GARDENING. 



Sept. Jj 



plain and varieiated thyme aretcheverias 

 in variety, but mostly E. secunda glauca, 

 Oxalis tropseoloides, Sewpervivum and 

 Otbonna crassifolia. American agaves 

 are also largely used. 



Ingenious vegetable curiosities have 

 been omitted f om the '95 display of 

 bedding plants. They have given place 

 to examples of ca ri et bed ing of t he more 

 legitimate type. The caipet beds are not- 

 able as quiet, harmonious color schemes, 

 la fact everything that is crude, sta'tling 

 or sensational in gardening has been 

 avoided. Tbe lesult is satisfactory to 

 numbers of people, but as the opinion of 

 this class seldom reaches Mr. Kanst it is 

 feared that he finds small encouragement 

 in his laudable effort to educate the public 

 to a taste fir what is best in gardening. 

 On the other hand be does hear loud wails 

 of disappointment from those wbo take 

 the loss of skillfully constructed vegetable 

 wonders as a personal grievance. 



Chicago. F. C. Se.wev. 



FLOWBR GARDEN NOTES. 

 The following notes may be of some 

 interest to your readers. 



Ihomcha setosa.— I am much disap- 

 pointed in it. The leaves to be sure are 

 large and the stems hairy, as described, 

 but with me it does not branch as freely 

 as mentioned, and therefore is not desir- 

 able for heavy shade. It runs up twenty 

 or thirty feet, and the flowers all come 

 towards the top, out ol reach. There is 

 no special beauty in their dull pink purple 

 color, and they close early in the day. 

 Seeds are as hard as a rock and germinate 

 very slowly. 



Ipomcea sinuata.— a very beautiful 

 appearing vine, delicate and graceful, 

 wito much cleft foliage. Has not flowered 

 yet, but the flowers are said to keep open 

 all day. It is worth growing for foliage 

 alone. 



Ipomcea Goodellii, or tree ipomcea.— 

 This plant makes a good appearance 

 with its large thick leaves, of a peculiar 

 shade of green. The color of the flower, 

 a purplish pink, is rather pleasing, the 

 color of the throat being darker and 

 richer. It makes many shoots from the 

 roots, and altogether commands notice. 

 I'nfortunatelj' the flowers close earlv in 

 the day. 



Cosmos sulphurea.— With me it is a 

 distinct failure (as a cosmos) although as 

 well grown as it ought to be. The plants 

 are about 18 inches high, with rather 

 cosmos like foliage, but the flowers are 

 (|uite small. They are five petalled, like a 

 star, of a clear deep yellow. It is not 

 very proliferous in bloom. If it had not 

 been called cosmos I might not have been 

 so disappointed in it. Flowers all sum- 

 mer, and the flowers many would con- 

 sider very pretty. 



Yellow centaurea or corn flower.— 

 (Uo not know botanical name.) I under- 

 stood from my florist it was a novelty, 

 and it certainly is a beautiful flower, very 

 much resembUng a clear yellow thistle, 

 but much smaller. Notwithstanding 

 spongings with kerosene emulsion my 

 plants all died, whether from red siider 

 or aphides, or from too much water at 

 the root, I am unable to say. I found 

 very soon that it was very subject to 

 spider and aphides. [Sure it isn't theyello w 

 sweet sultan {Centaurea nioscbata)? 

 We know of no reason why an outdoor 

 centaurea should be attacked by red spider 

 unless it had been grown indoors to begin 

 with and then planted out in the garden, 

 or grown alongside of other plants that 

 had been raised indoors. This being the 



case, both red spider and aphides would 

 be likely to infest it. While it isn't a very 

 hard matter to free the plants from 

 aphides, it is hardly practicable to get rid 

 of the spider. — Ed.] 



Boltonia LATisyuAMA. — This surpasses 

 my expectations of it. I set out in the 

 spring a small root. Without any special 

 care it has grown four feet or more tall, 

 and has now over fifty open flowers, and 

 enough buds to keep on opening for a 

 month or more. I tie the principal stem 

 to a stake and let the top branches spread 

 out. The foliage is fine and pointed, 

 hardly showing at all, so that the top of 

 the plant is a spreading mass of light 

 pink daisy-like flowers, immediately 

 striking anybody's attention. Although 

 exposed to high winds, the plant has 

 escaped all injury. I mention this, as one 

 of your correspondents lately gave direc- 

 tions for tying the spreading branches of 

 the top of the plant. L. C. L. J. 



New York. 



OLD COLD AND PINK FLOWERED CflNNflS. 



I have an old gold flowered canna with- 

 out a spot and its flowers are as big as 

 those of Florence Yaughan — it is some- 

 thing really good in yellow. I am now 

 working on pink ones and have secured 

 two fairly good one^that show , up 

 grandly in beds, but they are too narrow 

 petalled to keep. Have you observed 

 that the pink flowers improve with age, 

 but the yellow ones bleach white? 



A. Gilchrist. 



Since writing the above Mr. Gilchrist 

 has read what we said in last issue of 

 Gardening, and adds: "I have sent to 

 you to-day flowers of a yellow canna. 

