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■y THE GARDENERS' MONTHLY 



[March, 



■^.S 



^nould also be served much in the same way ; 

 but as their chief value is as fall flowerers, a severe 

 pruning now produces a vigorous growth, bearing 

 large and luxurious blooms. The Tea, China, 

 Bourbon and Noisette roses which flower best on 

 young wood, should be well cut in. 



PEeonias, Dicentras, and other hardy herbaceous 

 plants that have been two years in one situation, 

 should be taken up, divided and reset in new soil, 

 if the finest flowers are desired. There is a grow- 

 ing revival of the taste for beautiful herbaceous 

 plants, which the Frenchy fashion of growing a 

 few kinds in masses for mere gaudy display had 

 well nigh annihilated. Herbaceous plants take a 

 little more tying and fixing through the summer, 

 but make up for it by variety and peculiar interest. 



Chrysanthemums are now indispensable for au- 

 tumn decoration of the flower garden. Now is 

 the time to procure a supply. They do well in any 

 rich garden soil that is not too dry. The LiUipu- 

 tian, or Pompone class is still popular for con- 

 servatory or pot culture, but the large-flowering 

 kinds still remain the gems of the open ground. 



Whenever it is prudent to work in the half dried 

 ground, hardy annuals may also be sown ; the earlier 

 they can be started, the finer they flower. Some- 

 times, after sowing, cold wet weather ensues, when 

 the seed, if it is started at all, is liable to rot. It is 

 best to save a few seeds in each packet, and in 

 two or three weeks after sowing, go over and 

 scatter in the places where the other portion was 

 sown. Every place where seed is put in should 

 be marked, and with the kind ; when the border 

 plants are then set out the annuals will not be dis- 

 turbed. A change of soil, as we have often said, 

 is beneficial to the flower border. With some 

 kinds of flowers, the Verbena for instance, a new 

 soil is a great luxury, for which they will be very 

 grateful to you. The first two inches of the sur- 

 face soil of an old pasture, mixed with about a 

 third of the surface soil of an old wood, makes an 

 excellent medium to grow border plants in. Not 

 the mere rotten leaves from a wood, but the dark, 

 black humus in which the roots of the trees, and 

 other rank vegetable roots have already began to 

 run riot among. 



COMMUNICATIONS. 



A NEW DOUBLE BON SILENE. 

 BY N. B. STOVER. 



Lovers of the rose are fully aware that for fra- 

 grance, beauty of color, neatness of bud, free flow- 



ering and forcing qualities, the old Bon Silene re- 

 mains at the head of the many varieties of the Tea 

 rose ; but for out-door planting it never has 

 amounted to anything worth mentioning, simply 

 from the fact that a few minutes of sun heat would 

 develop and expand its beautiful buds into flimsy 

 and worthless flowers, resembling the wild rose 

 found on our hills and roadsides ; but with all this 

 great defect we never could entertain for a moment 

 the idea of announcing it as worthless, because its 

 good qualities overcome its one bad quality. 



At last we are blessed with a great improve- 

 ment in the shape of a very double Bon Silene, 

 originated by a sport from the old Bon Silene over 

 a year ago in the greenhouse establishment of E. 

 Hippard, in the city of Youngstown, Ohio. He 

 says it retains its quality same as first produced. 

 The flower resembles in shape and thickness of 

 petals, the Sou. de Malmaison ; its color and beauty 

 of bud is the same as its parent, with a uniform 

 dark rose color to the center when fully expanded. 



Youngstown, O. 



CARPET BEDDING AT THE GOVERNMENT 

 GROUNDS, OTTAWA, CAN. 



BY N. ROBERTSON. 



I send you photos taken from my beds as they 

 appeared on the Government Grounds, Canada, 

 during the past year, which I hope you will find 

 interesting. 



A description of them will be necessary, so as to 

 enable you to understand their meaning. In one 

 you will see the representation of a bee-hive and 

 two bees, with the words, Virtute non verbas, 

 around its margin. The first is a portion of the 

 crest of our Governor General ; and the words his 

 motto, the letters of which are made with Alter- 

 nantheras ; the bee-hive of Silver Thyme. The 

 figures are put in to break up the sameness of the 

 carpet which is of Sedum. The outer border is of 

 Salvia officinalis, a plant which makes a fine 

 contrast on grass and ought to be oftener seen 

 than it is, especially on dry soils, as it will bear 

 trimming without spoiling its appearance. It re- 

 quires particular treatment to make a nice edging. 



In another bed you will sec the name, AbercOrn, 

 through the centre, the governor's wife being a 

 daughter of the Duke of Abercorn. Above and 

 under you will notice two acorns, their crest being 

 an Oak tree which I could not make and show 

 good results, so I put in the acorns as the nearest 

 representatives of it. The surroundings are, as 



