324 



GARDENING. 



July IS, 



about 2,000 feet to 3,000 feet above sea 

 level. It is not in cultivation so far as 

 we know, except a few little seedlings at 

 the Arnold Arboretum." 



But don't let these rare plants bother 

 you, nor the country in which they are 

 indigenous, if you \i ant a beautiful mag- 

 nolia and one that will live and do well 

 in your garden try the Yulan magnolia, 

 the subject of our illustration. You can 

 buy it from most any prominent nursery- 

 man. In rigorous localities where it isn't 

 hardy get Magnolia hypoleuca and try it. 



fl HEDGE PLANT. 



Within the past few years our people 

 have built a church and a parsonage on 

 the same plot of ground. It is at theedge 

 of a village and extends 200x250 feet 

 along the public road. We need a lence 

 along the road. There are not many 

 cattle to be kept out, but some pass 

 every day during the summer. We have 

 been thinking ol a hedge. We would not 

 care to have anything of rampant 

 growth. As there is a row of Norway 

 spruce for a windbreak a short space 

 inside the fence evergreens would hardly 

 suit. Our soil is sand and clay mixed. It 

 retains water during the winter and 

 spring and gets qxiite hard during the 

 summer. We have been thinking of the 

 barberry and Japan quince (Cydonia 

 Japonica) either alone or mingled. 



Do you think they will give satisfac- 

 tion? If not what would you suggest? 

 Would like to have suggestions as to the 

 best way of treating the soil and plant- 

 ing to get best results. H. K. S. 



Middle Lancaster, Pa. 



The Japan quince will make a very 

 beautiful hedge but it will not be of the 

 upright fence-like order, it will be about 

 as broad as high. The barberry will also 

 make a nice hedge but it will have an air 

 of commonness you may not like. In 

 either case you should run a couple of 

 strands of wire along the row and let the 

 hedge plants grow up about them. The 

 common privet will make as pretty a 

 hedge plant as any and it is hardier than 

 the Californian one. By keeping it cut 

 well down when it is young it can be kept 

 very stocky and within bounds to suit 

 most any purpose. All of these three 

 make reliable ornamental hedge plants, 

 and there are many others as Spiraea 

 Thunbergii, altha;as, Madame Plantier 

 roses, honeysuckles trained on a low fence 

 that could be made to answer and look 

 very beautiful, much depending upon the 

 operator, and the situation. Sand and 

 clay mixed should be a soil good enough 

 for most any shrubprovidingitisdrained, 

 deeply worked and intermixed with 

 manure to keep it open as well as fertilize 

 it. If it retains water during the winter 

 and spring it should be drained, else 

 sappy growth, immatured wood, and 

 winter-killing are likelj- to be the result. 

 If it gets hard in summer you must keep 

 it well unfastened with a hoe, or if you 

 prefer it, mulch it. 



Magnolia speciosa is hardy at 

 CHICAGO.-In the spring of] 895 Ellwanger 

 & Barry shipped to a neighbor here in this 

 town a small Magnolia speciosa, which 

 pas^^ed safely through the severe winter 

 following, as well as last winter, in each 

 instance unprotected in any manner, and 

 this spring rewarded the "owner with a 

 few blooms. The situation where planted 

 is somewhat sheltered. I was much sur- 

 prised at this. [Magnolia speciosa is one 

 of the same set of hybrids to which Sou- 

 langcana belongs, the original parents 



being M. conspicua and M. ohovata. 

 Alexandrina and Norbertii also belong to 

 the same set. We are not at all surprised 

 that speciosa has proven hardy at 

 Chicago, neither will we be astonished if 

 youyet find that, given favorable environ 

 ment, the other sorts named may also 

 survive your rigorous and changeable 

 climate— Ed ] W. C. E. 



The Flower Garden. 



PLANTS IN BLOOM JULY 8. 



The Koempferi irises are now mostly 

 past, but while they lasted they were 

 verj' fine; they have very large flowers 

 and a wonderful variety of color, and 

 they are of easy. growth and soon form 

 large clumps. 



Spiriea palmata with its large heads of 

 crimson flowers is very fine; it is one of 

 the good things that every one should 

 have; itgoes nicely with S.Arunciis, which 

 has creamy white flowers; they grow 

 about four feet high. 



Alstroweria aiirantiaca (Peruvian lily) 

 with its clusters of orange yellow flowers 

 is very nice; it grows about two feet high 

 and a clump of it in the border is quite 

 showy. 



Milla biffora, a beautiful small bulbous 

 plant of easy growth, if treated the same 

 as we do with gladiolus, does nicely; the 

 flowers are ptire white, star shaped, on 

 long slender stems. Calochortits Plum- 

 wene is another bulbous plant now in 

 flower; it was wintered over in the frame 

 with the Oncocyclus irises and has done 

 very well. 



We have had a nice show of early lilies. 

 L. Brownii was very fine. It is a lovely 

 lily and one that every one should have; 

 it is easy to grow and its flowers are 

 large, about six inches long; inside of the 

 flower is pi're white, outside brownish. 