 The plant is a good grower, about as 

 dwarf as Madame Crozy, and as free- 

 flowering. When you see it I believe a ou 

 will reverse the opinion you gave on page 

 347." We got the flowers; two fire 

 spikes of large, broad-petalled, golden or 

 old gold blossoms. No, we must still 

 stick to what we said about yellow 

 cannas. Yours, while a fine big flower, 

 is not the clear, pure yellow we are striv- 

 ing for, and to which we referred in our 

 former note. 



SMALL CITY PARKS. 



In many of the smaller cities and towns 

 of the United States, and especially in the 

 Western States, are blocks of land sur- 

 rounded by streets which are reserved 

 for public squares or small parks. They 

 are generally planted with soft maple and 

 elm trees. There is a band stand in the 

 center and walks run diagonally across 

 the square from corner to corner and are 

 used as thoroughfares. The rest is left to 

 grass and weeds, and probably mown 

 with a scythe once or twice a season. 

 Also we find many signs "Keep Off the 

 Grass." Some of the squares or parks, 

 owing to the paving and improvements 

 of the surrounding streets, are generally 

 low, muddy and uninviting places. In 

 fact, this was a good description of 

 Spencer Square at Rock Island, 111., a few 

 years ago, until the president of the 

 Citizens' Improvement Association, a 

 real philanthropist and friend of the poor, 

 interested the city council to have the 

 square filled and walks laid out, trees and 

 shrubs planted and flower beds made and 

 filled. Then various citizens contributed 

 vases, a fountain, entrance arches, a 

 statue of Black Hawk (the famous Indian 

 chief who lived near here), and various 

 other gifts, until n >w Spencer Square is 

 known far and wide as one of the most 

 beautiful sjiots in Western Illinois. 



The lawns are well kept, the flower beds 

 filled with free blooming plants, and the 

 vases are a source of enjovment to many. 

 Accompanying is cut of a large vase, 

 showing the good growth and beauty of 

 a well planted vase. Seats are furnished 

 along the path for those who care to use 

 them. The only objectionable features I 

 find in it are tlie signs, "Please keep on 

 the walks," which is a polite way of ex- 

 pressing the odious "Keep off the grass." 

 The intelligent American resents it. To 

 walk upon the grass when it is dry won't 

 hurt it, and nobody wants to walk upon 

 it when it is wet, especially where good 

 walks are provided. 



Parks are for the public vse, made 'or 

 and paid for by the people, and there are 

 comparatively few who would knowingly 

 destroy what they have an interest in. 

 Public parks are grand accompaniments 

 of the public schools in our education and 

 elevation, and we should have all the 

 enjoyment to be derived from the use of 

 them. If the people persist in walking on 

 the grass along side of a walk place some 

 wires or other obstructions to prevent 

 them walking there, but let them walk 

 and sit on the balance of the grass all 

 they please. If bare spots appear in the 

 grass sod them- over again; the people 

 will pay for it cheerfully. If "Keep off 

 the grass" signs must be used, please take 

 them away every holiday and Sundays, 

 and let the people enjoy what they pay 

 for. During the Columbian Exposition 

 at Chicago every Sunday between thirty 

 and fifty thousand or more people visited 

 Washington Park to see the flower beds 

 there, and as they were in such numbers 

 that they could not be kept on the walks 

 they used the grass, and they have used 

 it ever since, and Mr. Kanst. the gardener 

 at Washington Park, says the people do 

 not hurt the grass by walking upon it 

 in such numbers, and they enjoy it. 



Davenport, Iowa. John T. Temple. 



The Greenhouse. 



CHRYSANTflEMUMS. 



The coming few weeks are a critical 

 time for the chrysanthemum grower, as 

 upon their management at this period 

 depends success or failure. Disbudding, 

 thinning out laterals, tying down shoots, 

 staking, and feeding up the plants for 

 the strain of the blooming period, are in 

 order. Mr. Farrell, here, has taken in 

 already (September 4) those of his stand- 

 ards of stocky, slow-growing habit to 

 induce them to run sufficiently to cover 

 the hoops; those of very free-growing habit 

 like Princess of Chrysanthemums and 

 Louis Bochmer he leaves out longer, but 

 they all ought to be indoors by about the 

 15th inst. Sulphate ofammonia, about the 

 full of a 3-inch pot in a barrel of manure 

 water, using sheep-manure one week and 

 cow-manure another, he finds very bene- 

 ficial. Discontinue using the sulphate of 

 ammonia one week before the blooms 

 open, as it has a tendency to make them 

 flabby. During the period tfiat the 

 flowers are about to open have the tem- 

 ])erature of the house cool— forced flowers 

 are never well finished. Mr. Farrell says 

 that the best blooms he ever had opened 

 in a canvas-covered house which was 

 both shaded and cool. After the blooms 

 have opened theexperience ot old growers 

 favors the shading of the flowers from 

 direct sunrays, especially the dark colored 

 varietiijs. 



For mildew Mr. F. has used for many 

 vcars. .-ind has never known it to have 



