1895. 



GARDENING. 



THE LITTLE POTTING SHED IN THE COTTAGE GARDEN. 



large clumps of handsome foliage about 

 Iwo feet high, above which are produced 

 long branched spikes of the brightest 

 dearest blue found among flowers. My 

 plants do well in partial shade. 



Lady Larpent's lead-wort ( Plumbago 

 Larpenta.') is just commencing to bloom. 

 It forms a thick mass of foliage eight 

 inches high, which will from now until 

 October be covered with single deep violet 

 colored flowers. It is a good edgingplant 

 of easy culture. [But not always reliably 

 hardy —Ed.] 



The hardy garden phlo.xcs are a mass 

 of pleasing color and amply repay the ful- 

 fillment of their requirements, i. e. good 

 soil and plenty of moisture. 



As the hollyhocks pass out of bloom the 

 other members of the famih' arc falling 

 into line. The rose mallow (Hibiscus 

 militaris) is just opening its cup shaped 

 flesh pink flowers. A well grown clump 

 .-it the back of a border is cflective. The 

 swarap rosemallow (H moscheutos) is a 

 little later in blooming. Its variety 

 "Crimson eye" isa vervshowy flower,be- 

 ing pure white with a deep crimson eye. 

 .Ml grow five to six feet high and like 

 moisture. The shinib form of this family 

 Hibiscus Syriacus (rose o( Sharon) is in- 

 clined to be somewhat tender here, and 

 should be planted in rather poor soil and 

 cut back but little in the spring, as a 

 luxuriant growth will surely winterkill. 



This is the season when the torch lily, 

 flame flower, or red-hot poker plant, 

 catalogued as Tr/toma, but known botan- 



ically as Kniphoda is nearing its prime. 

 Being a native of South Africa and Mada- 

 gascar they are not ha-dy, but winter 

 well in- a cold frame. They look well 

 planted in among gladioli, having a 

 somewhat similar foliage, and send uj) 

 their 3 or more feet tall spikes terminated 

 by flame colored racemes of bloom. The 

 flowers are small tubular, and coral red 

 fading to orange. It does best in a light 

 soil. 



The smooth yellow false fox glove 

 (Gerardia quercitolia) is indigenous, and 

 being partly a root parasite, is difficult to 

 transplant. Seeds scattered in the wild 

 garden has resulted in the establishing of 

 a colony. It is a rather slender plant 

 three feet high, bearing numerous droop- 

 ing bell flowers in fox glove fashion. 



The St. John's worts are represented 

 by the herbaceous Hypericum Ascyron, 

 not a very showy plant. H. aureum, a 

 shrub from the mountains of Tennessee is 

 perfectly hardv and the handsomest in 

 my collection, except perhaps the hybrid 

 H. Moserianum. It forms a dense bush 

 nearly three feet high bearing terminal 

 flowers an inch and a half in diameter, 

 with five petals of a beautiful vellow. 

 The numerous stamens resemble a bunch 

 of floss silk. The upper leaves of the 

 flower stem are set close up to the calyx, 

 thus forming lively green bracts ution 

 which the blooms set. making a charming 

 background. H. Kalminnum grov;s about 

 the same height but has narrower and 

 darker foliage andsmalleryellow flowers. 



//. prolificum is a stronger grower than 

 the preceding and is less interesting on 

 account of the numerous decaying flower 

 heads when beyond its prime 



Of the lilies in bloom the golden banded 

 lily of Japan is still queen. This species 

 (Lilium auratum) cannot be depended 

 upon beyond the first bloom, no matter 

 how well protected it may be. One stalk 

 now before me has thirty-five well devel- 

 oped open flowers with more to come, 

 even while crowded they each expanded 

 six to seven inches. L Batemannii f^row^ 

 ing three feet high and bearing six to 

 eight semi-cup shaped flowers of a clear 

 apricot color does well in open spaces 

 among the shrubs. W. C. Ec.xn. 



RftlSINO MOONFLOWER FROM SEED. 

 H. R. V. Philadelphia, writes: "Having 

 tried a number of times to raise mooiT- 

 flower plants from seed without even 

 getting the satisfaction of seeing the 

 plants get above ground, I am constrain- 

 ed to turn to you for a little assistance. 

 What is the usual time for planting seed? 

 I am told that it is best to take slips 

 from this year's plants for next year. 

 Will you kindly explain the details?"' 



In raising seed we generally sow in the 

 greenhouse in March or April, potting 

 the .seedlings separately, and plant them 

 out late in May. Before sowing we cut 

 through the skin at the narrow end of the 

 seed to enable them to germinate readilv. 

 To misc them outside cut through as 



