136 



GARDENING. 



Jan JS, 



and they — blue and white, single and 

 double, d wari(Af ar/es;) and tall (grand- 

 ifloruw) are among the best of our sum- 

 mer perennials. In the way of biennials 

 we have Canterbury bells and C. pyra- 

 widalis, both hardy with you. Among 

 the best of the annuals are wacrostyla, 

 large flowers and distinct, and the com- 

 mon attica and Lovevi. 



3. "The Swan River Daisv (Brachy- 

 come iberidifolia) .—In my three bound vol- 

 umes of Gardening I do not find any- 

 thing on this plant. What are its merits 

 and demerits?" 



Ans. It is a very pretty little annual 

 with white, bluish and purplish daisy-like 

 flowers which are borne in the greatest 

 profusion. It is one of the commonest 

 and cheapest of annuals and of the easiest 

 cultivation, but somehow or other, like 

 saponaria, Virginia stocks, collinsias and 

 some other old fashioned little plants, our 

 people don't seem to get up any enthusi- 

 asm for it. It doesn't last long in bloom. 



4. "Salimglossis.— What is your opin- 

 ion of these?" 



Ans. We grow them extensively for 

 cut flowers in summer. They are annu- 

 als, and easy enough to grow after they 

 get started but sometimes hard to start, of 

 upright habit and attaining 2 to 3 feet in 

 height. Their flowers are large, prettily 

 colored, a good deal variegated, and 

 rather odd to thoseunfamiliarwith them; 

 the plants last a long time in bloom, and 

 the blossoms keep fairly well when cut. 



5. Dahlias —"I carefully studied your 

 listof thetwelvebest dahlias, as furnished 

 by a distinguished amateur, and then 

 looked through a drawer full of cata- 

 logues. In the whole lot I found but one 

 of the dahlias. What can be done vinder 

 such circumstances to secure the list com- 

 plete?" 



Ans Send us the names vou wish to 

 find, and we will try to help you. The 

 dahlia question is a vexed one. You 

 know dahlias don't bloom with usinsum- 

 nier and fall as they used to; it is nothing 

 to see a hundred plants in one garden in 

 vigorous growth, but without a score of 

 perfect flowers on them; and perhaps in a 

 cottage garden a little way off there may 

 be a dozen plants in fine blossom. For 

 want of a better name and technical 

 knowledge of this disease we call it "Dah- 

 lia mite," and so far we have been unable 

 to effectually destroy or prevent it. 



t). Canterbury bells. — "I had this 

 year a fine collection of these. The best 

 plants were marked, and the seed care- 

 fully planted as soon as the pods were 

 ripe, in a cold Irame, over which there 

 was a screen. Result, not a plant. What 

 was the matter? My own idea is that 

 the man who did the planting planted 

 too deep." 



Ans. Of course that was in midsum- 

 mer—July or the first of August, the easi- 

 est time of the year to kill seed in a seed 

 bed. The general cause of failure is over- 

 dryness of the soil underneath as well 

 as at the surface and over-exposure 

 of the surface soil not alone to sun- 

 shine, but to drying winds. Just be- 

 fore the seed was ripe had you cleaned 

 the ground about the plants and 

 raked it smooth, then allowed the seed 

 pods to burst and scatter the seed at will, 

 a few days after the next good rain that 

 ground would probably have been a living 

 carpet of little seedlings. Then you could 

 have picked up what you wanted, pricked 

 them off into a prepared bed in a frame, 

 and in a (ew weeks, w hen they had made 

 nice little plants set them out of doors 

 where you wanted to have them. 



7. "Ought Azalea mollis, of which I 

 purchased 12 specimens in pots, be pro- 



tected this first winter? And how?" 



Ans. Azalea mollis is perfectly hardy 

 with you, but if your plants are still in 

 pots don't disturb them till early spring, 

 keeping them in the cellar, sunk in a cold 

 frame or in a pit most anywhere where 

 they will be quite cool, and at the same 

 time away from frost. Plants in pots, no 

 matter how hardy they are, should not 

 have the earth in the pots frozen. Don't 

 let the soil in the pots get dry, at any 

 time, and discourage any inclination the 

 plants may show to grow.; it will be bet- 

 ter for themselves if they are quite dor- 

 mant when they arc set out, than if burst- 

 ing into leaf 



8. "The 'Midget' Rose'.— What is 

 your opinion of this rose? It originated 

 in France, and was advertised by some 

 leading dealers as producing flowers in a 

 few weeks from seed?" 



Ans. As soon as it was "sent out" we 

 grew and tested it. The seeds germinated 

 readily, and, really, the little plants came 

 into bloom when they were only a few 

 months old. But aside frjm being an 

 odditv thev are of no use as roses. 



THE PflEONY. 



