82 



• • GARDENING. 



Dec. /, 



tall they are sheared to a tiniform height. 

 Bands of the same ageratum arc some- 

 times used here bordered on each side 

 with a single line of Iresine Lindeni. The 

 agaves used singly in the middle of each 

 broad scallop of the design are ,4. Ameri- 

 cana in pots, each plunged in the middle 

 of a circular bed three feet in diameter of 

 an open ring of Echeveria wetallica on a 

 ground ofSeduw acre. As the engraving 

 plainly shows, the foundation of the 

 scheme is a grassy mound, and to form 

 levels for the Grecian vases to stand on, 

 terrace-like beds, or pedestals five feet 

 square are built after the same plan as the 

 globe and vases, and planted on the top 

 with purple leaved oxalis and on the sides 

 with Sempervivum sohoHfervm. The vases 

 are alike in size, construction and planting. 

 Each one is six feet high and four feet in 

 diameter. In each an American agave is 

 planted. The body of each vase is planted 

 with Echeveria secunda glauca, which 

 shows light in color, and the decoration 

 and handles, showing dark, with Semper- 

 vivum soboliferum. 



The globe, the crowning feature of the 

 design, and of the mound, is twelve feet 

 in diameter and rests on a circular pedes- 

 tal twelve feet across that slopes from 

 two feet in height at the sides to 

 three and one-half feet in the middle. It 

 is planted on the sides with the purple 

 leaved oxalis and on the top with 

 Otbonna crassilblia. On the globe the 

 wafer is repre sented by Sciever/a secunda 

 glauca; the continents and islands by the 

 purple oxalis, the equator by yellow, and 

 the meridians by red altemanthera. The 

 globe has been' used several years and 

 sometimes the equator and meridians are 

 made with Sempervivum tectorum. 



Behind the vases to the left of the globe, 

 on top of a sloping bank twelve feet high 

 a big showy bed of cannas faced with 

 Caladium esculentum can be seen, and 

 near it part of an irregular and effective 

 belt of hardy herbaceous plants such as 

 sunflowers in variety, holh-hocks, phlox 

 etc. All of these plants are seen against 

 a distant mixed plantation of deciduous 

 trees, mostly linden, ash and maples, that 

 are already well established. Two taller 

 trees to the right of the globe are silver 

 maples. The handsome round topped 

 tree standing alone still farther along, to 

 the right ofthe last vase on that side, is a 

 nice specimen of English elm. On theslop- 

 ing bank of the big mound , just below the 

 two silver maples, is an elaborate car- 

 pet bed in the form of a rug 32 feet long 

 and 16 feet wide carefully worked out in 

 echeverias of several varieties as E. lance- 

 olata, E. rosea, and S. soboliferum, red 

 and yellow altemanthera, thyme, alys- 

 sum, and oxalis. In makmg the globe a 

 frame work of ribs of wood run just as 

 the meridian lines do is the beginning. 

 These are sawed out by a pattern and 

 fastened together at the two poles. 

 Around this frame, parallel with the 

 equator, common fence wire is put on in 

 regular rows one inch (or a little less), 

 apart and fastened to each rib with sta- 

 ples. 



The globe, being so large, is made secure 

 in its place Idj' a strong timber running 

 down through the south pole and passing 

 on through the pedestal into the firm 

 earth beneath— like a long, well set fence 

 post. The pedestal is made in much the 

 same way except that the upright posts 

 of the frame are set in the ground and 

 common lath, (instead of wire) are nailed 

 on, leaving spaces one inch in width. A 

 sufficient space at the top of the globe is 

 left unwired until the soil is packed in up 

 to that point, after that wiring and filling 

 go on little bv little until the globe is a 



solid ball of earth. The soil used is heavy 

 clay loam with a little sand and it is 

 made very wet and then tamped into 

 position. The vases and all the pedestals 

 are filled in the same way. 



The equator and meridians are planted 

 and after being outlined with pegs and 

 string, the continents and oceans are also 

 planted. The planting is done by the aid 

 ol a small pointed stick with which holes 

 of a suitable size for the various plants 

 are make in the spaces between the wires 

 and into each hole, as made, the roots of 

 a plant are dexterously twisted, tbe soil 

 pressed closelj' about them, and so on, 

 until "the mighty ocean and the pleasant 

 land" are all simulated in growingthings. 



The plants are set to barely touch each 

 other, which allows some room for 

 growth, but sometimes they pile them- 

 selves up in odd groups thatgive a some- 

 what stormy appearance to the ocean, 

 and corrugate the vases in arather decor- 

 ative fashion. 



The "world" is watered as any carpet 

 bed would be, possibly requiring a little 

 more than the average amount of moist- 

 ure to make up for the rapid evaporation 

 due to the exposed position. The vases 

 are treated likewise, the water being 

 usually applied, in their case, by means of 

 a garden syringe that is used daily. 

 Watering with a fine rose nozzle on an 

 ordinary hose is, however, not at all inju- 

 rious to plants in such positions. The blos- 

 soms of echeverias are generally kept cut 

 from the plants, although in some cases 

 they are left and prove quite ornamental. 

