May 29, 1909 



HORTICULTURE 



767 



suffused rose at the ,top; Dame Ele- 

 gante, very good white. 



We grow a number of species of tu- 

 lips and the following are the kinds we 

 prize the most: Fosteriana, Kuuffman- 

 niana, linifolia, Greigii, sylvestris, Ocu- 

 lis-solis, Ostrowskiana and persica. 



Last spring we grew over ninety 

 varieties of narcissi and we can't say 

 too much in their praise as garden 

 plants. Other bulbs which might be 

 added to the above are: Allium Moly, 

 Bulbocodium vernum, Camassia esou- 

 lenta and C. Fraseri, erythroniums, 

 galtonias and Scilla campanulata. 



For early flowering the following are 

 good: Alyssum saxatile, with its gold- 

 en yellow flowers; aquilegias, several 

 species, cwrulea, chrjsantha, glandu- 

 losa and Stuarti being the best. Arab- 

 is albida, Phlox procumbens, P. subu- 

 lata and its varieties are showy dwarf 

 plants. Polemonium reptans and P. 

 cceruleum are good for blue flowers. 

 There are many kinds of veronicas, 

 the choicest being V. rupestris, V. gen- 

 tianoides, V. incana, V. paniculata and 

 V. latifoUa. 



Pentstemons, which are hardy and 

 reliable, are P. digitalis, P. diffusus, P. 

 ovatus, P. barbatus, P. barbatus var. 

 Torreyi and pubescens; Pyrethrum 

 roseum, very fine, has many forms, 

 both double and single, the single flow- 

 ers are very pleasing. Clematis recta 

 has panicles of beautiful white flowers. 

 Dianthus barbatus and many other 

 species are good. Campanula Carpati- 

 ca makes pleasing tufts of blue. Of 

 delphiniums there are many kinds and 

 all are exceptionally showy plants. 

 Dicentra spectabilis, or bleeding heart, 

 is one of the most graceful hardy 

 plants we have in early Summer. Or- 

 obus vernus, fine early dwarf pea flow- 

 ering plant. Lychnis chalcedonica and 

 L. viscaria fl. pi. are both good. Prim- 

 ula veris and P. vulgaris and their var- 

 ieties are well known. Campanula 

 persicifolia and its white flowered vari- 

 ety are of medium height bellflowers. 

 Peonies, herbaceous kinds are all ex- 

 cellent plants. Papaver nudicaule is a 

 showy dwarf poppy and orientale and 

 its varieties are without doubt the 

 showiest of hardy plants. German iris- 

 es are good border plants and will 

 flourish in almost any situation. Iris 

 laevigata and its numerous varieties are 

 extra fine for late Summer, but require 

 more moisture than the German irises. 

 Geranium sanguineum is about a foot 

 high and has a profusion of red flow- 

 ers. Baptisia Australis gives good ra- 

 cemes of blue flowers in June. Erig- 

 eron speciosa and Aster alpinus are 

 the two best composite we have in 

 early Summer. 



For the late flowering kinds the fol- 

 lowing are good: Aconitum autumnale. 

 A. napellus and its varieties are good 

 blue kinds. Anemone Japonica and its 

 varieties are exceptionally good late 

 white and pink flowering plants. The 

 best asters for border use are novae- 

 anglife and its varieties, turbinellus 

 and Shortii. Boltonia latisquama and 

 Bocconia cordata are tall, showy 

 plants. Platyeodon granijiflorum is a 

 grand perennial and flowers for several 

 seasons Coreopsis grandiflora and 

 Gaillardia .grandiflora are choice peren- 

 nials. Helianthus mollis, Helenium 

 autumnale and Hoopesii are good 

 plants for the back row of the border. 

 Monarda didyma is the best of the 

 horsemints. Pyrethrum uliginosum. 



when well .grown, is veiy showy. The 

 best of the rudbeckias are speciosa, 

 subtomentosa, and Golden Glow. Scab- 

 iosa caucasica is the finest of all the 

 scabions. Statice latifolia is the best 

 of the sea lavenders. Veronica sub- 

 sessilis is very choice. Sedum specta- 

 bile is the handsomest of the stone- 

 crops. OEnothera JVIissouriensis has 

 the largest flowers of all the evening 

 primroses. Eryngium amethystinum 

 has roundish heads of flowers with a 

 very striking blue color. The best of 

 the day lilies are Hemerocallis flava, 

 H. Diimortieri, aurantiaca var. major 

 and flava. Lilies, where they do well. 

 are always pleasing. The following 

 kinds are the most easily grown: L. 

 bulbit'erum, L. Canadense, L. candi- 

 duni. L. croceum, L. elegans, L. Han- 

 soni, L. speciosum, L. tenuifolium aud 

 L. tigrinum. To these might be added 

 foxgloves, hollyhocks and the late 

 flowering phloxes. If time would per- 

 mit, many more kinds could be men- 

 tioned. 



