• GARDENING. 



Dec. /, 



plants always bear tlie finest flowers. 

 But there some plants as gypsophila, 

 fraxinella, and aselepias that we should 

 never disturb the roots of after planting 

 them. 



Herbaceous plants should be set out 

 early in spring or early in the fall season, 

 say after the first rain in August or Sep- 

 tember. Early planting in spring gives 

 them a good chance to make roots and 

 get a start before warm summer weather 

 sets in. Early fall planting gives them an 

 opportunity to get rooted before winter 

 comes, and thus they are less liable to be 

 heaved out by frost. Late blooming or 

 late growing plants like phloxes and sun- 

 flowers should be transplanted in spring, 

 and early maturing ones like oriental 

 poppies, dicentras, and spring bulbs, in 

 fall. 



In propagating them from seed we 

 should strive to raise as many of them as 

 possible in fall. Nature teaches us this. 

 Observe the multitude of delphinium, 

 hollyhock, foxglove, pyrethrum, centran- 

 thus, and other seedlings of perennials 

 that spring up about the old plants in 

 August and September. These make 

 blooming plants the following year. But 

 we may also raise them in spring. We 

 will now consider the few sorts that I 

 have selected. 



Lily-of-the-Vallev comes in bloom 

 about the second week of May. It grows 

 in partial shade or in the open garden 

 very well, and if we want big fine flowers 

 we should grive it good, rich ground, and 

 a light topdressing of rotted manure or 

 leaf soil every winter. The old Solomon's 

 seal (Polygonatum multiSorum) is related 

 to the lily-of-the-valley, and loves the 

 same treatment, but as it is a much taller 

 plant it should have head room. The 

 Japanese species [P. Japonicum) is also 

 worth growing. And if j'ou have a half 

 wild, partly shaded place, where the 

 ground is good, rich and moist, dig up 

 and place a lot of wild spikenard (Smila- 

 cina racemosa) in it, together with spring 

 beauty, wood anemones, dog's tooth 

 violets, rue anemones, columbines, tril- 

 liums, etc., letting them all run wild to- 

 gether, and see what a charming flowery 

 spot you'll have. 



P.EONIES are among the most showy, 

 hardy and easy to grow of all garden 

 flowers. The old-fashioned crimson 

 flowered one and the narrow leaved (ten- 

 uiloHa) one are among the earliest of the 

 herbaceous sorts to bloom. About the 

 time they are pretty nearly over we have 

 the great array of pink, rose, and crimson 

 colored flowered ones, known as the Chi- 

 nese section and which are now the com- 

 monest of all. Perhaps the gorgeous tree 

 pa;onies which are so hardy and beautiful, 

 and bloom at the same time as the old 

 crimson one, belong to shrubs rather 

 than herbaceous plants, however, don't 

 omit them, they are too good to pass by. 



Irises begin with the bulbous little 

 beauties like reticulata in early April, and 

 last through the spring and summer till 

 the season winds up with Kcempferi in 

 July. Among the most desirable are the 

 spring irises (Iris pumila) of which there 

 are several blue and yellow varieties; the 

 German irises, which are the commonest, 

 and the ones we find in most everybody's 

 garden in May and June; the fragrant 

 and nearly white Florentine iris, and the 

 large pale blue iris called pallida; then 

 the gorgeous, moisture loving Kocmpfer's 

 irises whose flowes often measure from 

 six to eight and sometimes ten inches 

 across. All these irises grow well in good 

 garden soil, thriving in the herbaceous 

 border, or in open outside patches in the 



shrubbery borders that are not impover- 

 ished and dried up by the encroaching 

 roots of trees or shrubs. Koempfer's 

 irises in particular should have rich deep 

 soil to gow in. Of course if we could 

 flood their roots with water once a day 

 in their early growth and till they have 

 done blooming, as is sometimes done, we 

 could get finer blossoms than from ordi- 

 nary garden culture, but really we can 

 get very fine flowers from the common 

 border.' 



PvRETHRUMS are lovely little flowers in 

 early summer. We have single and 

 double-flowered varieties, and both 

 ranging in color from white, through the 

 tints ot rose, pink, and crimson. The fine 

 double forms are increased by division, 

 the semi-doubles also should be increased 

 in the same way, but from seed saved 

 from double flowers we can raise a good 

 many semi-double ones. Tte single kinds 

 are increased mostl3' from seed. They are 

 quite hardy providing the ground they 

 are growing in is raised enough above 

 the ordinary level to completely shed 

 water in the case of storms. The single 

 ones are generally hardy enough without 

 extra care; indeed they self sow them- 

 selves quite freely, the seedlings coming 

 up in the fall. Pyrethrum uliginosutn is 

 a large white daisy -looking flower, bloom- 

 ing in late summer; the plant grows four 

 or more feet high ingood ground, and bears 

 a large crop of ox-eye daisy-like blossoms, 

 that are excellent for cutting, and as the 

 plant blooms so late in the season it is 

 doubly valuable. But it is a verj' differ- 

 ent appearing pyrethrum from those that 

 bloom in early summer. The double- 

 white feverfew common in gardens and to 

 which the bedding plant golden feather 

 belongs should have the protection of a 

 frame, pit or cellar in the winter, for it is 

 not quite hardy with us. 



