34 



GARDENING. 



Oct. 75, 



build a rock garden against the face of 

 any gravel bank backed with trees, and 

 enjoy the luxuriant beautv displayed in 

 Mr. EUwanger's garden. The soil in the 

 rock garden should be good, triable and 

 deep; it should not be surfeited with 

 manure; old, well decomposed peat mixed 

 with the loam opens it if stiff, and the 

 plants like it; leaf soil too is a capital 

 addition. Mountain plants and other 

 appropriate ones generally grown in rock 

 gardens love moisture and good draniage 

 at the same time — moist, sweet soil, such 

 as one finds on the side of a mountain. 

 Any spot in the garden all exposed to the 

 blaze of the noon and early afternoon 

 sunshine is unfitted for a rock garden, 

 because the heat and dryness there would 

 roast the plants in summer. Close by 

 big rubber trees or vigorous shrubs, as 

 elms or large philadelphus is also a poor 

 place because the roots of the trees will 

 go in search of good soil, and finding it in 

 the rock garden will luxuriate there and 

 impoverish and dry out the earth much 

 to thedetrimentot the little plants among 

 the stones. Don't build a mound or 

 pyramid of earth and stones and call that 

 a rockery, for it isn't. 



For a plain rock garden for little plants 

 we should prefer a north, northeast, east 

 or southeast aspect; but really by a 

 proper manipulation of the plants used 

 in and about the rockery most any aspect 

 not too parching will do. Yuccas, some 

 small shrubs, moss pinks, some of the 

 creeping speedwells, the common peren- 

 nial candytuft, and others, will thrive in 

 all-day sunshine; ivy, periwinkle, hyperi- 

 cums,'hepaticas, lily of the valley, money- 

 wort, ^and a host of spring blooming 

 bulbous and wild plants and ferns will 

 feel perfectly at home on the north slope, 

 and most everything will thrive on the 

 east side Thus it will be seen the rock 

 garden may be partly in the open and 

 partly in the shade if need be. If it has 

 to be made where the roots of trees can 

 get at it easily, some provision should be 

 made to arrest this evil, say cut a deep 

 narrow trench between the trees and the 

 rockery every two or three years, to 

 sever the tree roots; the trench should be 

 filled up as soon as dug, for to cut the 

 roots is the only object in opening it. 



A rock garden isn't a decoration of 

 stones, and any attempt to make a dis- 

 play of the stone work is contrary to 

 good taste and good gardening; the 

 primary object should be to furnish a 

 happy home for a host of neat growing 

 tufted, and trailing plants and to show 

 these off to the best advantage. Don't 

 use hewn or formal stones; the best are 

 old, rough natural or slab like rocks 

 prettj' well mossed over by long exposure. 

 There is an impression that the rocks in 

 a rock garden conserve moisture and 

 keep the ground cool; but if you put 

 your hand on one of these stones exposed 

 to hot sunshine, the feeling is not one of 

 coldness. In arranging the stones avoid 

 the honejeomb-pockets idea, it is tm- 

 natural, ugly, and ill-adapted for the 

 cultivation of plants. Arrange the rocks 

 in a somewhat natural condition with 

 broad patches of bare ground here and 

 there among them, where little colonies 

 of plants can spread; open fissures be- 

 tween them which rosetted plants can 

 fill or creeping plants grow up in; little 

 ledges can be formed for mats of prostrate 

 plants to grow over and cover. In fact, 

 the prettiest rockery is the one that is 

 most covered by appropriate plants, all 

 healthy and seemingly at home, and 

 nowhere coarse or weedy. ^Ybile for the 

 surface perfect drainage at all times, 

 summer and winter, slic.ulcl he sciiued; 



we also must have in view the preven- 

 tion of over dryness. The soil in the 

 little spreads between the rocks should 

 be comparativelv level and not sloping 

 Uke a side hill. 



The plants in a rock garden should all 

 be hardy. A conglomeration of hardy 

 and tender plants is unnatural and un- 

 becoming. kX the back and on the flanks 

 of the rock garden we can use some of 

 many shrubs, forinstance rliododendrons 

 and azaleas (where hardy), kalmias, 

 American jew, tree ivy, hypericums, 

 creeping euonymus, the hardy cytisus, 

 Thunberg's barberry, daphnes, star 

 magnolia, shrub yellow root, ecanothus, 

 snowberry and Indian currant, dwarf 

 mock orange (micropbyllas), wild roses, 

 such as' nitida and foliolosa, dwarf 

 spiraeas, and many others. And among 

 these it would be very pretty to natural- 

 ize our wild flowers, as false Solo- 

 mon's seal, foam-flowers, partridge 

 berr3% twin flowers, anemones, gold 

 thread, star flower, rue anemones, Penn- 

 sylvania and fire pinks, eypripediums, 

 spring beautj', adder's tongue, dalibarda, 

 blue, white and yellow violets, dicentras, 

 pyrolas, twin-leaf, columbines, dwarf 

 cornel, bluets, including the Spreading 

 (Houstonia serpillHoUa) from the Alle- 

 ghanies, and many others. 



For covering large bouldexs or ledges 

 from the bottom up we have apt plants 

 in the Jajjan ampelopsis, creeping euony- 

 mus, and climbing hydrangeas, but these 

 should have good soil to grow in and 

 plenty of moistureinsummer. To spread 

 over ledges from the top down we have 

 the Japanese spreading rose ( Wichurai- 

 ana), the fragrant sumach, strawberry 

 bush (Euonymus Americaniis^ar ohbva- 

 tus), bearberry, and other shrubs, and 

 such vines as wild clematis, Virginia 

 creeper, etc. 