Nothing in its season so much attracts 

 the average passerby as a well grown 

 mass of pEeonies, and nothing is easier to 

 grow, and when once started takes better 

 care of itself. On this account very rarely 

 is the proper effort made to hive a fine 

 display of pa^onies and frequently the 

 barest necessaries of plant life are hardly 

 furnished them. Perhaps you have seen 

 a lawn lit up by pfeonies to excite your 

 emulation and want to have some your- 

 self. Let me advise you; 



Prepare in advance. Consider what 

 varieties you want and get ready the 

 place to put them in. Preonies love rich 

 soil and moisture. They will endure much 

 neglect and even considerable shade, but 

 if they are in a good bed they will show 

 their gratitude. They will flourish in 

 rich bottom land, but are at home in the 

 heaviest clay or lightest sand. Dig out 

 a deep bed for them as soon as you can 

 to allow the ingredients time to decay 

 and settle. If you have well rotted man- 

 ure you can use two-thirds of that with 

 one-third of good top soil, but if the man- 

 ure did not rot under shelter and in a 

 large mass I should use fresh manure. 

 The ordinary well rotted manure from a 

 farm is leached out, it is a snare and delu- 

 sion, and may destroy your hopes. If 

 you use fresh manure incorporate it well 

 with the soil and put on the bed the first 

 year some rank growing annuals or 

 cannas or anything to hide its unsightli- 

 ness and make it high, as it will settle. 

 Don't put all the manure in the bottom 

 and the soil on top, as some of our friends 

 are wont to make their asparagus beds. 



Now we will assume your bed is made 

 and ready to plant. If you get plants 

 from the near neighborhood or are trans- 

 planting some that you have neglected 

 and that need a change the best time and 

 when you can give all needful care is per- 

 haps a month after the flowering season. 

 Divide your clumps, press the soil firmly 

 about the roots, shade the tops slightly 

 and give a thorough watering which may 

 have t ) be repeated once or twice. It the 

 plants take good hold you will have a 

 crop of flowers next season. The next 

 best time is in fall as soon as the foliage 

 decays. Do not wait until spring if you 

 can avoid it, and never undertake to im- 

 port piEony plants in spring. You would 

 gain time by waiting until fall. 



The garden varieties are mostly de- 

 scendants of Pifonia albiffora, a species 

 from China. Bright yellows are still 



lacking and they may soon be added by 

 crossing some of the older sorts with a 

 new variety, Pwonia lutea, introduced 

 only within three years by seed sent from 

 Yunnan, a hitherto unexplored region of 

 China. There are several European spe- 

 cies also, and the double form of one is 

 the well known double scarlet earliest 

 flowering paeony. It is P. officinalis and 

 no kind is better for a lawn ornament. 

 It should be one in anv collection of even 

 three varieties. It precedes all the Chinese 

 varieties in bloom by two weeks. There 

 are also lighter colored varieties of it, but 

 they are not so commonly grown I 

 have a large collection of pieonies and 

 the following varieties are among the 

 most noticeable in it. It is not necessary 

 tor ordinary wants to grow so large a 

 collection, but as it may be hard to find 

 some of the varieties in the stock of the 

 nurseryman whoofl'ers some of the others 

 you have an opportunity of substituting. 

 For lawn decoration the darker colors 

 are much preferable. For cutting, and in 

 doing this never wait for the flower to be 

 fully expanded you will find the light colors 

 most desirable. Some of these varieties 

 are quite new and decided improvements. 

 white. 



Due DE Wellington —White, center 

 creamy, fine bold flower and bold grower. 



Solfaterre.— Pure white, yellowish 

 center, golden stamens, rose scented, very 

 fine. 



CouRONNE D'Or.— Large full white 

 flower, bold and showy, with a beautiful 

 mass of golden stamens. There is no finer 

 white paeony. Scent disagreeable. 



La Tulipe.— Vtry fine cup-shaped bud, 

 but not full enough nor firm enough when 

 open, white with carmine tips 



Mathilde de Roseneck.— Flesh white, 

 very fine form. 



Marie. — White, lightly tinted rose, fine 

 form and late. 



light shades 



Alexandrjna.- An old variety, fine 

 lively rose color and shape of Magna 

 Charta rose. 



M. Paillet.— Very fine flesh pink, fair 

 form. 



Beaute de Villecante. — Tender rose, 

 but not perfect in form. This variety at- 

 tracted attention at the World's Fair. 

 Not one of my favorites 



Mme. Callot. — Light rosy guard 

 petals, center flesh white, very fair flower. 



i^oE Callot.— Very fine, bold, light rose 

 flower with carmine pistils. It is pcEony 

 formed, but a pleasing color. 



Mme. Jules Callot.— Extra fine large 

 rose flowers, shape perfect and color good. 



Marie Jacquin. — .\n open tulip shaped 

 flower, good form, attractive, whitish 

 pink with yellow stamens. 



ViRGiNiE. — There is also a salmon col- 

 ored variety of this name— good light 

 rose, bold flower and strong grower. 



J. B. Rendatler.— Good full flower of 

 lively rose color. 



Triomphe de L'Exposition de Lille. 

 —Large pink flowers, petalsedged whitish 

 and sHghtly washed with carmine, large 

 tine flower. 



Mme. Loise (Mere).— Blush pink, large 

 and fragrant. 



Lady Anna .—Lively rose, fine form. 



DARK SHADES. 



L'Eclatante. — Carmine, dark rose 

 center, beautiful. 



JussiEU.— Very dark purple. 



Comte de Niepperg.— Not over full but 

 a fine, ciear, showy currant red. 



Charles Binder.— Fine full flower of 

 a striking red color; good garden variety. 

 Color described in French as "rouge 

 violace." 



