164 



THE GARDENER'S 3I0NTHLY 



[June, 



bliss we enjoyed with the former, will be fully 

 realized with the latter, in the rich profusion of 

 mellow autumn's ripe offerings. 



From the opening of the first blossom buds 

 in early spring, to the ripening of the first fruit 

 of the season, the enjoyment will augment with 

 each coming day, until the last languishing 

 flower sheds its fragrance and fades away. But 

 the joys of the garden will not be all gone by, 

 nor will they even cease, when wintery blasts 

 draw us round the cheery fire, to discuss the 

 merits of the remaining mellow apples or juicy 

 pears ; and crack the last nuts that are left us. 



DAHLIA MAXIMILLIANA. 



BY MR. E. LONDSDALE, GERMANTOWN, PHILA. 



Respecting Dahlia Maximilliana, noticed 

 amongst " New Plants " in the Monthly for 

 March, Mr. Haeltel, foreman to John Rock, Esq., 

 Nurseryman, &c., San Jose, Cal., writes me as 

 follows : — 



"Last summer Mr. Roezl brought with him 

 from Mexico a species of Dahlia under the above 

 name, which he described as being a tree Dahlia. 

 Mr. Rock procured plants of it. They were dor- 

 mant. The roots differ from the old species. 

 Being less tuberous. They were potted and 

 placed in a greenhouse, where they soon com- 

 menced to grow. The young shoots appearing 

 from the, old wood. In due time they were plant- 

 ed in the open ground. By Fall some of them 

 had attained a height of about 6 feet.'when they 

 were lifted and potted and again placed in the 

 greenhouse where they have continued to flower 

 the whole winter. The flowers are single, of a 

 deep lilac color." 



This may interest some of the readers of the 

 Monthly. 



BEAUTIFUL SHRUBS OF S. UTAH. 



BY A. L. SILEK. 



Shephardia rotundifolia, Parry, presents to the 

 beholder, on first sight, so bright and silvery an 

 appearance, that it is with persons of taste the 

 universal exclamation — oh, how beautiful, how 

 much like silver ! The leaves of this shrub are 

 covered with short soft hairs that give it its 

 eilvery appearance ; they are very thick and 

 round in shape; the flowers are small and incon- 

 spicuous, being of a dull yellow; and the female 



flowers, which are borne on separate plants, are 

 are almost apetilos ; but the greatest beauty 

 about this plant is its flower bvids, which are full 

 sized in December, although it does not flower 

 until early spring. The buds are about an eighth 

 of an inch round on the male, oblong on the 

 female plants. These buds are truly, to all ap- 

 pearance, little balls of silver ; the fruit, which 

 ripens in June and July, is about J-inch long 

 by l^-inch wide, and is covered with stinging 

 hairs, which, when examined under the glass, 

 look like stars. This shrub is an evergreen. 

 Another nice shrub for rocks and rock-work, aa 

 it will grow in any crevice of a rock where it can 

 hide its root, is Cercocarjius intricatus. Parry. 

 Is an evergreen, and grows only about a foot 

 high. It is often seen growing several hundred 

 feet up the face of a sand-stone ledge, where, if 

 it has soil at all, it must be only the least parti- 

 cle. 



HARDINESS OF ARALIA PAPYRIFERA. 



BY C. W. S., HULMEVILLE, BUCKS CO., PA. 



I wrote you about this time last year asking 

 if Aralia Papyri fera was hardy. You replied 

 that it was doubtful and I took mine up. Some- 

 time in September, of this year, I found a fine 

 young plant growing in the spot from whence I 

 had removed the old plant, evidently coming 

 from a piece of root left in the ground. Had re- 

 mained dormant almost a year, and had sur- 

 vived one of the severest winters we have had 

 for many years. I think, with a little rough 

 litter thrown round it, the Aralia could be left 

 out all winter. 



WHO SHALL LAY OUT OUR ORNAMENTAL 

 GROUNDS? 



BY B. S. OLMSTEAD, LANDSCAPE GARDEIfER, RYB, 

 NEW YORK. 



From time to time, during the last one or two 

 years, allusions have been made in the horticul- 

 tural magazines to the employment of civil 

 engineers in the laying out of our public parks 

 and other ornamental grounds. It has been 

 claimed that this work should be done by gar- 

 deners, and by gardeners only. 



NoAv I have not the least doubt that a good 

 gardener, because he in a good gardener, is better 

 qualified to plant a tree and make it grow, than 

 a civil engineer, because he is a civil engineer ; 



