i8g6. 



GARDENING. 



231 



FLOWER BED DESIGN. 



ventilation between the boxes and pas- 

 sageways between the racks. 



13. At what temperature do you keep 

 this store house in winter? 



-Ins. 45° to 50°. 



1-t. Do you clean the bulbs in winter? 



Ans. Yes. after they are perfectly dry. 

 Don't strip off any skin. They naturally 

 lose their outer skin towards spring when 

 handled. 



15. Do the bulbs ever shrivel or dry up 

 before planting time? 



.4ns. No, they will cot shrivel in that 

 temperature. 



16. What would you advise doing with 

 bulbs that sprout in the house before it is 

 time to plant them out? 



Ans. In the case of Snow White and 

 other kinds that are poor breeders we 

 wouldn't do anything, )ust let them alone 

 till it is time to plant them out; but in the 

 case of Shakespeare and other good 

 breeders we would break off the shoots. 



17. Can you depend on the popular 

 varieties coming good every succeeding 

 summer? 



Ans. Yes, if trealed properly and the 

 climatic conditions are favorable. 



18. Name 25 of the best varieties of 

 gladiolus (not to include any of Childsii) 

 lor amateurs to grow. 



.4ns. Abricote.— Apricot-rose, tinged 

 lilac. 



Augusta.— Almost white. 



Aurora.— Salmon rose, blotched cherry, 

 streaked violet. 



Africaine. — Darkest crimson with white 

 in throat. 



Archduchess Marie-Christine.— White 

 tinged with purple and suffused with car- 

 mine. 



Baroness Burdett-Coutts.— Lilac, rose 

 and purple. 



Cameleon.— Lilac, slate, creamy, and 

 white line in center ot petals. 



Corsaire. — Velvety scarlet tinted on 

 edge with brown. 



Carnation.— White ground tinted and 

 blotched with carmine. 



Canary Bird.— Our best yellow. 



Duchess of Edinburgh. — Purplish rose 

 striped with carmine. 



Flamboyant.— Bright scarlet. 



Fleur de Lys. — White, stained with vio- 

 let in the throat. 



(jrand Rouge.— Bright scarlet. 



Hesperide.— White, blotched and flaked 

 with salmon. 



Mme. .\uber.— Rosy lilac, dappled rose, 

 creamy white blotch. 



Marie Berger.— Rosy lilac, blotched and 

 striped with red. 



Mile. Marie Mies.— Rose, flamed with 



Octoroon — Salmon pink. 

 I'yramide. — Orange rose. 

 Shakespeare.— White suffused with car- 

 nine, and large rosy blotch. 



Snow White.-The whitest of all gladioli. 



Therese de Vilmorin. — Creamy white 

 with purplish rose stripes in center. 



Victor Jacqueminot.— Violet, orange 

 and scarlet, white blotch. 



19. What are the ten best varieties of 

 gladiolus Childsii? 



Ans. Aurea Superba. — Soft orange 

 scarlet with white blotches and mottling, 

 with white and vermilion in throat. 



Ben Hur. — Very large, salmon rose 

 flaked and shaded with smoky purple; 

 throat mottled. 



Daisy Leland.— Very large, bright rosy 

 pink. 



Dr. Sellew —Rosy crimson, pencilled 

 darker; white throat, 



Mrs. La Mance. — White shaded with 

 lilac. 



Mrs. Beecher.- Rosy crimson, white 

 throat. 



Ruby.— Rich ruby red, with violet and 

 white mottling in throat. 



Senator Childs. — Deep glowing red with 

 large white marking in throat. 



Splendor.— Soft rose, magenta stains, 

 and purple and white mottlings. 



^'m. Falconer. — Very large, pink, throat 

 spotted with pink and white. 



TflREB OLD FASHIONED OflRDEN FLOWERS. 



Let me ask you about three little border 

 flowers that used to grow in my parents' 

 garden in Germany and which I haven't 

 seen for more than thirt3- years. They 

 were very hardy and endured our severest 

 winters. I will give first their names in 

 German. 



