3o6 



• • • GARDENING. 



July 



spot may befilled withmigiionette, dwarf 

 iiasturtiuins, China asters, gladiolus, 

 pigmy dahlias or other of the host of 

 plants so available for summer and au- 

 tumn blossoms. 



MY GARDEN flS IT IS NOW, JUNE 20. 



My garden is one of hardy shrubs and 

 perennials, and each morning, as the sea- 

 son advances, it opens up some new 

 blooms that have just awakened from 

 their yearly nap. The glowing beds of 

 carpet designs, worked out in geraniums, 

 coleus, alternantheras, etc., in our parks, 

 present the same aspect from the time they 

 are planted out until frost destroys them. 

 Terrapin is an exquisite dish, but who 

 wants it at every meal of the year? 



My shrubs and perennials are grouped 

 together, the latter in masses, and in full 

 sunshine or shade, as their original hab- 

 itat suggests. Biennials of merit are used, 

 and for fine foliage effect the castor bean 

 (Ricinus) and similar plants do their 

 share. The majority of hardy shrubs be- 

 ing spring bloomers, have had their day — 

 been cut in to keep within bounds, and 

 are now busy getting ready for 1896. 

 Those in bloom now are Stvrax Japonica, 

 hardier than its relative, S. Americana, 

 but it is much the better for winter pro- 

 tection. 



Roses —Rosa rugosa in a hedge, and as 

 isolated plants, is redolent with perfume 

 from its numerous blossoms, and already 

 forming its cherry-like hepsforitssummer 

 adornment. Its hybrid descendant, Mme. 

 Georges Bruant, with terminal clusters of 

 long pointed white, fragrant buds, justly 

 delightsHhe ladies. It needs slight pro- 

 tection in a winter like last. For color 

 effect in the shrubbery and for individual 

 beauty all through the season Rosa riibri- 

 folia stands among the elect. The hand- 

 some new red foliage covered with 

 "bloom" and the olive green of the matur- 

 ing leafage, whether augmented in its 

 beauty by its mass of flowers or con.se- 

 t|ucnt berries, is charming. It is as hardy 

 as an oak, and like Rosa rugosa has no 

 insect enemies. Amongtheclimbingroses 

 the Seven Sisters and Ayr.-hire areintheir 

 prime, with the Prairie Queen just open- 

 ing up. The wild prairie rose (Rosa seti- 

 gera) and the Crimson Rambler will soon 

 follow. Hj'brid remontants were never 

 finer, and a large bed in the back yard 

 makes one forget all the care bestowed 

 u])on them. Insect pests seem to avoid 

 them this year. 



Most of the weigelas are past bloom- 

 ing, but Deshoisii and Candida are still 

 showy. In rich ground this family want 

 protection during winter. 



Syringajaponica, the tree lilac, is form- 

 ing immense panicles of bloom. I await 

 its development with interest, as it will 

 be the first time it has bloomed with me, 

 and four years' patience is to be rewarded. 

 Syringa villosa and S. Josikwa, two de- 

 sirable species, are on the wane, but they 

 did their p irt well in prolonging the lilac 

 season. 



Rbodotypus kerrioldes, the-whitekenia, 

 has commenced its summer season of 

 bloom, and while not very showy it is 

 well worthy of cultivation. Tbcreisagap 

 in the season of bloom of the spirwas, the 

 only representatives now in flower being 

 ,S. I'Imaria; S. Lindleyana and ,S. Kamt- 

 chatica will open in a lew days, and these 

 of the ca//osa type will soon follow, and 

 keeping company with the herbaceous 

 ones we will have S. lohata and S. pal- 

 mala. Ruhus odoratus in adamp, shady 

 place, with its elegant, broad foliage and 

 reddish purple flowers is effective. A 

 hedge of honeysuckle partially enclosing 



the clothes drj'ing ground is now covered 

 with blooms so attractive to the hum- 

 ming bird — Hall's honeysuckle winter 

 kills to the ground, but reaches a bloom- 

 ing state by midsximraer. Here and there 

 in sheltered nooks and prominent points 

 fox-gloves (Digitalis) are in bloom in sol- 

 diery array, and near them a group of 

 • fifty or more cupand-saucer Canterbury 

 bells of various colors mixed indiscrimin- 

 ately. Both are treated as biennials, and 

 wintered in a cold frame The mulleins 

 (Verbascum phlomoides and V. Olympi- 

 cum) in their candelabra formed flower 

 stalks add a certain stateliness to their 

 surroundings that is charming. They are 

 biennials, worthy of more extended culti- 

 vation. The poppy mallow (Callirrhoe 

 involucrata) creeping under the Azalea 

 mollis, in its deep crimson flowers, com- 

 pensates in a measure for the departed 

 glory of the azaleas. The double Lychnis 

 Viscaria (the ragged robin) in a mass pre- 

 sents a most vivid picture. Its dense 

 spikes of a deep rose red color last a long 

 time on the plant. Gaillardia aristata 

 var. Templeiana is more dwarf and com- 

 pact than the forms usually grown. Their 

 bright flowers followthe sun in its rounds, 

 and are so placed that from our porch in 

 the evening their faces are turned towards 

 us. The grand and stately hybrid del- 

 phiniums are nearing their prime, and with 

 good culture and timely removal of spent 

 flower stalks they will flower more or less 

 all summer. 