Coreopsis has considerable of a season; 

 two that bloom in early summer are 

 lanceolata, which keeps in bloom more or 

 less all summer, andgrandiSora, which is 

 a bigger plant than the last and has 

 larger flowers, .\fter the flush of these is 

 over, say in midsummer, two upright 

 growing tall species named verticillata 

 and delphinifolia begin to bloom continu- 

 ing most all summer. All are very easily 

 grown. The first twoshovild be increased 

 from seed, the last two from division or 

 seed. 



Delpiiiniu.ms are indispensable and 

 afford us the greatest plenty of blue blos- 

 soms and variety in blue color we get 

 among our flowers. We have fine double 

 flowered sorts as well as singles, and 

 both may be had particularly good from 

 seed, to get a fine strain being the main 

 point. Lemoine's hybrids are as good as 

 any. They grow from four to six feet 

 high. Ifwewishfora dwarfer one, try 

 grandifforum. All come readily from 

 seed and good well treated plants bloom 

 the first year from seed; in fact grandi- 

 Sora blooms with the readiness of an 

 annual. A common garden border suits 

 them very well. The position should b» 

 open. When the tall kinds are in active 

 growth they should be staked in time, 

 don't wait till a wind and rain storm 

 smashes them down before tying them. 

 Generally one neat, stout stake to each 

 stool is enough. It should not come any 

 higher than where the flowers commence, 

 and it should be so hidden in the plant, 

 and the tying so neatly done as not to be 

 noticed at a casual glance. 



Gypsophila paniculata is almost in- 

 dispensable especially where airy blos- 

 soms are needed for cut flowers; and hap- 

 pily it grows well and blooms profiisely. 

 It is raised from seed. We don't propa- 



gate by division because its roots have a 

 thick tap-root appearance and penetrate 

 deep down into the ground without 

 spending at all like a sunflower or phlox. 

 Euphorbia coroUata, a native plant, 

 which blooms a little later, is also useful 

 in the same way, but it hasastifferhabit. 

 The double flowered Achillea Ptarmica 

 and the double flowered achillea named 

 Pearl have white blossoms and are grown 

 in large quantity for the same purpose, 

 and fortunately both are hardy, last long 

 in flower and are easily increased by 

 division. 



Of bell flowers or campanula we 

 have several worthy kinds. Among the 

 most useful are the peach leaved 

 (persicifolia) which has blue and white 

 flowers, and there is a double flowered 

 form of the last. They bloom in early 

 summer, make a fine show, and are capi- 

 tal for cutting. Coming into bloom after 

 they are gone and lasting late through 

 the summer are the large open flowered 

 forms of platycodon. The tall one is 

 caWed grandiHorum, and the dwarf one 

 Mariesi. There are blue and white varie- 

 ties of the first named, also a double 

 white one. All the single sorts are easily 

 rai,sed from seed which the old plants 

 ripen in abundance. They make tuberous 

 roots, hence are not readily divided. They 

 will grow in any open border of good soil. 



Sunflowers begin blooming about 

 midsummer and last in flower till October, 

 The early one is the now common Helian- 

 thus multiHorus and its double form, also 

 the larger single variety called tnaximus. 

 They grow in great force, bloom fine, and 

 the flowers last well when cut. They 

 have to be increased bj' division, an easy 

 matter, as they bear great mats of divisa- 

 ble root material. Another beautiful and 

 brighter species is H. hetiflorus, it is 

 finest in August, but although grand in 

 the garden the flowers don't last well 

 when cut. In September the tall, elegant 

 fountain sunflower {H. orgyalis) is in 

 bloom; and in October, is also the tall and 

 very fine H. Maximiliani. The two should 

 be increased by division, in fact IsetiSorus 

 spreads considerably. 



Of Plaintain lilies or Funkias the 

 onlj' one worth considering at the present 

 time is what we know as the white day 

 lily and which blossoms so beautifully in 

 August. It delights in good ground and 

 a moistish spot, plenty room and slight 

 shade from sunshine. It should be in- 

 creased by division. It, however, may 

 also be increased from seed. There are 

 many other sorts like Sieboldii, which has 

 big glaucous foliage, cordata of which 

 there are many varieties, two or three 

 being variegated leaved, and the narrow 

 leaved species which is the latest blooming 

 of all. 



Phloxes are so many and good they 

 should have a paper all to themselves. 

 They begin in earlv spring when the moss 

 pink{Pblox subulata)ism flower. Wehave 

 several summer bloomers too, and in July 

 we get to the fine race of garden sorts 

 that are so useful and cheerful, and remain 

 into September. These last like good 

 ground and should be lifted, divided and 

 replanted into fresh soil at least every 

 second year. Of course while they seed 

 with more or less freedom and it is an 

 easy matter to raise them from seed, we 

 can only hope to get the true-to-their- 

 mother varieties when we propagate 

 them by division or cuttings. 



Among Anemones I will restrict myself 

 to that lovely Japanese species (A. /apon- 

 ica) which is a God-send to us in Septem- 

 ber and October, either for use in the gar- 

 den or in the vase. There are white, also 

 rose-purple colored single varieties and 



