1879. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



our hardy shrubs, I think it very probable that 

 •when once established, the Schizophragma 

 will prove to be one of the finest of all our hardy 

 climbing plants. I notice Mr. S. B. Parsons says 

 he finds it slow of propagation ; we also found it 

 so until we began to raise it from seed. From 

 seed we procured plants having greatly increased 

 vitality, so that we found no difficulty in propa- 

 gating it easily from cuttings of the young wood. 



GARDENS AND GARDENING IN AUSTIN, 

 TEXAS. 



BY P. H. O. 



Of all the plants and shrubs that are cultivated 

 for ornament, none takes such a prominent place 

 as the Rose. People have tried shrubs, such as are 

 cultivated in colder countries than this, but many 

 of them die during our hot Summer months ; and 

 shrubs and trees from warmer countries, most of 

 which are killed by frost in Winter ; but the Rose 

 stands all this, and not one has been found yet 

 too tender for our climate. Especial favorites 

 are the Noisettes, Teas, Bourbons, and some of 

 the Bengal varieties, with a few Hybrid Per- 

 petuals, such as La Reine, Giant of Battles, La 

 Prance, Boule de Neige; all these are free bloom- 

 ers, blooming at any time in the year when heat 

 and moisture are not in excess or wanting. 

 ]SJ"early all other Hybrid Perpetuals are shy 

 bloomers with us, as sometimes in April, our 

 Rose month, when the weather is unfavorable, 

 and an early drought and cold dry winds 

 blowing, the flower-buds will not open ; while 

 those enumerated above bloom any time in the 

 year when the conditions are favorable. But 

 I gathered two large bouquets of Roses once on 

 the 15th day of January. 



The Oleander is not hardy, and if planted out 

 must be protected, or the frost will kill it. In 

 the capitol grounds, where there are many, they 

 are protected every Winter by being wrapped 

 vip with mats and carpets. 



The Pomegranate is hardy, so is the Fig, but 

 the latter needs a sheltered place, or a late frost 

 may spoil the first crop. The former is only culti- 

 vated for ornament, as the fruit is never seen at 

 the fruit-stands. 



Jasminum officinale is hardy, but of the more 

 tender kinds only .7. revolutum succeeds tolerably 

 well out doors. 



Camellias are difficult to cultivate even in pots, 

 .so culture in the garden is out of the question ; 

 the leaves soon loose their leathery texture and 

 become hard and get dry at the edges. 



Magnolia grandiflora, though indigenous to 

 Texas, growing abundantly on the sea coast near 

 Houston, 150 miles from this place, behaves in 

 the same way ; the cause of it must be the drj'- 

 ness of the air. Houston sends up in Spring 

 time baskets full of these flowers, which the boys 

 sell in the streets for fifteen cents apiece and 

 more. 



Solanum jasminoides does well outside, so 

 would also Passiflora coerulea, if it was not for a 

 host of brown caterpillars with which it is covered 

 during Summer; the butterflies from which 

 they come are light-brown with black spots, and 

 these never deposit an egg on any other plant as 

 long as there is the least bit of green left on this 

 plant. 



Lantanas are mostly hardy, though some 

 varieties are benefited by a little protection 

 during Winter ; they evidently enjoy our warm 

 sun, unless they get too much of it in .July and 

 August, when they quit flowering until after the 

 Fall rains if they come early enough. 



Verbenas do not often survive our Winters* 

 These little wretched things have continuously to 

 struggle between being roasted or frozen. 



Only two Yuccas are cultivated, Y. gloriosa 

 and Y. draconis ; the former is a beautiful sight 

 when in bloom, in April, with its hundreds of 

 creamy white flowers ; the latter flowers in July. 

 Dracfena Draco and Phoenix sylvestris I planted 

 out, but both perished ; they had not rain enough 

 in Summer, and too much cold in Winter; but a 

 citizen has two plants of Phoenix dactylifera in 

 his garden several years old, raised from the seed 

 of dried Dates, which hitherto have stood all the 

 vicissitudes of our fickle and extreme climate. 



Bananas may be grown on the south side of 

 walls and houses, and if the plant is protected 

 during Winter, fruit may be raised sometimes, 

 but it is cultivated for ornament only, and spar- 

 ingly too. 



Cape Jasmine is seldom cultivated in the 

 garden ; it stands most of our Winters, but is 

 sometimes cut down, and then our dry Summers 

 do not seem to suit it. 



Zonale Geraniums will stand less frost than 

 Verbenas, so we must class them as not hardy ; 

 though it seems strange to me that Bryophyllum 

 calycinum, of which I planted out some plants 

 on the north side of a fence, where it propagated 

 itself very freely, passed several Winters with 

 but little injury. 



Cassia corymbosa and C. loevigata seem to feel 

 quite at home in our climate. 



