1882. 



AND HORTICULTURIST. 



37 



blossoms from it. Among the more recent addi- 

 tions, Mr. Harris recommends Empress of In- 

 dia, Charmer, Madam Jean Wolkoff, Oswald 

 de Kerchove, Jean Vervain, Paul de Deschry- 

 mer. Countess of Beaufort, Princess Louise, Ar- 

 gus, Imbricata, Madam Marie Van Houtte, and 

 Segismund Rucker. And he speaks highly of 

 Prime Minister, Lady Musgrave, and one or two 

 other varieties of Amoena, and which are an im- 

 provement on the typical form ; they must be- 

 come popular, as they are so easily forced. 



Deciduous or hardy Azaleas are the chief ful-ni- 

 ture of a garden, by themselves, where they are 

 grown in beds like roses. They comprise what 

 are generally known as Ghent Azaleas, also the 

 Japanese mollis, and its many varieties. The 

 azalea garden is surrounded by trees and shrubs, 

 and it is instructive to note how the azaleas 

 turn their backs to their shade-bearing shelter, 

 and stretch forth their branches to the light. 

 They are not mulched with leaves, as the Rho- 

 dodendrons are, but instead are top-dressed with 

 compost. The brilliance and variety of these 

 beautiful shrubs, when in bloom, are great, and 

 they are so hardy too that they appeal to every 

 amateur. Although there are many named va- 

 rieties, Mr. Harris is of the opinion that mixed 

 varieties are good enough for any purpose. 

 Speaking of azaleas reminds me of a remark by 

 Professor Sargent, and made to me in his garden 

 a year or two ago : " If I were confined to one 

 shrub, I should choose the hardy azalea." 



remarks about designs, letters, or otherwise in 

 beds, not being done with neatness. I have 

 read and travelled for information on this sub- 

 ject, but have always come back home with your 

 opinion. Bedding I have studied for years as 

 done in Europe and elsewhere. 



r thank you for your kind remarks on my 

 beds, of which I sent you photographs, which 

 only give you an imperfect idea of what they 

 are, as many other designs are just as correct in 

 line and form as those sent. 



BLUE FLOWERS FOR MASSING. 



BY N. ROBERTSON, GOVERNMENT GROUNDS, OTTAWA, 

 CANADA. 



For "W. D's.," Sandusky bed, instead of the blue 

 Lobelia (you suggest) to accompany the Achry- 

 anthus and Centaurea would be the Ageratum 

 John Douglas, and then the Achryanthes and 

 Centaurea will have to have frequent stopping to 

 keep them to one height and be effective. 



A better bed can be made of his design if he 

 will use any of the following plants that I sug- 

 gest: Alternanthera, red ; LeucophytonBrownii, 

 white, and then blue Lobelia, as they grow about 

 one height, and the two first will bear trimming. 



Another, Phlox Drommondii, scarlet and 

 white and blue Ageratum, but must be in good 

 mass, the phlox to be pegged down to the same 

 height and line, which will much add to the 

 poass of color. 



I can assure you that I agree with you in your 



NOTES FROM THE WEST. 



BY IROQUOIS. 



How we all admire a beautiful lawn, during 

 summer, with a well selected collection of orna- 

 mental trees, shrubs and vines, properly trim- 

 med and otherwise cared for, but how desolate 

 and dreary this same lawn usually looks, for at 

 least four months of the year, especially if not 

 well supplied with evergreens. Now we all 

 know that nearly or quite all the so-called ever- 

 green trees and shrubs, not included in the class 

 of Conifers, in this latitude (40° North), wil 

 retain their foliage but a short time after the 

 cold and freezing weather of autumn and early 

 winter has fairly set in ; and that the true ever- 

 green of our temperate zone must, almost ex- 

 clusively, be a Conifera, which is not, as a rule, 

 a popular or even desirable tree or shrub to 

 plant on the lawn, with the majority of our peo- 

 ple, whose idea of a fine tree or shrub is one that 

 produces " lots of flower? " during spring. As a 

 rule, the existence of the lawn during the winter is 

 perfectly ignored, except possibly to tie up a 

 favorite and tender rose and shrub with a big 

 bundle of straw or some other equally unsightly 

 object. 



Now it is a well known fact that our native 

 trees, shrubs and to a large extent our native 

 vines are not considered worth the time and 

 trouble of transplanting, by the majority of our 

 people, consequently, not being saleable, our 

 nurserymen devote very little time and attention 

 to their culture and improvement. But there 

 certainly are among our native forest trees, many 

 that are worthy a place on any lawn, and equal, 

 if not superior, to many foreign and unaccli mated 

 species for which we are all often only too glad 

 to pay an exorbitant price to secure even a poor, 

 sickly specimen. Among the number of worthy 

 native trees— and the last whose foliage seems to 

 defy the conquering elements with its great 



