THE 



Gardeners^ Monthly 



HORTICULTURIST. 



DEVOTED TO HORTICULTURE. ARBORICULTURE AND RURAL AFFAIRS. 



Edited by THOMAS MEEHAN. 



Volume XXVII. 



JULY, 1885. 



Number 319. 



Flower Garden and Pleasure Ground. 



SEASONABLE HINTS. 



The past autumn and spring were rather favor- 

 able transplanting seasons, but under the best 

 conditions some extra care should be given the 

 first season. The time is coming when transplanted 

 trees of the past fall and spring will suffer more 

 than during any other part of the season. If they 

 show a vigorous growth of young wood no danger 

 need be apprehended, as it indicates that the roots 

 are active, and can supply all the moisture the 

 foliage calls for ; but if no growth has been made, 

 no roots have been formed, and the leaves are 

 living for the most part on the sap in the wood and 

 bark ; and hot, drying weather will tell with in- 

 jurious effect on such trees. This is generally first 

 shown by the peeling off of the bark on the south- 

 western side of the tree, — the most drying aspect ; 

 and where such exhaustion appears probable, 

 much relief may be afforded by cutting back some 

 of the branches, syringing with water occasionally, 

 shading the trees where practicable, or wrapping 

 the trunk in hay-bands or shading the southwest 

 with boughs or boards. 



In most kinds of soil the keeping the surface 

 loose, by hoeing and raking in dry weather, will 

 be an excellent method of keeping the main body 

 cool and moist, — admitting the air, which is a 

 good non-conductor. In soils, however, which 

 are deficient in loam, and in which sand prevails 



to a great extent, frequent stirrings have a drying 

 tendency, and a mulching of short grass, or decay- 

 ing vegetable matter of any kind will be found 

 very useful around transplanted trees, shrubs and 

 other things. 



The Gladiolus has become one of our most 

 popular summer flowers. Those who have collec- 

 tions of them arrange the varieties very tastefully 

 according to their colors. Take a list of colors as 

 they flower, so as to arrange them properly next 

 year. We give the same advice for Petunias, Ver- 

 benas and Geraniums. The various shades of 

 colors of these varieties, properly arranged, make 

 beds peculiarly pleasing. This is one of the arts 

 of modern flower-gardening, to arrange flowers 

 properly according to shades of color. 



This is the best season of the year for watching 

 the effects of various plants in the now popular 

 plan of carpet bedding, and then arrange the 

 plants as well as the beds themselves for next year. 

 Such beds are very effective when placed in con- 

 trast with more natural features. We give on the 

 following page a sketch of one in a park in Ger- 

 many, taken from the German Gardeners' Maga- 

 zine, which will give some idea to those who have 

 not seen them, how these beds are made. 



We have so much greater variety to choose 

 from that will succeed in our climate, that we 

 ought to have prettier beds than they. Some 

 things, however, like Lobelias, prefer their cool to 