 L. excelsum grew about four feet high 

 and had beautiful buff colored blossoms; 

 it is nearly past. L. auratuni and some 

 of its varieties are now in nice flower; it 

 makes a good show in the garden, its 

 flowers are so large and they are very 

 sweet. L. candidum has been making a 

 great show; a border of it here was a fine 

 sight, but it is now getting past. L. 

 Canadense and some of its varieties are 

 in good flower; although there is any 

 amount of it in the fields here a few in the 

 garden are not amiss. L. croceuw. al- 

 though a common lily is yet one of the 

 best; its large orange crimson flowers 

 dotted with black makes it one of the 

 most showy lilies we have in the garden. 

 L. Hansoni and L. pardalimim were 

 both good but are now past. 



The platj'codons, now in good flower 

 are very showy border plants -, nd easily 

 raised from seed. P. grand itloruni, both 

 blue and white sorts, grows about two 

 feet high and has Urge bell-shaped flow- 

 ers. P. Mariesi grows only about ten 

 inches high, but has flowers as large as 

 thoseof grandifloruw. Hollyhocks, single 

 j.nd double are now at their b<!St, and 

 would make a great show in the garden 

 if the disease of the leaves would only 

 keep away. Hemerocallis Thunbergii 

 (yellow day lily) is in nice bloom and 

 makes a great show. H. fulva, the tawny 

 day lily, is also in good flower; it has nat- 

 uralized itself along thesidesof the roads. 

 Funkia lancifolia is making a show of 

 large spikes of lavender flowers, and F. 

 ovatn is also in good flower; it has large 

 spikes of lilac colored blossoms, lucca 

 filamentosa is making a good display-; its 

 large panicles of creamy white flowers 

 are very conspicuous in the garden. 



Monarda didyma is still in nice flower, 

 its showy heads of scarlet flowers being 

 quite attractive. Coronilla varia is in 

 full bloom; it is a good plant to cover any 

 out of the way place, as it grows very 

 fast and spreads over the ground; it has 

 pea-shaped flowers. Achillea Ptarmica 

 is full of dense heads of small double 

 white flowers; thev are nice for cutting 

 and last a long time. The phloxes are 

 now blooming nicely but it will be a week 

 or two before thej' are at their best. 



An arch of Clematis Jackwanni is in 

 fine glory, its large purple flowers are 

 very showy. Clematis Flammula is be- 

 ginning to bloom; it has large h ads of 

 pure white, fleecy, fragrant flowers, and 

 it is very easy to grow. Hall's Japan 

 honeysuckle is in fine flower; it is one of 

 the best vines we have for covering arbors, 

 we have a lot of arches covered with it 

 and it looks very well. 



Mahwah, N. J. David Fraser. 



THE WILD GflRDBN. 



The spring wild garden with its gay 

 hosts of countless flowers bedecking the 

 fresh and verdant turf presents only one 

 aspect of this delightful phase of garden- 

 ing. As the season advances bringing in 

 its train new types and forms of beauty 

 some of these likewise may be happily 

 wedded to an otherwise unadorned spot 

 and receive added charms from their en- 

 vironment, if the union is complete; in 

 short, if the plants selected are adapted 

 to the spot. Aye, and how delightfully 

 varied some gardens might be if only the 

 vegetation was selected by reason of its 

 adaptation to the spot, but we are all so 

 conventional that we grade, drain and 

 otherwise set up a uniformity of condi- 

 tions which imposes limitations in the 

 choice of plants. I will presuppose a 

 moist spot existing in some corner of the 

 garden grounds, perhaps a small pond, a 

 tiny stream or even but a damp ditch. 

 The general impulse is to drain it, but let 

 us take it as it is; develop its beauty 

 along the lines made possible solely by a 

 superabundance of water and see what 

 flowers we may plant and enjoy there 

 that need no more care nor cultivation 

 than falls to the lot of the wood lily or 

 moccasin flower in the moist leafy hollows 

 of our woods. 



There is one family adapted to such a 

 moist spot that we can rarely do justice 

 to in our hot exposed flower borders. I 

 allude to the TroUius or globe flowers; 

 giant double buttercups as handsome as 

 any flower of their time, yet very little 

 grown in gardens. There are several 

 kinds having minor variations of form 

 and color, but for this purpose it is 

 enough to take the European and Asiatic 

 species and plant a bold colony of each 

 right into the coarse grass that usually 

 grows along the stream or ditch bank. 

 Some years ago after vainly trying 'or a 

 couple of seasons to keep clean the moist 

 banks of a ditch that intersected a shrub- 

 bery we abandoned it to nature and be- 

 gan trying to adapt the plants to it. 

 The globe flowers were first planted and 

 before long they simply asserted their 

 vigor by elbowing out enough grass to 

 make room for their own ample tufts of 

 leafage, whilst for the past six 3'ears they 

 have given a two months' picture of gol- 

 den beauty that is a joy and a revelation 

 to all who behold it. These great double 

 buttercups in nature fringe the cool 

 mountain streams, yet when brought 

 into gardens they are usually condemned 

 to languish in ths sunny borders that 

 alone are thought to be adapted to the 

 growth of flowers. Likewise suitable are 

 the graceful meadow rues (Thalictnini) 



