40 



TheWeeMy Florists^ Review. 



Lilacs in Pots: Lilacs once forced 

 into bloom should not be forced the next 

 year, but grown on as described below 

 for two years. In fact, except under 

 very exceptional conditions of weather 

 and situation, it is not possible to get 

 lilacs to llower again so well as when 

 first brought over from the continent. 

 Assuming that no forcing has been prac- 

 ticed, but the plants (Continental) have 

 flowered naturallj' in a greenhouse, let 

 them be hardened off before anything 

 else be done. Then, having chosen a 

 spot about the middle of a soiith border, 

 away from all shadow thrown by east 

 and west walls, shake off some of the 

 soil, and loosen the outer roots, and hav- 

 ing some loamy soil and manure handy, 

 proceed to plant them at 2 to 3 feet 

 apart, putting the loam and manure 

 immediately round the balls; apply wa- 

 ter, and make firm. These plants need 

 only to have the weaker shoots removed. 

 Give to each a short stake and a tie to 

 keep them steady. Put no other plants 

 between the rows, as there must be noth- 

 ing to shade the soil and keep it cool. 

 The main idea is to obtain short, stocky, 

 well ripened shoots. The surface must 

 be kept friable with the hoe, and never 

 allowed to cake. Water up to the be- 

 ginning of August may be afforded in 

 hot weather occasionally; not later, or 

 the wood will ripen imperfectly. In a 

 hot summer you may get shoots"^ well set 

 with flower buds. Lilacs which have 

 been forced should be hardened off, and 

 similarly treated, except that the strong- 

 er shoots may be tipped. These plants 

 would stand for two summers in the bed, 

 and be lifted and potted in September or 

 October of the second year, provided the 

 show of flower-buds gives hope of good 

 returns. No harm results to a lilac bush 

 if it flag considerably in hot weather — 

 in fact, it seems to conduce to greater 

 floriferousness and early ripening of the 

 wood. 



HARDY PLANTS. 



The garden of hardy plants at Lincoln 

 Park, Chicago, was so beautiful, even be- 

 fore any bloom of consequence had ap- 

 peared, we felt it should be shared by 

 the readers of the Review so we had the 

 accompanying photograph taken. But 

 now that we have the picture in black and 

 white we realize more than ever what 

 a large part of the garden's beauty was 

 due to the foliage color tones. Tlie deep 

 red brown of the paeonies and the great 

 variety of harmonizing tones of green in 

 the other rapidly growing herbaceous 

 plants, supplemented by the delightful 

 greens of the young foliage on the trees 

 and shrubs, created a most pleasing and 

 deeply satisfying picture. 



Some slight idea of the color contrasts 

 may be had by a close examination of the 

 picture, but so much must be left to the 

 imagination that it is a disappointment 

 as an illustration. 



The paeonies are now in bud, the Ger- 

 man irises are beginning to bloom and 

 the aquilegias are approaching their best 

 estate. The wild geranium, several spec- 

 imens of which have been in fine bloom, 

 is now passing. Several masses of the 

 native phloxes are still a sheet of flow- 

 ers and the dodecatheons are about at 

 their best. Scilla hyacinthoides still 

 shows hundreds of spikes of white flow- 

 ers and the Oriental poppies are ready to 

 burst their buds. 



Shrubs are late and the lilacs are now 

 about at their best, as are also Loniceras 



tartarica and tartarica grandillora. 

 Spiraea Van Houtteii is barely showing 

 color yet. And curiously enough plants 

 of this spira;a in Washington Park, in 

 equally exposed situations, are already in 

 nearly full bloom. 



BOSTON. 



Trade Conditions. 



It seems to me that things consist 

 more of a past, present and future just 

 now than usually. Of course last week 

 was a busy one and I think utilized more 

 natural flowers than ever, one peculiarity 

 being that hardly any artificial material 

 was called for, and those who stocked up 

 with it must have lost on their venture. 

 I notice that some of the city florists 

 must have been bitten slightly last year 

 in this respect, as their windows did 

 not make such a display in this line as 

 formerly. Buyers began purchasing for 

 Thursday as early as the previous Satur- 

 day. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 

 forenoon there was a big demand, even 

 though the weather was against us, but 

 Wednesday afternoon found all hands 

 supplied, and on Thursday morning but 

 little wholesale business was done. My 

 prediction of plenty of material except 

 roses was correct, and even roses were 

 not needed late in the busy time. 



A tremendous lot of plants were sold, 

 not much being left in that line save a 

 few pansies and daisies. Geraniums are 

 called good property now. Also a pecu- 

 liarity of last week was the presence of 

 hundreds of first class Easter lilies much 

 better in quality than is usual for the 

 date. 



