146 



• GARDENING. 



Feb. I. 



front of the upper terraces is planted a 

 large variety of hardy perennial, annual 

 and bedding plants, that keep up a gay 

 effect all summer long. Back of them 

 small vegetables are grown, and all do 

 very well. 

 The vines seen trained on one of the 



lower terraces are 



ay grape 



s, thev 



also appear over the arch. The varieties 

 consist of Wilder, Niagara, Brighton, 

 Pocklington, and Concord. 



The box edgings are clipped in April. 

 They are not protected in any way in 

 winter, and they seem to bchardyenough, 

 conning through unhurt. But wherever 

 the box is a little under the shade of trees 

 in summer it suffers more in winter than 

 what is fully exposed. 



The steps are made of the best Georgia 

 pine, 4-inch plank 12 inches wide, which 

 is the width of the tread; the riser is 

 7 inches. The railings to the steps of 

 rustic design are of locust. The vases are 

 turned out of solid locust, and arc 4 feet 

 high. There are thirty-four of them. As 

 regards wind there is no trouble with 

 them, they are so firmly fixed and the 

 place is so well sheltered around with 

 woods. They are filled with Yucca aloifolia 

 variegata and agaves, which are taken 

 into the cool greenhouse in winter. 



At the corners of the lower steps, on 

 each side, is a clump ofttree paeonies. At 

 the base of the third flight of steps 

 ( second as seen in picture) are clumps of 

 the zebra-striped eulalia grass. On either 

 side are also pillars of cypress vine raised 

 Ironi seed sown in spring; it is in full 

 beauty from June till frost. 



Among the prominent shrubs shown in 

 the illustration are purple leaved barberry 

 to the left; and a group of deciduous 

 magnolias to the right. Khododeudrons 

 thrive nicely here, notably the hybrids of 

 Catawbiense, and E. maximum' grows 

 wild in abundance in the ravines in the 

 woods. 



The summer house at the top is made 

 of rustic cedar, roofed with slate, and 

 floored with Georgia pine. The flooring 

 is very lasting. The rustic work is painted 

 frequently with linseed oil and burned 

 umber, which gives it an appearance of 

 bog oak. Around the summer house are 

 planted golden oak, purple and fern 

 leaved beech, Ketinospora tilitera and 

 Azalea amosna. The azalea gets no pro- 

 tection in winter and it usually lives very 

 well, but last winter it got burned a 

 little. 



There are two hydrants at each flight 

 of steps, one on either side, thtis provid- 

 ing ample facilities for artificial watering. 

 The apple oixhard to the left contains 

 such varieties as Baldwin. Northern Spy, 

 Rhode Island Greening, Red Astrachan, 

 Early Harvest and Golden Sweet, and 

 they all do very well. But on account of 

 the steepness of the land it has got to 

 have a surface dressing of manure every 

 year. 



fl FLBflSING COMBINATION. 

 In a bed composed of shrubsand herba- 

 ceous perennials, the shrubs are planted 

 mainly at the back, if the bed be a one 

 sided one or in the center if it is to be 

 viewed on both sides, and in each case 

 the shrubs now and then come out to the 

 extreme front. Between these promon- 

 tories of shrubs are left ample sized bays 

 for perennials or for low growing shrubs. 

