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HORTI CULTURE 



June 1, 1907 



favor. We io not think the bright 

 coloring of the croton is suggestive ot 

 healthfulness, but instead we are im- 

 pressed with the fact that nature is 

 having a hard struggle with this child 

 of hers, and in spite ot the old dame, 

 the child develops red spots and yel- 

 low streaks. 



Our Boston crotons outside are 

 demure looking and dignified speci- 

 mens refusing to put on a gaudy at- 

 tire which is certainly to thei" credit. 

 We would not advise going into this 

 class of bedding too extensively. We 

 prefer giving the plants a little more 

 room than they are given in some of 

 our gardens. We do not approve of 

 planting so closoiv- together that the 

 individual is merged into the whole. 

 Give a little room to show forth the 

 habit of the plant. At the same time 

 this adds grace to the arrangement. 

 We use the old Peristrophe augusti- 

 folia for covering the ground and the 

 bed is finished. 



Begonias are becoming very popular 

 as bedders, and are being used in great 

 quantities, the leader in our opinion 

 being Vesuvius having a fuchsia like 

 habit. The flowers make a quiet dis- 

 play. Altogether, this is a charming 

 plant for outside work, and cannot be 

 recommended too highly. Our Mr. 

 Sander has a variety of Erfordii bear- 

 ing light pink flowers, a good grower 

 and loves the sunshine. The red 

 Erfordii gives great promise. Its 

 foliage takes on a beautiful bronze 

 after being planted out the red flowers 

 making a splendid combination. We 

 predict a great future for the begonia 

 as a bedder. 



Carpet bedding is not so popular as 

 of yore, but there is a great deal of it 

 done and there is more of it overdone. 

 Many gardeners make poor work of 

 their design work. It is such a re- 

 lief to one when he realizes he has 

 not to erect a white elephant or a gate 

 far enough ajar to allow the elephant 

 to pass through. We believe those 

 who do this kind of work are work- 

 ing along lines that are artistic and 

 sublime, rather than the monstrous 

 and profane. We believe there is still 

 some of it done that is apt to cause ' 

 one to express his opinion in language 

 bordering on the profane even in this 

 enlightened age. How lidiculous to 

 cut out these serpentine lines in the 

 grass, Copley Square being a horrible 

 example a few years ago. Rather 

 have a large bed and the design 

 worked out with the plants. But 

 after all your time and energy is spent, 

 how artificial it all is and how little 

 enjoyment one gets out of all the 

 patience and thou.ght that he must put 

 into such work. I must say it takes 

 painstaking and thoughtful study, to 

 work out a bed of this kind, both on 

 the plan and the execution of the 

 work. It is needless to say that the 

 coleus is rapidly disappearing. A large 

 bed is seldom seen. We have seen ' 

 salvia splendens planted through 

 shrubbery borders. It certainly looked 

 as if the shrubs or the salvias were not 

 at home. The salvias were certainly 

 out of their element and they looked 

 it. All bedding plants should be kept 

 away from the shrubs. We only men- 

 tion a few ot the bedding plants that 

 we may confine ourselves to the read- 

 ing ot the paper. We might go on 

 indefinitely discussing bedding plants, 

 their use, and abuse. 



BULBOUS PLANTS FOR MASSING 

 AND BEDDING. 



A Paper read before the Gardeners' and 

 Florists' Club ot Boston by W. N. Craig. 



During the past few years there has 

 been a wonderful growth in the popu- 

 larity of hardy bulbous plants not due 

 to any vagary of fashion, but rather to 

 the general spread of a genuine love 

 of flowers. Coming into bloom as they 

 do after the long dreariness of winter 

 they have ever had a charm for poets 

 and lovers of nature. We cannot trot 

 out any of the many familiar quota- 

 tions which come to mind, but must 

 rather pass on to enumerate some of 

 their good qualities. Unlike the fash- 

 ionable orchid and the carnation need- 

 ing glass structures and skilled labor 

 for t;heir culture, these hardy bulbs 

 will thrive in almost any soil and sit- 

 uation. Some of them are a trifle 

 more delicate than others, but a good 

 selection may be made of perfectly 

 iron clad varieties which will succeed 

 with almost any one. 