 After frost ends the out of doors flower 

 season the plants are all removed from 

 the globe, vases, pedestals and beds of 

 this design; the soil is worked out of the 

 vases and they are stored indoors until 

 spring, when they are repaired, refilled 

 and used again wherever needed. The 

 globe, however is usually left in position 

 and in spring it, also, is repaired and 

 refilled. So that during winter the big 

 globe stands a dead world — something 

 like our moon — surrounded by neat, but 

 empty beds, that show the ground plan 

 ofthe design seen in our illustration. 



Chicago. F. C. Seayey. 



flow 1 MADE MY LILY BED. 



There is a great deal in luck of the right 

 kind, and I hope for luck in my lily bed. 

 The land I have to deal with has no in- 

 born luck, however, even when well 

 broken will not produce handsome shrub- 

 bery or flowers. Or, as our horticult- 

 urists love to call it, well grown speci- 

 mens. I have had lilies for years planted 

 among shrubbery and these have re- 

 warded me with a few flowers to each 

 other bulb, but they were not well 

 grown specimens. They were fine, how- 

 ever, as generally seen and would satisf3' 

 most people. But this autumn I became 

 dissatisfied after reading G.vrdening and 

 learning what really well grown lilies 

 should be, so I decided to find out what 

 luck I had, if backed by thought and in- 

 vestigation. Besides I had a strong 

 desire to make the auratum lily a perma- 

 nent institution on my grounds. My 

 luck heretofore was to lose them very 

 soon after blooming once. 



What I did to accomplish my object 

 was this: I selected for a siteof my lucky 

 lily bed the north side of a hemlock and 

 spruce, both medium size trees, and laid 

 out a crescent shaped bed, twenty feet 

 between the horns and six feet wide in 

 the center, .\fter saving the turf taken 

 up and top soil, I carted away all the soil 

 down to a depth of two and a half feet. 

 In the bottom 1 put six inches of drain- 



age, broken stone and brick would have 

 done, but I had a lot of refuse broken coke 

 that formed a nice drainage in this case. 

 .After leveling this I put mj- sod inverted 

 on top of this and then about six inches 

 deep of half rotten horse manure mixed 

 with a little air slacked lime. Rotten cow 

 manure would have been preferred but 

 couldnot be secured. I nowmixedthetop 

 soil with a year old compost composed of 

 turf and cow manure, about one-third 

 compost to two-thirds soil, this filled my 

 future lily bed to within six inches of the 

 surface, levelling it off well and on this 

 was put near two inches deep of clean 

 sand on which the bulbs were planted. 

 In the center was planted one bulb of 

 Liliam giganteum, encircled bj' twelve 

 auratum lilies, in front and at the sides 

 of those I planted one dozen each ruhrum, 

 album and longitlorum. In the edge of 

 the bed but a foot from it were planted 

 fifty candidum lilies, which completed my 

 bed, except at one horn of the crescent 

 there was a hole from a deutzia that had 

 been removed and this was filled up and 

 planted with six superbum lilies. The 

 bulbs are all a foot apart in the bed ex- 

 cept the giant which has a clear space of 

 21 inches in every direction. 



After the bulbs had been planted sand 

 was put on until they were well covered, 

 except the auratum bulbs, which were 

 covered with about a quart of crushed 

 charcoal and then sand, I did this as an 

 experiment and because these bulbs were 

 not what I would call first-class, onebulb 

 was decaying when received. I have 

 never seen this suggested but it may be 

 old or useless. I now filled in ray bed 

 with fresh soil from the woods hauled 

 from swags where leaves had rotted; this 

 soil I think was about half leaf mould. 

 This top soil was heaped up a foot over 

 the bulbs to remain tratil spring, when 

 the surplus will be removed and three 

 hundred pansy seedlings from my cold 

 bed will make a summer mulch for my 

 lilies. Now what "luck" do you think I 

 should have with my lilies, Mr. Editor, 

 and how do you like my selection? I 

 have gone into detail for the benefit of 

 those who know less than I do, and to 

 invite your criticism. Is the Lilium 

 giganteum a success or of only doubtful 

 utility as an ornamental lily? 



Tracv Citv, Tenn. E. 0. Nathurst. 



You deserve good luck. But as we have 

 tasted the joys of extravagant success 

 with auratum, and, following, the pangs 

 of failure, we have learned to criticise 

 mildly, and be happy with moderation. 

 But rubrum, album and other varieties of 

 speciosum seem to be invincible, and surely 

 they are lovely. Giganteum is still in 

 the experimental stage. 



FLOWER GARDEN NOTES. 



The suggestion of the editor of Garden- 

 ing to pot asters as they are coming into 

 flower was followed with the most pleas- 

 ing success. Stood upon the piazza they 

 kept bright and fresh almost or quite as 

 long as those left in the ground. In this 

 way the crown aster with its white cen- 

 ter was especially admired. The Blanche 

 Printaniere (white spring) from Vilmorin, 

 called b\' them the earliest of all asters, 

 though "not tried in a way to test its 

 earliness was very satisfactory. 



Ageratum luteum is too dull a yellow; 

 "dirty white" is what several observers 

 called it; it was hardly dwarf with us, 

 still it was fresh and growing when a 

 white varietv in the same balcony box 

 was blasted and withered from storm. 

 Xot pretty enough to keep, we decide. 