Just at present there is more coming 

 in than could be expected considering the 

 weather and the fact that everything 

 was quite closely cut for Memorial Day. 

 There is also more demand than might be 

 looked for, so that everything goes along 

 very smoothly. What the future will 

 bring forth is an open question; June 

 weddings are an unknown quantity. Last 

 June was not a heavy one, but the one 

 preceding was good, and I think this one 

 will be the same. I know of some good 

 orders already located for work during 

 the first week. But it looks to me as 

 tliough pinks will become so plentiful 

 that only the best will stand much show. 

 J. S. Manter. 



BUFFALO. 



We hardly ever remember the week of 

 Decoration Day being such a gloomy 

 time. It was not the amount of rain that 

 fell, but drizzle, drizzle continuously for 

 five or six days, and the day itself was 

 gloomy in the extreme. Yet I think 

 business was up to the average, although 

 the crowds that usuallv visit the ceme- 



ter 



vere not 



visible. Thert 



peared to be flowers enough to go round. 

 The weather has much retarded the 

 work of the plant man, and he deserves 

 sympathy, for the people did not want 

 them nor could we fill the orders during 

 the wretched weather, but now let the 

 sun shine for a few days and we will be 

 just swamped. 



It appears that at last we have the 

 genuine Greek with us. Not the sort 

 that was alluded to a few weeks ago, 

 who had a counter in a department store, 

 but a stall in the entrance of the Moon- 

 ey-Brisbane building in the very center 

 of the city and one of the first otnoc 

 liuildings. Well, let them come. There 



is a wide difference of opinion about 

 their influence, and if other cities can 

 stand it I am sure we can. 



The Pan-American is not filling the 

 city to suffocation, yet there are many 

 strangers here, and if the weather had 

 been warm and pleasant the attendance 

 would have more than exceeded expecta- 

 tions of the sanguine. It is cheerful to 

 hear men from Ohio, Indiana and Illi- 

 nois, as well as from the great cities of 

 the east, all agree that the attendance in 

 mid-summer will be enormous. We al- 

 ways thought so, and never more confi- 

 dently than this moment. 



I am afraid we did not see all the hor- 

 ticultural visitors for the past week, but 

 we did see Mr. and Mrs. Groff of Sim- 

 coe, Ontario ; Charles Vick and Mr. King, 

 of Rochester, and President Patrick 

 O'Mara, of New York. Mr. O'Mara 

 helped* to put good spirits into Julius 

 Heinrich. Mr. Heinrich has worked hard 

 to complete the fine exhibit of the Peter 

 Henderson Company, but weather and 

 circumstances have been against him. 

 He will come out all right, and their plot 

 will be a beauty spot when finished. 

 Mr. Fotheringham, representing the F. 

 R. Pierson Company, is also here, and 

 he is more than delighted with horticul- 

 ture at the Pan-Am. If I were to re- 

 peat all his pleasant utterances you 

 would think they were said to please me, 

 but they were not. He said as he stood 

 in the midst of the rose garden and 

 looked around, "This beats the World's 

 Fair a hundredfold and is a credit to 

 horticulture." W. S. 



DENVER. COLO. 



Decoration Day. 



The demand for out flowers and plants 

 was on an average larger this Decora- 

 tion Day than we have had before. 

 Though lots of snowballs and iris (which 

 were in perfection) were used, there was 

 a good demand for the choicer flowers at 

 a good price, roses running about 50 

 cents more a dozen than the usual prices, 

 and consequently every one is happy. 



Our weather out in this ordinarily 

 xery diy climate has taken quite a 

 cliange and now seems very much like 

 eastern weather, as we have had rain 

 or cloudy days pretty nearly -very day 

 for quite a long time. 



Some Fakes. 



To show how much the florist can l)e 

 disappointed at times, the Gallup Floral 

 Company secured some seed of what was 

 supposed to be our native columbine 

 from a lady in the edge of the moun- 

 tains, who claimed to have gathered 

 them from the native plants, but when 

 ilr. Lewis, of that firm, showed them to 

 me today they were of any old kind but 

 the Rocky Mt. Columbine, Of whieli 

 there was not one. He says he thinks he 

 will go to the mountains himself and get 

 liis own seed. 



And writing of fakes in our line of 

 business, it calls to mind a scheme that 

 was played on the Park Floral Com- 

 pany. Some one representing himself 

 as Mr. Berry, of that firm, has been 

 around among the Capitol Hill houses 

 taking orders, much to the chagrin of 

 the true Jno. Berry, especially when 

 some customers jumped on him with both 

 feet for having sold them worthless 

 slock. The outcome of the matter is 

 that now the employes of the firm have 