For bedding purposes tulips and 

 hyacinths are the two predominant 

 bulbous plants. The first-named lead 

 in popularity, their comparative cheap- 

 ness, ease of culture and great color 

 varieties being the chief causes of their 

 occupying a foremost position. Where 

 an extensive system of bedding is car- 

 ried out in individual beds, massing 

 separate colors in a bed is the most 

 effective, the softer and lighter shades 

 should however, always predominate 

 over the brighter ones, no matter 

 whether the intervening spaces be of 

 gravel or grass; the dark pinks, scar- 

 lets, crimsons and purples should be 

 placed farthest away from the house 

 or from the principal observation 

 point. At a distance these higher 

 colors are telling, more so than the 

 softer hues. If .a solitary bed on a 

 lawn near a house is planted one solid 

 color it soon becomes monotonous, 

 however, and a mixed arrangement 

 will be in better taste and prove well- 

 satisfying. It should ever be borne 

 in mind that we do not plant always 

 to gratify our own tastes and desires, 

 but rather those whom we serve. Gar- 

 deners to be ultimately successful must 

 first consult the wishes and desires of 

 those by whom they are employed; it 

 is in their power to make many sug- 

 gestions which employers will be glad 

 to receive and also introduce little in- 

 novations which will from time to time 

 prove pleasant surprises; btit we are 

 digressing from our topic. 



A few of the best of the early bedding 

 tulips are; Chrysolora, Proserpine, 

 loost van Vondel (white), Keizer- 

 kroon, scarlet and white Pottebak- 

 kersi, Thomas Moore, Pink Beauty, 

 Queen of the Netherlands, Couleur 

 Cardinal and Prince of Austria. In 

 doubles a few pleasing varieties are 

 Couronne d'Or, Murillo, the Tournesols 

 and Imperator Rubrorum. Following 

 the early single and double tulips and 

 excelling them in many respects are 

 the late-flowering varieties in many 

 beautiful colors, the Bybloemens, Bi- 

 zarres and such late sorts as Picotees, 

 Gesneriana, Bouton d'Or, Golden 

 Crown, Retroflexa, Vitellena, Shandon 

 Bells, and Elegans. As a rule these 

 have much longer stems than the early 

 varieties and for cutting are splendid. 



While some of these are higher priced 

 than the early tulips we find the bulbs ' 

 do not deteriorate from year to year 

 in the same ratio. 



In addition to their use in solid beds 

 tulips are excellent for mass effects 

 along shrubbery borders. They may 

 be used either in long bands of irreg- 

 ular width or in clumps of fifty or 

 more bulbs each. If used in bands it 

 is best to use the softer shades for this 

 purpose, keeping the darker colors for 

 massing between shrubs a little far- 

 ther back. 



Hyacinths are much higher priced 

 than tulips and while very showy they 

 have never attained any such popular- 

 ity in America. For formal bedding 

 they arc very good, but their extreme 

 stiffness makes them unsuitable for 

 bands or clumps in shrubberies; their 

 stalks, being very brittle, become 

 easily broken causing them to look 

 untidy unless securely staked. When 

 mixed they do not present a pleasing 

 appearance, the colors clashing badly, 

 but when in solid beds with a ground 

 covering ot double white daisies or 

 violas, they are very effective; bloom- 

 ing earlier than tulips, they are some- 

 times used in the same beds with 

 them. If the two should perchance 

 flower together the result is not un- 

 satisfactory. One of the most strik- 

 ing examples of how not to do it was 

 noticed on a Commonwealth avenue 

 lawn the past week. A mixed bed of 

 tulips, hyacinths and narcissi of every 

 imaginable color were flowering to- 

 gether and the result was simply dis- 

 tressing. Single bulbous flowers are 

 in about every case preferable to 

 doubles, and double hyacinths are dis- 

 tinctly inferior to single ones in every 

 way. A few good bedding hyacinths 

 are: Red— Gertrude, Robert Steiger; 

 white and blush — Grandeur a Mer- 

 veille. La Grandesse, Baroness van 

 Tuyll; blue— Charles Dickens, Baron 

 von Tuyll, Regulus. 



The third important bulbous class 

 we will refer to are the narcissi. A 

 quickened interest in these is due in 

 some measure to the many beautiful 

 introductions of the hybridizers and 

 to other forms secured from the Pyre- 

 nees and other homes of the daffodils 

 and the energy of the collectors. In 

 Great Britain the culture of these in- 

 creases enormously year by year. 

 Where a comparatively few years ago 

 growers had one to ten beds, "they now 

 have acres, some of the larger cultiva- 

 tors having 10, 20 to 50 acres devoted 

 to them and marketing millions of 

 flov,ers and bulbs annually. For cut- 

 ting they are in season unrivalled, 

 travelling well and lasting long in 

 water. The colors may be less wide 

 than those in tulips, but they embrace 

 the most exquisite shades and harmo- 

 nies unrivalled for delicacy and beauty 

 by any other flower. Added to this 

 is a perftmie delicious and unique, and 

 surely here is a combination strong 

 enough to arouse the enthusiasm of 

 any flower lover. 



Narcissi are not used in our public 

 gardens and on private estates for 

 formal bedding as their merits war' 

 rant. Their exceeding grace far ex- 

 ceeds that of the tulip and hyacinth. 

 Unlike the two latter bulbs they in 

 nearly all cases improve in flowering 

 qualities year by year and are imper- 

 vious to showers which will break 

 down hyacinths and damage tulips. 



