292 



GARDENING. 



June 75. 



(Halliaiia) Clematis paniculata, and a 

 wild clematis. On one bed,- or border, 

 there are several varieties of iris, candi- 

 dum lilies, platycodon, achillea.etc. This 

 spring I bought a nice bunch of Lychnis 

 plenissiwa semperfforens and am much 

 pleased with it it having been constantly 

 in bloom. We have also a large clump 

 of Gaillardia grandifiora. On one bed 

 that is very much exposed to the sun we 

 have ha,d the two past summers a gor- 

 geous display of California petunias. 

 This year, thinking to have a change, we 

 are trying phlox, but the prospect is not 

 encouraging. The seeds failed to sprout, 

 many of them, although we made several 

 plantings. [We presume you mean Phlox 

 Drummondii We sow it in spring just 

 as early in the season as we can get the 

 seed into the ground, about the same 

 day as we sow our sweet peas, migno- 

 nette and poppies, caring httle if it freezes 

 and snows after we get the seeds in, and 

 never fail in cetting a good stand of 

 seedlings.— Ed.] In the spring I always 

 bed out those of ray geraniums, helio- 

 tropes etc., that I do not care to keep 

 over for winter in a bed by themselves 

 and keep those intended for winter in 

 their pots. My rubber plants, ferns, 

 palms, with two" varieties of imantophyl- 

 lum, stand on the east side of the house, 

 partly shaded by a fine maple tree. A 

 large pot of an old-fashioned hydrangea 

 stands with them but as yet shows no 

 signs of budding. Since cutting it back 

 in early spring I have read that "they 

 should be cut back after blooming." 

 What is an ignorant person to do when 

 one book savs trim in the spring, and 

 it another book savs 

 Of 



after you have d 



you will cut off the buds if you do 

 course I ought to have written to 

 Gardening and found the right way. 

 [That is just what you should have done. 

 When Gardening tells you how to prune, 

 plant or otherwisetreataplant it usually 

 gives you the reason for doing the work 

 as it advises, besides its teachings are 

 straight from the shoulder of practical 

 experience, and not a plausible lot of 

 gush fudged from old books and cata- 

 logues. But don't despair as regards 

 your hydrangeas. Sound, plump buds 

 borne on the old wood are usually 

 flower buds; by this time, however, you 

 should be able to see or feel the buds at 

 the ends of the shoots, if there are any 

 there.— Ed.] 



Most of my chrysanthemums died in 

 the cellar last winter. My gloxinias are 

 in the conservatory, and I am very proud 

 of them. To-day one plant, crimson 

 shading to pink, has twelve open blooms 

 on it, with buds in all stages of growth; 

 its leaves measure over ten inches in 

 length by six in width. I have several 

 varieties' including spotted ones. You 

 may remember of my sending leaves to 

 you last year curled on the edge. This 

 vear, following your directions, there 

 has been no such trouble. Four sorts of 

 achiraene are just coming into bloom. 

 Begonias are resting. H, E. L. 



Bristol, Conn., June 7, '96. 



MR. BYRON L. SMITH'S GARDEN. 



An afternoon of last week spent at the 

 summer home of Mr. Byron L. Smith of 

 Lake Forest, Ills , was full of interest. 

 Mr. Smith is a very busy man, being 

 president of the Northern Trust Co. of 

 Chicago, and is largely interested in many 

 other financial enterprises. He has wisely 

 chosen ornamental horticulture as a 

 recreation and relief from the mental 

 strain incident to his position. While 

 only lately having joined the ranks of the 

 amateur brigade, tie is pursuing a course. 



the results of which will be duly appre- 

 ciated by all lovers of horticulture, and 

 especially those whose homes are within 

 the range of similar climatic conditions. 

 He has set aside a large plot of ground, 

 well ploughed and cultivated, in which 

 he has planted five or more specimens of 

 all the varieties of ornamental trees, 

 shrubs and vines that may or may not 

 succeed in his climate. For instance, in 

 the maple, elm, and ash family, he has 

 several of each of all the varieties he could 

 procure in the eastern nurseries, and so 

 on all through the different families. All 

 are correctly labeled, both the botanical 

 and common names, and ultimate height 

 being given. Hisgardener, Emil Bolinger, 

 has taken a great interest in the venture 

 and will use his intelligent care in the 

 preservation of all marks of identity. 

 What a mine of information that plot of 

 ground will prove to be in a few years, 

 when the thorough test of hardiness and 

 adaptability shall have been completed! 

 Among those I noticed as having passed 

 safely through last winter, and not given 

 in my list as hardy at Egandale, were 

 the Chinese cork tree, Phellodendron Ain- 

 urense, Ulmus campestris var. Dampier- 

 rei Dampierre's golden elm. Ulnius 

 campestris var. wyrtHolia purpurea, the 

 purple mvrtle leaved elm, which was muih 

 handsomer than the variety Stricta pur- 

 purea. Among the ashes was Fraxinus 

 Americana var. acubaefolia, with golden 

 blotched leaves. The Oriental plane, 

 Platanus OrientaUs, loses its tips but 

 grows so strongly from the terminal side 

 shoots that it promises to soon form hand- 

 some trees. Cytisus Laburnum var. 

