194 



GARDENING. 



Mar. 



occupies the center, and a variegated one 

 the outside place. The fifth one is a coun- 

 terpart of the first. Whatappear almost 

 as triangular beds inside the bordering 

 are in pairs and arc filled as follows: All 

 being edged with altemanthera, first pair, 

 dark coleus, second, variegated stevia; 

 third, golden coleus; fourth, variegated 

 stevia, and fifth, dark coleus. The wide 

 bordering is composed of three rows of 

 altemanthcras, the inner one yellow, the 

 outside ones dark. In the formation of 

 the festoons on the banks, golden feather 

 feverfew and alternantheras have been 

 used. The golden feverfew is dotted along 

 the outside rows mixed with the Aher- 

 nanthera parotiychioides. The centers are 

 filled with A. aurea nana. Mr. Mingey, 

 the superintendent of the hall, tells me 

 that better coloring might have been had 

 with A. rosea nana. I learn also from 

 him that about sevent3'-five thousand 

 plants are used annually in this "sunken" 

 garden. 



The pretty evergreen in the front of the 

 picture is the white spruce, as nice an 

 evergreen, where one of but medium 

 growth is desired, as could be planted. 

 Where visitors are sern crossing the gar- 

 den, is the Victoria lily pond. The beau- 

 tiful trees seen on each side of the garden 

 are Oriental planes, and Chief Charles 

 H. Miller, is justly proud of them. Planted 

 in 1878, then but small trees of but an 

 inch or so in diameter of stem, they are 

 now eighteen inches in diameter and fifty 

 feet in height, and the spread of branches 

 is as many feet in diameter. Much care 

 is given here to the proper planting of 

 tress. Poor soil if it exists is carted away 

 and good material is used generously, 

 which with intelligent planting and close 

 pruning, ensures the trees a good start. 



Philadelphia. J. Meehan. 



POTS OF PLANTS ON VERflNDfl POSTS. 



I intend to use seven 10-inch pots this 

 spring on the tops of as many veranda 

 posts, where they will be exposed to the 

 sun until late in the afternoon. Please 

 tell me what vines, etc. to plant in them 

 to obtain the best effect from the yard 

 below. The pots will stand about twenty 

 feet from the ground. C. \V. C. 



Atlanta, Ga. 



You have given us a hard ([uestion. It 

 is a very easy matter to deal with vases 

 easily reached from the ground, or that 

 are in partial shade, or even in exposed 

 places if they are large enough to hold a 

 considerable body of soil that may be 

 kept moist all day with one good water- 

 ing. Ten-inch pots are too small to hold 

 soil and water enough to support a lux- 

 uriant growth of plants in such a fiercely 

 parching exposure as you mean them to 

 occupy, and the kinds of plants that will 

 thrive up there is quite limited; that is so 

 far as tested; many of the stereotyped 

 vase plants would burn out in such an 

 exposure. You must protect the pots 

 from direct sunshine, else in warm bright 

 weather they will get so hot about 1 or 

 2 p. m. that they will bum the roots fo 

 the plants. Get some chip, wicker or 

 light wooden casings without bottoms, 

 made to set the pots into as one would 

 into a jardiniere, to save the pots irom 

 the sunshine; and under each pot set a 

 large sized flower pot saucer and fill it with 

 water every time you water the plants. 

 For center plants in the pots use Ameri- 

 can agaves, or yuccas (say Y. aloifolia) 

 in the way of stiff things, and acalyphas 

 in the way of broad leaved colored foli- 

 age. Maurandia Barclayana, Stigma- 

 phyllon ciliatum, Aotigonon kptopus 



and Abutilon rexillarium might be used 

 for hanging vines. For floral effect blue 

 and white Cape plumbago, vivid scarlet 

 lantana, the airy Lindheimer's gaura, 

 single petunias, white and red eyed Vinca 

 rosea, globe amaranths and French mar- 

 igolds might be used. Had you more 

 root room we would also advise Lobb's 

 nasturtium, Madeira vine, coba-a, cinna- 

 mon vine, cordate leaved manettia, 

 Ipowsea paniculata, rose geranium and 

 grevillea. The grouping or arrangement 

 of the plants in the pots or vases will call 

 for sharp discretion on your part; don't 

 use too many varieties or ones of violent 

 contrast in the same pot. But, if at all 

 possible, let us urge you to use bigger 

 pots, or better still, wooden tubs or boxes. 



VARIOUS QUBSTIONS. 



A. S., Whitewater, Wis., asks: 1. Why 

 does canna Egandale receive so little com- 

 ment? So far as mj' experience goes it 

 stands away at the head in color, dura- 

 tion and freeness of blooming. 



2. When begonia Yernon is used as a 

 bedding plant must new plants be had 

 each year, or can they be carried over? 

 If the latter, what should be the winter 

 treatment? 



3. What magnolias, if any, will stand 

 Wisconsin vnnters? How about M. stel- 

 lata? 



4. Where can I buy the variety of 

 dwarf Juneberry known as Success? I 

 have never seen it advertised. 



5. Will it do as well to prune outdoor 

 rose bushes in the fall and so economize 

 the labpr of protecting them? Such free 

 growing sorts as Mme. Charles Wood, 

 for instance. 



