296 



THE GARDENERS MONTHLY 



[ October, 



February, and continued in beauty till early in 

 May. Last year this same plant began blooniiu}: 

 in March and continued, more or less, in flower 

 till November, which prolongation of season was 

 caused by the jirevious year's irregularly ripened 

 •wood; therefore wlien the wood is thoroughly 

 ripened we get a jnagnificent show concentrated, 

 which is the preferable waj'. We grow our 

 Medinillas in turfy loam and a little peat leaf 

 soil and rough sand, and water them heavily in 

 Summer, and moderately in Winter. Thrips 

 are fond of the leaves, and mealy bugs are per- 

 sistently partial to the flowers, and without a 

 rigid riddance of these pests satisfiiction cannot 

 be had. 



MAIDEN HAIR FERN FOR BOUQUETS. 



BY MR. E. LOXSDALE, GERMANTOWN, PHILA. 



Referring to the extract from the Garden on 

 this subject, and your remarks thereon in the 

 July number of the Monthly, I would say that 

 the Adiantum cuneatum is the kind mostly 

 grown forbouquets,and not the A. capillis veneris. 

 The former kind has an arched and graceful 

 frond, and is a much better kind for the purpose 

 than the latter, besides producing fronds in 

 greater profusion. 



The reason why ferns are not so much used 

 here as in Europe is, because Smilax, though 

 perhaps not quite so prettj', answers the purpose 

 very well, and is much more easily and cheaply 

 grown. 



A SUMMER GARDEN BOUQUET. 



BY W. E. M., GERMANTOWN, PHILA. 



A very pretty and tasty bouquet for Summer 

 time may be made of scarlet Geranium, Bego- 

 nia Weltoniensis, or some other pink flower, 

 Catalonian Jasmine, Browallia elata, blue, and a 

 few fern leaves. Ttie first two varieties should 

 be used for "base flowers," the next two for 

 " projecting " and the ferns for " edging." 



In making the bouquet, alternate the scarlet 

 Geranium and Begonia. It is immaterial that 

 these flowers be packed together, ns the Browallia 

 and Catalonian Jasmine will make the bouquet 

 light and graceful. These two should be cut 

 from the plants with long stems, as the buds are 

 almost as pretty as the flowers. They should be 



projected about three inches above the other 

 blos.soms. There should be about twice as much 

 Jasmine as Browallia, as a very little blue will 

 make a much greater effect than the same 

 (|uantity of white. 



Edge the bouquet with some light and graceful 

 fern leaves, and a gratifying result will follow. 



A round top nosegay is preferable to any 

 other style, when made as above described, 

 because the projecting flowers show with greater 

 effect. 



EDITORIAL NOTES. 



Roof Gardening in Chicago. — Potter Palmer'* 

 hotel, in Chicago, is said to have a beautiful 

 roof garden. It is to be hoped the exami)le will 

 prove "catching." We have urged, for years, 

 the extension of this excellent practice. 



The Old Double Chinese Primrose. — In spite 

 of the double kinds, which late years have 

 brought for us from seed, there are none so 

 double, or in every way so good, as the old 

 double white kind, which has to be propagated 

 by a division of the stock. The florists all rejoice 

 in it. It requires a cool place to be kept over 

 the Summer in. About this time it commences 

 to grow, and should be gently re-potted. It is 

 one of those things that likes to be kept high in 

 the pot, and then frequently watered. When 

 there is room for a great deal of water, by being 

 set deep in the pot there is great danger of its 

 getting too much ; then the leaves turn yellow, 

 or the plant dies. 



The Papyrus as a Garden Plant. — The Egyp- 

 tian Papyrus, the plant from which the ancients 

 made their paper, is a kind of sedge grass, and 

 grows naturally in the Nile regions. In our 

 earlier gardening days we grew it in tul)S of 

 water in greenhouses; and it grew very well. 

 Recently, in a visit to the pretty nurseries of 

 Miller & Hayes, of Germantown, we saw it 

 growing beautifully as a dry border plant — a new 

 illustration of a fact pointed out by ourselves 

 some time ago, that it is not because plants love 

 water, that nature often makes them grow 

 therein. 



Artificial Colored Flowers. — These are now 

 common in cemetery and parlor work. It is 