1. Mannertreu, Cynoglossum Ompha- 

 locles verna. It is a splendid blue, starry 

 flower like a forget-me-not, but darker, 

 and it has broad foliage. I do not know 

 its English name. [The creeping forget- 

 me-not (Omphalodes verna), a little ge n to 

 spread about in a moist spot in the rock 

 garden or border where it won't get 

 covered over and choked by largerplants; 

 it blooms in early sprin", and prefers 

 shade from warm sunshine. Thrives 

 admirably in this country providing it is 

 protected from hot sunshine and drouth. 

 Capital to spread about among dwarf 

 ierns. — Ed.] 



2. Porzeblan blume, Steinbrech, Saxi- 

 fraga umbrosa. It is a delicate little 

 flower as if moulded of porcelain and not 

 larger than a forget-me-not, but its color 

 is white with red dots. [Commonly 

 called London Pride. We used to grow it 

 at Cambridge, Mass., but it never took 

 very kindly to outdoor cultivation there. 

 In a cold frame it behaved very well. At 

 Dosoris it didn't do well. Under special 

 cultivation we arc satisfied that it can be 

 made to grow well. In Europe it is one 

 of the prettiest plants for cushions or 

 making edgings to borders one can grow 



and it often naturalizes itself in the grass. 

 —Ed.] 



3. Tausendschonchen, Bellis perennis 

 purpurea. It was a darkest scarlet daisy, 

 low growing like the wild "little crimson 

 tipped" one, but very full rayed and 

 double. [There is a large variety of 

 double daisies in common cultivation in 

 this country, and the very double crimson 

 one you refer to is not uncommon. They 

 are hardy enough so far as our winters 

 are concerned providmg they get a light 

 mulching over them to save tliem from 

 strong light, but our hot summers are 

 very kilhng to them. They like a cool, 

 moist, slightly shaded spot in summer. 

 —Ed.] 



FLOWER BED DESIGN. 



This design shows a tulip garden in 

 spring. A marked feature is to make a 

 good display ot a few striking and dis- 

 tinct colors, namely crimson, rose, yellow, 

 and white. While more colors may be 

 used if desired it is not well to have too 

 many, lest the effect might appear 

 muddled. Another point to observe is 

 rather than spread the beds broadcast 

 over alargebreadthof ground, it is better 

 to keep them together into a design, 

 allowing room enough between the beds 

 for visitors to walk about with comfort 

 and without touching the tulips. Mr. 

 Jensen's design has 2-feet wide spaces be- 

 tween the beds, but we would suggest that 

 these spaces be increased to 4 feet wide. 

 Indeed , if room is abundant, it wouldn't be 

 too much to double the size of the design by 

 drawing it to a scale of 10 feet to the 

 inch instead of 5 feet to the inch. The 

 pathways between the beds may be of 

 sod or gravel, but sod is the preferable 

 one. As soon as the tulips have done 

 blooming they should be lifted and pre- 

 pared by resting for another season's 

 work, and the beds at once refilled with 

 summer bedding plants. 



FLOWER BEDS DESIGN — TULIPS. 



1 . Crimson color ( Belle Alliance) . 

 2,5. Yellow (Canary bird\ 



3. Rose (Proserpine). 



4. \Vhite (Pottebakker). 

 6. Pansies. 



SUMMER BEDS. 



The same beds emptied of tulips and 

 refilled with summer bedding plants. 



1. Geranium S. A. Nutt with a border 

 of coleus Golden Bedder. 



2. Ageratum, Dwarf Blue. 



3. Geranium Mme. Thibaut edged with 

 geranium Mme. Salleroi. 



4. Geranium white-edged bordered 

 with iresine. 



5. Geranium Cloth of Gold. 



6. Dracaena iudivisa edged with dwarf 

 sweet alyssum. Jas. Jensen. 



Humboldt Park, Chicago. 



Crocuses Failujg in the Grass.— If 

 we plant good sound bulbs of crocuses in 

 fall in the grass or most anywhere else 

 they will come up and bloom beautifully 

 the following spring, but the year after 

 that very few of them may appear. This 

 is a common occurrence, and there is no 

 help for it. On the other hand, in culti- 

 vated ground if the soil is good and not 

 very dry the crocuses not only come up 

 year after year, but they are apt to 

 increase in strength and quantity as the 

 years pass on. In fact our experience is 

 that crocuses like as good rich ground as 

 any crop. 



That good paper Gardening. 



N. Greivelding. 

 Wisconsin, February 8, 1896. 