1. True, it is one of the brightest and 

 best of cannas both in flower and foliage. 



2. We never keep over a plant of it. 

 We save our own seed in fall andsowitin 

 January or February in a box in a warm 

 greenhouse. The different varieties come 

 pretty true from seed. Commercial flo- 

 rists, however, keep over lots of old 

 plants, striking cuttings from them. 



3. Experiment only can decide. Prob- 

 ably M. hypoleuca, a grand arboreal 

 species from northern Japan. About M. 

 stellata, as it is the smallest it is the 

 easiest to protect, and if not quite hardy, 

 with a good mulching of tree leaves 

 about it and an inverted hogshead over 

 it in winter it should live. 



4. Try Prof. Budd, Ag. Col., Ames, 

 Iowa. Although Success is written about 

 a good deal in Ag. Ex. Station bulletins 

 we have not found it in the nurserymen's 

 catalogues at our hand. 



5. Before winter sets in we shorten in 

 the long shoots a little, just enough to 

 let us get easily to work amongthe plants 

 in mulching, or laj'ing them down to 

 cover them, but we never cut them back 

 enough in fall to answer for the final 

 spring pruning. After unearthing the 

 bushes in spring pnme them back to 

 sound wood and plump eyes. 



RAISING AURICULAS AND HARDY PRIMROSES 

 PROM SEED. 



Early in January I sowed auricula seed 

 in a pan on a smooth surface of soil con- 

 sisting of leaf mould, sand, and sod rotted 

 down with cow manure. According to 

 directions accompanying the seeds they 

 were covered only with snow, two or 

 three inches thick, and the pan placed in a 

 cold room in the cellar. As soon as the 

 snow had melted other was put in its 

 place, and after that had melted the pan 

 was kept moist by standing it in a saucer 

 of water. After two or three weeks I was 



surprised to see the seeds germinating 

 abundantly in the cold cellar. I brought 

 them up at once to -a light window and 

 still keeping a little water in the saucer, 

 the tiny plants are growing. How should 

 they be treated from this time forward 

 for open air, frame, and dwelling house 

 bloom if the last is practicable? Hardy 

 garden primroses sown and covered in the 

 same way last year germinated nicely. 

 New Jersey. I.\(^virer. 



Prepare pans or wooden flatsfilledwitli 

 the same sort of earth as the seeds were 

 sown on, and made even and firm, and 

 prick off the seedlings into them an inch 

 apart. When danger of hard frost is past 

 place them outside in a cold frame, some- 

 what shaded if practicable, and protect 

 from sharp frost. About the middle of 

 April or earlier, if you have a cold frame 

 against a north-facing wall or board 

 fence, plant out the auriculas and prim- 

 ulas into it, five or six inches apart, oran 

 inch or two more in the case of strong 

 polyanthuses, and let them stay there nil 

 summer, and cover them with 1,-ith shad- 

 ing during the hot wcntlu r. Tliey won't 

 bloom this year. Next Sr]iU nilur lift a 

 lot of them and plant in a m>ui1i lacing 

 frame for winter or early spring llowers; 

 leaving the rest iu the north frame for a 

 succession. If you want them in the house 

 lift and plant a few^say four or five in 

 each pan— in pans, or morein small boxes 

 but grow them outside, letting them have 

 the frost and snow till Christmas. Then 

 bring them in. Your way of raising them 

 from seed is particularly good in the case 

 of the European wild primrose, which 

 under ordinary treatment is often very 

 refractory. Polyanthuses and auriculas, 

 however, grow readily in the usual way. 



CLEMATIS PANICULATA FROM SEED. 



A Boston correspondent sowed seeds of 

 this Japanese vine and otherwise treated 

 them as recommended in G.\rdeni.ng, 

 page 164, February 15, 1893. "Seeds 

 should be sown in beds in the open ground 

 in autumn, and in spring the beds should 

 be covered entirely with bricks or stones 

 to keep the soil moist, and also keep down 

 the weeds." 



Mr. George C. Woolson, Passaic, N. J., 

 who wrote theinstructions above referred 

 to explains as follows: 



"The direction for sowing seeds of 

 Clematis paniculata as to covering, etc., 

 was simply to avoid the necessity of 

 frequent working during the summer. 

 Your correspondent states that the seeds 

 were gathered and planted the first of 

 November. This in my estimation is 

 too early, as we never gather until the 

 last of the month and like to have thcni 

 remain on the vines as long as possible, as 

 many of the seed are not perfect. I have had 

 never any difficult}' ingettingthe seeds to 

 germinate when treated as recommended. 

 I find that a fair proportion will grow 

 the following fall after planting and a 

 small percentage will not appear until the 

 following spiTng. The seed beds ought to 

 have been uncovered as soon as the fall 

 rains began, say the last of SejDtember. 

 This with the too early gathering and 

 sowing of the seed seems to me the cause 

 of failure. " ' ' 



RAISING CHINESE PAE0NIA8 FROM SEED. 



P. F., New Rochellc, N. Y., asks how 

 to do this, how old the seedlings will be 

 before they bloom, and what percentage 

 is likely ta come double. 



After you have gathered the seed in fall 

 sow ^hein i^ 4-incj( deep flats, filled with 



