170 



THE GARDENERS MONTHLY 



[Juno, 



Mr. Joseph Harrison. One, a Vanda suavis, va- 

 riety Veitchii, hid a grand raceme with thirteen 

 expanded flowers and others in bud, which was 

 very much admired. Had it but a single flower 

 it would still be a beautiful orchid. 



Greenhouses of Patterson Bros., Pittsburg, 

 Pa.— These comprise over 30,000 feet of glass, 

 and roses and other flowers are forced to their 

 utmost, but all are heated by one steam boiler. 

 The Pittsburg papers speak of it as one of the 

 wonders of the city. Much of the success of 

 this great establishment is due to Foreman 

 Randolph. 



The Indian Currant in Decoration. — Among 

 our notes is one concerning the spray of this 

 plant for cut-flower decoration. We saw some 

 used last summer in connection with other 

 things, and it had a very pretty eff"ect. In land 

 scape gardening also it can often be used to ad- 

 vantage. In an old garden near Asheville, 

 North Carolina, a huge clump of this was one 

 of the finest things seen by the editor in his 

 summer travels. 



Bouquets in the London Market. — A corres- 

 pondent of the London Journal of Horticulture 

 remarks : " One of the most attractive and origi- 

 nal bouquets that I have seen for some time 

 I recently noticed in the grand row of Coven t 

 Garden Market. It was composed of Mar^chal 

 Niel rose buds and half-expanded blooms, the 

 Yellow Marguerite (Chrysanthemum Etoile d'Or) 

 and a large rich purple self Pansy. These were 

 arranged informally with fronds of Adiantum 

 cuneatum and A. gracillimum. The simplicity 

 and freedom of the design and the contrast of 

 the colors rendered the bouquet by far the most 

 beautiful, to my mind, of all in the market." 



Arranging Flowers for Evening Effect. — 

 A correspondent of the London Journal of Hor- 

 ticulture gives the following good hints : '' Let a 

 close-fitting shutter be provided for the window, 

 so that if necessary daylight may be excluded 

 while arranging flowers for evening parties. I 

 have found that if flowers are arranged by the 

 same light as that in which they are to be used, 

 much better results may be obtained, as it is 

 well known that some colors which look well by 

 daylight will spoil the whole arrangement when 

 seen under artificial light. In conclusion, I will 

 add that the less hard-and-fast lines we admit in 

 the arrangement of cut flowers the better, but 

 the following I would recommend : Avoid glar- 



ing colors, let white predominate ; use a good 

 proportion of light green foliage, and do not 

 crowd the flowers." 



Flowers on the Dinner Table.— A corres- 

 pondent of the London Journal of Horticulture 

 thus describes what he regards as a tasteful ar- 

 rangement of a dinner table which he saw: 

 " It was a small circular one, having a cup and 

 two tall water-jugs in the centre, and atforded 

 space for a circle around the centre of eight 

 slender vases, four of which had white Carna- 

 tions, and four had half-opened flowers of 

 Madame Falcot Rose for blossom, two flowers 

 and a bud or two being used for each vase, with 

 a leaf of Ampelopsis, two large leaves and a 

 spray of Pelargonium filicifolium odoratum, 

 three spikes of dried Briza minima, and two of 

 the long slender shoots of the Ampelopsis pend- 

 ent from opposite sides. The Roses and Carna- 

 tions were placed alternately in the circle of 

 vases, and instead of being festooned the Ampe- 

 lopsis shoots were lightly interlaced outside the 

 vases, the effect being novel and pleasing." 



Passiflora princeps.- This is an excellent 

 climber for a warm greenhouse, and flowers 

 freely when properly treated. It should not be 

 pruned much, and none of the old flower-stems 

 must ever be removed. It flowers again and 

 again on the same flower-stalk ; hence, unless 

 for use as cut flowers, none of these should ever 

 be removed. In the winter season they hang in 

 withered-looking bundles; but in the early 

 spring the sap floods the channels with new life, 

 and a fresh raceme is thrown out from the ex- 

 treme point of last year's flower-stem. And this 

 goes on year after year, while other pendents of 

 dazzling brightness spring forth near the base 

 of the flower-stems. Those also that have been 

 shortened back sometimes break into fresh clus- 

 ters of blossom. Many of them, however, die 

 back ; and, unless obliged to cut for the flowers, 

 none of the old flowering branches should be 

 cut at all. When the new flower-stem shoots 

 forth, any dead points beyond it may be cut off. 

 Another great advantage arises from this succes- 

 sional elongation of the flower-bearing branch- 

 lets. Almost any length of raceme may be se- 

 cured for twisting around the stems of stands or 

 vases. This enables the decorator to place the 

 flowering blossoms of this brilliant plant in tell- 

 ing positions to which shorter flower-stems, 

 that must from necessity have one end in the 

 water, could never have reached. Many of the 