Clematis integrifolia and its hybrids are 

 free blooming plants of great merit. The 

 type forms a low upright bush, with 

 charming nodding blue flowers. The 

 hybrids vary in color of flower, being dif- 

 ferent shades of blue and pink, larger 

 than the type. The variety Durango is 

 extremely desirable, having flowers of a 

 dark blue, opening out flat, and larger 

 t an those of C./acimann;. All but the 

 type are semi-climbers, requiring a sup- 

 port, and growing some three or four feet 

 high. But lest I tire your readers I must 

 stop, and let the Iceland poppies, Heu- 

 cbera sanguine.i, Pyretbrum roseum, 

 Scabiosa Caucasica and a host of others, 

 including the Zanzibar water lily in a tub 

 in a sunny corner, remain unnoticed. 



[No, pray go on. You are giving actual 

 facts; that is the truth—the voice of expe- 

 rience, and this is what ourreaders want. 

 —Ed.] W. C. Eg.\n. 



Highland Park, near Chicago, June 20. 



a showy wide open one like Jacknianni, 

 but belongs to the leathery, half closed set 

 of which Clematis coccinea is a well 

 known member. We find it likes good, 

 but well drained soil, a warm, sheltered 

 place in the garden, a shovelful of coal 

 ashes or armful of leaves over its crown in 

 winter, and a stake or string as sunport 

 in summer. We suspect it wasn't a "slug" 

 that caused the plant to become yellow in 

 summer, for we have found that crispa, 

 coccinea and the large flowered clematises 

 are often attacked by furguspcststhatso 

 far have defied our efforts to counteract 

 them. 



TtlE JESSAMINE CLEMATIS. 



F. C. D., Madison, Conn., writes: "I 

 have sent you by mail to-day some blos- 

 soms which I would feel much obliged if 

 you would tell me all you can about — 

 name, best methods of culture, etc. It is 

 one we think a great deal of here, al though 

 it is not commonly cultivated in this local- 

 ity. We call it je-ssaraine. Last year it 

 was qrite badly damaged by a slug, or at 

 least I suppose it wasthatthatcaused its 

 foliage to turn yellow before and after it 

 commenced blooming. This season it com- 

 menced to look the same way, although 

 the 'slugs' did not appear, only a little 

 Diack bug or fly. I sprinkled with to- 

 bacco water first, afterwards with helle- 

 bore,aud I think the latterwaseffective." 



It is an unusualh' pretty form of Clem- 

 atis crispa, a species indigenous in our 

 southern states. Here we treat it as a 

 hardy herbaceous vine, but it is not a tall 

 growing plant by any means, -1- to 6 feet 

 high being its usual size. The flowers are 

 nodding, companulate, leathery in text- 

 ure, wavy edged, bluish purple in color 

 and (|uite fragrant. It isn't a "fleecy" 

 (lower like our common wild clematis, nor 



A YELLOW FLOWERED CANADA COLUMBINE. 



Mr. Warren H. Manning of Brookline, 

 Mass , sends us seeds of a pure yellow- 

 flowered form of our wild red columbine, 

 and writes: "They came from a large 

 clump, about which were several seedling 

 plants, with clear yellow flowers and 

 with a rather more glaucous foliage and 

 dwarfer habit of growth than the normal 

 plants that grew near them. Seeds 

 gathered at Tarrytown, N. Y., June 13, 

 1895." This reminds us of another yellow 

 columbine we once had but which is now 

 unknown in cultivation, namely 



AyriLEGi.^ i.ONGissiM.\ of northern 

 Mexico. It is nearly related to our 

 golden columbine (A. chrysantha) but 

 has spurs 5 inches and over in length, in- 

 deed they hung down about the plants, 

 reminding one of dodder on clov r. We 

 raised it a good many j'cai's ago at Cam- 

 bridge, Mass., from .seeds given to us by 

 Dr. Edward Palmer, who collected them 

 in Northern Mexico. We raised a good 

 many plants of them and had them bloom 

 beautifully, but they never ripened any 

 seed. Alt lough we sent several of the 

 young plants to Europe, and also dissemi- 

 nated them at home, two years after, 

 there wasn't one living plant of them left. 

 And we have never heard of its reintro- 

 duction. 



Geums.— F. C. C, Bath, Maine, asks: 

 Is Geum atrosanguineum synonymous 

 with Geum coccineum and what do you 

 think of them (or it)? How long is the 

 blooming period?" Geum coccineum is 

 the species, and atrosan^u/'neum a variety 

 of it. The species is a very pretty hardy 

 herbaceous plant, but we have not found 

 it to be very rugged or long-lived. In 

 Maine, however, it should do better than 

 at Dosoris. Get the double-flowered form 

 (it is only semi-double), it holds its blos- 

 soms better than the single one. Thcj^ 

 blossom freely in early summer, and, 

 weather permitting, scatteringly for some 

 months longer. They dislike dry hot 

 land. 



The Hoary Pe.\.— A. F. H., Coates- 

 ville. Pa., writes: "I send in small box 

 by this mail a couple of sprays of wild 

 flower gotten from a hill top near here in 

 full sunshine on rather a dry bank. The 

 flowers look like those of sweet peas but 

 grow in clusters on a bushy plant, herba- 

 ceous, about a foot high or rather more." 

 It isthe hoary pea ( Tephrosia Virginiana), 

 one of the prettiest of our summer wild 

 flowers. 



Kcempfer's Irises.— An Illinois corres- 

 pondent asks: "Is it natural for the 

 Japan iris, if in a healthy state, to have — 

 some of them— a decided yellowish cast 

 to their leaves?" No, it is a decided sign 

 of sickness, and of a common one too. We 

 often find a lot of plants in a field so 

 aflected, and still they make growth and 

 bloom and bear seed. Throw out those 



