lofty pagodas are its gems of architecture and over all is the wonderful atmospheric coloring with the vivid greens, reds, tans, indigo blues and browns, from which, no doubt, inspiration was supplied for the embroideries and pictures on silk. In the beautiful lake at Hangchow is the Emperor’s Island, connected by causeway to the mainland. We went across the lake in a boat, paddled thro beds of lotus and lilies ready to bloom. In an hour we go ashore, walk up several hundred stone steps to see a Buddhist temple. We enter the quaint garden inside the dragon wall, going thru the moon door; the pathways are mosaic designs of dragons, stars, fish and lotus, worked out with pebbles of various colors, broken brick, small stones and bits of white crockery,- the passing of centuries having mellowed the whole effect delightfully. You cannot imagine the quiet loveliness of that big, age-old temple! In a corner, all alone, was a worshipper, kneeling in front of a table with a book open before him. On one side of him was a large cuplike bell (a bell upside-down) ; on his other side was a smaller bell. The priest struck the large bell with a piece of wood, the end covered with a wad of cloth, one stroke of which made that metal cup sing with reverberations for five minutes. While this one was singing, he struck the smaller one, then his own voice rose in rich tones, chanting the words slowly and in perfect harmony with big and little bell cups. As we went down the valley we could hear the nn+sic of the temple for a long distance. Thru the valley we walked for five miles, coming out to a sea wall, thousands of years old, and 150 miles long. Again we climbed the hills to get a view of villages, trees, temples, arches and mountains across the river—it looked like the Bay of Naples away back in old China. 11

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that I did during the war. However, landscape art is a decidedly difficult profession, and it requires a lot of broad knowledge, with ks'ramifications into the fields of architecture, art, engineering and science. Hence, I must report myself as still a Cornell “Stude,” very busy, very enthusiastic, and never for a minute wavering from my ambition to be a downright good landscape architect! Greetings to all my fellow Alumnae of the School of Horticulture. ” David, Emily, Class of 1916. “Truth triumphs! It is with deep regret I feel obliged to confess that my horticultural achievements for 1921 will have to be reported ‘among the missing.’ Though I insist, oh gentle scoffer, that my interest has not waned. May I remind you all of the ‘Garden Days,’ they proved so tremendously popular last year that the School is planning to continue them again this spring. Watch for further notice of plan and dates. This year’s alumnae meeting was especially stimulating and interesting. We feel that acquaintance and association with others in a chosen field tend greatly to increase individual effectiveness, and one of the principal purposes of the Association is to provide such companionship for its members.” George, Beatrice, Class of 1918. “There is really very little to say except that I’ve been studying landscape architecture at Cornell, spending last summer here in the ‘third term’ work, especially for our course, comprising out-pf-ioor sketching, floriculture, and a study of plant materials.” Gerhard, Ru'h A., Class of 1918. “My work during the year 1921, consists of the following: In charge of the Department of Gardening at the National .Park Seminary, Forest Glenn, Md. Student at the Summer School of Cornell University (subjects: Nature Study’ Ornithology, Psych- ology).” MR. AND MRS J. C. REIS, of Pleasant Plains, Staten Island, announce the marriage of their daughter, Sarah G., to Mr. Rudolph Bergen, of New York City, Sunday, July 2, 1922. I knew that I was going to miss you School of Hort, Where hours sometimes endless seemed, but Weeks were short. Where lectures often bored and “Woody” Trips we’d cuss. But gayly go to Ambler in that Self-same bus. Where Sunbeam nightly tried to make our Toby dance. You lucky Juniors, keep it, while you Plave the chance. 13 “Mike.”