In addition to the hardy perennials 

 mentioned by Mr. Ellwanger we may 

 mention the following which we have 

 tried and found useful for this purpose: 

 Erysimum rupestre, golden alyssum (.4. 

 saxatile), Veronica rupestris, Geneva 

 creeping bugle [Ajuga Genevensis), Stel- 

 laria BoJostea, thrift (Armeria vulgaris). 

 aubrietias, tufted pinks (O/ant/jus) several 

 species, alpine wall flower {Clieirnntlius 

 alpinus). Tunica Saxifraga, silenes of 

 several kinds, Xierenibergia rivularis (in 

 a wettish place), creeping forget-me-not 

 ( Ompbalodes verna) ,Heuchera sanguinea, 

 isopyrum, jasione,micromeria,Cerast/um 

 grandiflorum, and several others. 



And manv other bujbous plants cpuW 

 be used advantageously, for instance 

 crocuses, snowdrops, snowflake, meadow 

 saffron, autumn crocuses, triteleia and 

 some lilies, notabh' the Siberian tenui- 

 folium. 



The Flower Garden. 



])oppy) and Adiumia cirrbosa (.Allegheny 

 vine) planted together make one of the 

 loveliest combinations imaginable. The 

 glaucium has silvery foliage, something 

 in the style of dusty miller, only hand- 

 somer, and the adiumia is always taken 

 by strangers for a maidenhair fern. The 

 glaucium will send up tall flower spikes, 

 which must be kept cut ofi", as the dull 

 vellow flower has no special beauty and 

 lasts but a dav. The seed of the adiumia 

 must be sown every vear, as it is a hien- 



great height, but it is the first year when 

 it grows only a foot or so high, that it is 

 most beautiful. As a climber also it is 

 graceful and beautiful, but the small 

 closed flowers add nothing to its beauty, 

 in fact detract from it, and the plant 

 itself has a habit of "petering out" verj^ 

 early in its second season. Have the 

 glaucium plants about two feet apart, 

 and sow the adiumia between them. 

 Seed sown in the fall will come up early 

 in the spring. The foliage of the adiumia 

 is especially graceful in bouquets. If 

 allowed to "flower it will sow itself like a 

 weed. 



Gentiana acaulis —The intense Prus- 

 sian blue of this flower is probably un- 

 equalled. The plant blooms about the 

 first of May and is worthy of any care 

 and attention that may be bestowed upon 

 it, although it seems rather diflScult to 

 manage. A plant of mine has been grow- 

 ing in fairh' good soil, not too wet or too 

 dry, getting a few hours morning sun, 

 has not been disturbed at the roots for 

 three years, and j-et last May was the 

 first time it bloomed, and that sparinglj', 

 while the plant itself seems to be growing 

 smaller. Does it appreciate liquid fer- 

 tilizers? [No, it does not.— Ed.] 



SCIIIZOPHRAGMA HvDR ANGEOIDES. — 



Three years ago I set out a plant and to- 

 day it is only about two feet high. It is 

 called a climbing hydrangea, which it re- 

 sembles closely. It clings to wood and 

 stone like an ivy. While my plant is 

 sturdy looking enough, it seems to have 

 been born tired, and unless one has an 

 unlimited supply of patience I would ad- 

 vise him or her to try something a little 

 more rapid. .\ person naturally likes to 

 think that a plant he sets out will bloom 

 during his life time. My plant gets the 

 morning sim and plenty of water. I did 

 feed it well at one time with liquid fertil- 

 izer until I got out of patience at its utter 

 indifference, and lately' I have left it to its 

 fate. It is perfectly healthv. [Have pa- 

 tience. In good moist ground and a shel- 

 tered place it ought to do well. Its flo a ers 

 are not showy like those of Otaksa or pan- 

 iculata grandiflora, but when borne in pro- 

 fusion they have a marked effect.— Ed.] 



VlN'CETOXIClM ACUMINATUM (mOSquitO 



catching plant) really does catch mos- 

 quitos. It bears in June clusters of small 

 white star-shaped flowers, and almost 

 every flower will be found to have caught 

 a mosquito which has inserted his pro- 

 boscis into the throat and cannot get 

 away. Such strength does this little 

 flower seem to possess that I have seen a 

 large moth, 'about an ' ineh^Iorig, strug- 

 gling with might and main to free itself 

 after being caught. If left to grow the 

 plant will climb a few feet, but if cutback 

 to the root it grows up like a small bush 

 ■and flowers again. The plant itself has 

 no beauty, but the clusters of small white 

 flowers are pretty enough. 



Galium mollugo.— Although some- 

 what similar in both appearance of plant 

 and flower to Gypsophila paniculata. 1 

 consider it superior, as the flowers are 

 larger and will continue to make their 

 appearance for a very long time if the old 

 flowers are kept cut. It does well with 

 me in ordinary soil, and gets a few hours 

 of the morning sun. When mixed with 

 sweet peas the eflect is most charming. 



Phvsianthi s Ai.Mii.NS.- This is another 

 plant, a clinilx-r, which like Vincctoxicuni 

 acuminatum is said to secrete a viscid 

 juice and impri.son insects unwise enough 

 to insert their bill into the throat of the 

 flower, thus giving it the name of the 

 Cruel Plant. I started seeds in the green- 

 house in March, and bv the middle ol 