It is very important to know some 

 plants that are not desirable tor bor- 

 der use. The objectionable plants are 

 rather showy, but when they get into 

 the border they, are a perpetual ex- 

 pense. They grow so rapidly and 

 spread so quickly that they kill the 

 weaker plants that grow near them. 

 The most troublesome of these are 

 Achillea serrata. Aegopodium Podogra- 

 ria, Anemone Canadensis, Saponaria 

 ofEcinalis, Stachys palustris and Heli- 

 opsis laevis. 



There are many inquiries about per- 

 ennials that will grow under trees and 

 in other shady places. I have found 

 the following very satisfactory: Van- 

 couveria hexandra, hepaticas, asarums, 

 Ajuga reptans, Orobus vernus, lily of 

 the valley and many kinds of ferns. 



Winter Protection. 



The winter protection of herbaceous 

 perennials is important. Plants that 

 are not reliably hardy can be protect- 

 ed with any material which is not too 

 moist or close. Most of the peren- 

 nial plants that are in ordinary culti- 

 vation need no protection, but in the 

 Eastern states we find that a coating 

 of some mulch that keeps them from 

 excessive freezing and thawing during 

 the winter is very beneficial to the 

 plants. If barnyard manure be used a 

 double advantage is obtained; the 

 plants are kept in good condition and, 

 from the teachings during the winter, 

 the plants obtain food. Leaves of de- 

 ciduous trees, pine leaves and hay are 

 all good for protection. The dressing 

 for protection should not be applied 

 until the gi'ound is well frozen; that 

 will be about the first of December. 

 The covering need not be very thick- 

 two or three inches is enough. The 

 covering is not so much intended to 

 keep out the frost as to prevent alter- 

 nate freezing and thawing by which 

 the plants are thrown out of the 

 ground, the roots broken and exposed 

 to the sun and air. if the ground is 

 kept frozen all winter this trouble is 

 avoided. The covering should be re- 

 moved as soon as the weather will 

 permit in the spring. 



The propagation of perennials is 

 either by seed, cuttings or divisions of 

 the plants. Plants are easily raised 

 from seed, and a stock of plants can 

 be obtained quickly in this way. Many 

 writers on perennial plants decry the 



so-called beddin.g plants, such as gera- 

 niums, coleus, heliotrope and the like. 

 I do not want to do this, as all kinds 

 of showy plants are desirable in gar- 

 den decoration if they are used cor- 

 rectly. What I do want to point out 

 is that the person who hasn't a green- 

 house need not be discouraged. There 

 is ample material to select from among 

 deciduous trees, evergreen trees, shrub- 

 bery of all kinds and herbaceous per- 

 ennials. There are no bedding plants 

 that will compare with irises, lark- 

 spur, daffodils and lilies. 



Another point which is in favor of 

 I he hardy plants is that long before 

 the geranium, coleus and heliotrope 

 have left the greenhouse we have en- 

 joyed the charming early spring flow- 

 ers, such as squills, snowdrops, cro- 

 cuses, tulips, phlox, white-cress, hepa- 

 ticas and violets. Not only have we 

 the hardy plants in the early spring, 

 but late in the fall when all our ten- 

 der plants are housed. 



In conclusion I would like to ad- 

 vise you to have plenty of thrift and 

 honesty in your gardens and you will 

 be always happy. Now I will say 

 good-night to the poppies, lilies, "daf- 

 fydowndillies" and all the rest of the 

 distinguished company of old-fashion- 

 ed plants which I love so much. 



CATTLEYA MOSSIAE. 



In these days of quick transporta- 

 tion, when orchid collecting has been 

 reduced to a fine art, and orchids can 

 be shipped to this country with a com- 

 paratively small percentage of loss, we 

 hear now and again of some marvel- 

 ous specimens Which, having success- 

 fully withstood the ordeal of ship- 

 ment, develop into noble plants and 

 delight the orchid lover's eye with 

 their wealth of gorgeous blossoms. 



The Cattleya Mossiae figured in the 

 accompanying illustration is a case in 

 point. Here we have a plant which 

 was received amongst a case of im- 

 ported Mossiffi two years ago. At the 



time of writing, there are forty-six 

 blooms on the plant. Personally, I, 

 have never seen a more perfect speci- 

 men, either in Europe or in this coun- 

 try. 



In the illustration only one side of 

 the plant is shown, but the blooms 

 were evenly distributed all over the 

 plant. This specimen is one of many 

 in the Coryell collection at Menlo 

 Park, California. At the time the 

 photograph was taken the plant was 

 doing duty on the table at a recsption 

 which accounts for the fern embellish- 

 ments, which, while more or less nec- 

 essary, from the decorators' point of 

 view, would have been better dis- 

 pensed with as cin illustration. 



WM. Mc. M. BROWN. 



Calif. 