 Parksii was in good form. Cedrela Si- 

 nensis and the purple-leaved peach, Per- 

 sica vulgaris fol. purpurea stood well. 

 Among the shrubs, both Corr/us avellana 

 var. purpurea (the purple leaved hazel) 

 and Deutzia gracihs which have winter 

 killed with me, were in good form. Cor- 

 nus Siberica alho marginata seemed 

 thoroughly satisfied with existing condi- 

 tions, and promised to take the place of 

 the variegated Cornus mas. which does 

 not do V ell here. To my surprise I found 

 Daphne cneorum in the open field in clay 

 soil as happy as a lark, and I was in- 

 formed that quite a bed of it is doing well 

 in the bluff bank. I have been unable to 

 grow it, but will try again. A wide pub- 

 lic road divide s the nursery from the 

 home grounds proper, which is tastily 

 planted with groups of sweet briar; the 

 odor perceptible when driving by is re- 

 freshing. W. C. Egan. 

 Mav 28, '96. 



VIOLETS fOR SPRING BEDDING. 



Would like to have you advise me. 

 How should I treat the violet as a bed- 

 ding plant for early spring trade? I am 

 in the market garden business and raise 

 some bedding plants for spring sale. If I 

 could get them in the right shape by 

 spring' 1 could sell them all right. I 

 would like to have them in bloom when I 

 sell them. Would a cold frame be the 

 best place to put them in? What time 

 would you separate them and set them 

 out, so to have them nice plants and in 

 bloom by spring? W. S. 



Otis, Ind. 



Ans. If you mean the common fra- 

 grant violets such as are grown for win- 

 ter flowers we should not advise you to 

 grow them as beddingplants fortheearly 

 spring trade because they pass so soon. 

 Plants lifted and divided in August and 

 then planted in cold frames and kept 

 moist and free from runners make real 



pretty crowns that bloom in March and 

 April. The bedding "violas" or tufted 

 pansies as they are now called are fine for 

 spring bedding and last from April till 

 July. We sow them in August or Septem- 

 ber and prick them out three inches 

 apart in a cold frame, where we winter 

 them just as we do bedding pansies and 

 polyan buses. Thev ke> p over in good 

 condition, and in earliest spring we lift 

 and transplant them to the beds or bor- 

 ders; indeed, if on raised beds we find 

 they survive the winter out of doors well 

 enough without the protection ot a frame. 

 In growing them for sale better have 

 them in flats of 50 or 100 in each. If 

 sown in flats inthegreenhousein January 

 or February they make excellent plants 

 for bedding out in spring. 



BEDDING PLANTS USED AT WflSfllNOTON. 



The largest number of any one variety 

 of bedding plant used in the public gar- 

 dens or parks in the city of Washington 

 is, curiously enough, a trailing shrub, the 

 variegated Buonymus radicans. Of this 

 nearly 100,000 jDlants have been bedded 

 out this spring. The cuttings ol it are put 

 close together in long narrow boxes about 

 the end of September and placed in a cool 

 frame; watering, weeding and airing, is all 

 the attention they get until they are 

 planted out. 



The Madagascar vincas ( Vinca rosea) 

 are bedded out quiteextensively, noother 

 plant grows and flowers better than this. 

 There are three kinds; one with pink 

 flowers, another white with pink eye, and 

 the third one is pure white. They are 

 raised from home saved seed early in the 

 spring indoors. They commence bloom- 

 ing in three inch pots and do not stop 

 until interrupted by several degrees of 

 frost. Torenia Fournierii is another 

 favorite, its blue flowers resemble thoseof 

 a mimulus, it has one drawback, how- 

 ever, seeds from l.st year'splants are apt 

 to germinate too freely in the beds and 

 make a lot of extra work weeding them 

 out. [At Dosoris where we grew this 

 little beauty for a dozen years, it never 

 bothered us in the least as regards self- 

 sown seedlings, this was because they 

 germinated so late that they got hoed 

 out or choked out. In fact Vinca rosea 

 self sowed itself with more persistence and 

 effect, but it too appeared so late in spring 

 that it succumbed readily to cultural con- 

 ditions. On the other hand petunias, 

 coreopsis, etc , were a nuisance and all 

 because they started so early. In Wash- 

 ington where the springs are earlier and 

 the summers are longer these seedlings 

 start earlier and are far more trouble- 

 some than they are as tar north as New 

 York. — Ed.] In some of the parks good 

 results have been accomplished by plant- 

 ing mixed beds with tall growing plants, 

 such as the finer varieties of castor bean, 

 vuccas, erythrinas, cannas,and the varie- 

 gated eulalias, with some of the com- 

 moner bedding plants for an edging these 

 beds certainly look well all summer and 

 they require little outlay either for work 

 or material. 



Hydrocotyle sibtborpitolia is used as a 

 low' growing green bedder, it grows 

 almost flat on the ground, the leaves are 

 small and round. Fancy leaved caladiums 

 are getting more and more attention 

 every year. It has been found that 

 they do better when the bulbs are put 

 out without being previously started 

 into growth. When planted in the dry 

 state they grow very rapidly and make a 

 good showing about as quickly as most 

 other things. The bulbs which are started 

 in pots before they are put out seem to 