 This method ensures irregularity of out- 

 line so essential, and cozy nooks for flow- 

 ers. Many perennials that are handsome 

 in flower, are apt to be somewhat bare of 

 leaves at the bottom, or they may have 

 too stiff an aspect to constitute desirable 



border plants, thus making it necessary 

 for us to use a more graceful species as an 

 edging. Where tall growing plants are 

 used at the back in the bed I have found 

 thab Diceutra eximia, the Allegheny 

 Mountain bleeding heart and Iris gra- 

 m/nea, the grass-leaved iris, are admirable 

 for that purpose. I desire now to speak 

 of the latter as we have it in a very pleas- 

 ing combination. Two plants of the 

 double-flowered Spireea prunifolia planted 

 seven feet apart were used at the extreme 

 outer edge of a large bed; about eight 

 fett back and midway between the 

 spira:as is a standard shaped purple 

 leaved plum (Prunus Pissardii). in front 

 of the prunus is a cut leaved sumach and 

 two more are in front of it, the latter be- 

 ing planted about two and a halt feet 

 from the outer edge of the bed. The 

 spirjeas and the prunus form the three 

 points of a triangle and the sumachs fill 

 in between. The Iris graminea is used as 

 an edging. The foHage effect is fine all 

 through the season. Youngplants of the 

 cut leaved sumach are used, and their 

 crooked naked stems are entirely hidden 

 by the iris. We have on each side the 

 handsome dark green and glossy leaves 

 of the spir^a, the front pendulous band 

 of the dark shininggrass-like leaves of the 

 iris and the handsome fern-like foliage of 

 the fumach leading back to the purple- 

 hued leaves of the prunus whose stand- 

 ard stem is hidden bv the sumach. This 

 is a permanent all summer aspect. The 

 prunus has its flowers and the iris its 

 share, and delicate and handsome they 

 are, blooming in May, but these are com- 

 paratively fleeting. More attention 

 should be paid to foliage effect in shrub- 

 berv belts, than has heretofore been the 

 custom. The foliage, like the poor, are 

 always with us, but the visit of the flow- 

 ers of shrubs is of short duration. [We 

 are surprised to know that Iris graminea 

 behaves so well, and is so hardy in 

 northern Illinois. Iris Sibirica and its 

 varieties, especially sangu/nea are the ones 

 mostly used for such purposes, they are 

 so hardy, so easy to grow, and last so 

 well in foliage all summer.— Ed.] 

 Highland Park, 111. W. C. Eg.\n. 



Trees and Shrubs. 



ROSfl RUGOSfl-WEIOELIflS-flNDROMEDflS. 



H.S. T., Elsah, 111., asks: 



"Ros.v RUGOSA, should it be pruned when 

 it has a tendency to grow ragged at the 

 bottom?" 



Ans. Yes, prune it in hard, and do this 

 anvtime between now and the first of 

 April. And if you don't like the look of 

 the bare stump's in the bed, cut them right 

 down to the ground, sprouts enough will 

 come from the roots to replace the top you 

 inav cut over. 



"Weigelias— Should they be pruned, 

 and if so when?" 



.4ns. It the weigelias have grown to be 

 long, sprawling, arching shrubs out of all 

 shape, they will probably bloom in great 

 prolusion, and whatever pruning is done 

 now will be at the expense of that flori- 

 ferousness, as all the pruned out wood is 

 apt to be flowering wood. We generally 

 wait till the plants are done blooming 

 before we prune them, and then we cut 

 them onlv enough to kcc]) them shapely 

 and sufiiciently thin to let them ripen 

 their young wood well and convert it 

 into sound flowering branches. If your 

 bushes are over grown and unshapely 

 and you wish to get them into handsome 

 form' again, cut them hard hack and doit 



now; don't cut them clean over as you 

 would a hedge or pollard tree, but cut the 

 main naked branches down hard and let 

 the spray remain for the time being un- 

 touched. This will cause them to send up 

 strong sap-shoots, and these must be 

 tipped a little in early summer, and 

 thinned. Bear in mind that the moreyou 

 cut in your trees and shrubs in winterthe 

 more you induce them to throw up sap 

 or soft flowerless wood, summer pruning 

 done judiciously and a little at a time has 

 a tendency towards floriferousness and 

 fruitfuluess. 



"Andromedas, are they poisonous to 

 the touch?" 



,4ns. We don't think so; at least we 

 have handled them a good deal without 

 perceiving anv ill effects from them. At 

 the same time other people may have dif- 

 ferent experience, for we must bear in mind 

 that the stagger bush (Andromeda Mari- 

 ana) an abundant native shrub has abad 

 reputation in this way, its foliage is con- 

 sidered poisonous to domestic animals 

 that eat it. 



flOLiy TREES. 



A reader in Hagerstown, Maryland, 

 writes: "I am very anxious to have a 

 holly tree, but some one tells me I would 

 have to wait twenty years forthe berries. 

 (1). Is that true? (2). Do they need a 

 rich soil? (3). Much water? (4). Pro- 

 tection?" 



2. They are not particular. But we 

 find the finest specimens in the rich bot- 

 tom lands. 



3. While they love lich moist toil, they 

 will also grow very will on upland. At 

 Dosoris we have two trees on a south- 

 facing slope, in rather dry sandy land, 

 mulched in summer, and near b / other 

 trees which give them shelter, and tliey 

 do very well. It is true though that their 

 growth is much slower than it would be 

 in richer and moister ground. 



4. They are perfectly hardy with you 

 and need no protection except from the 

 cold sweep of the northwest winds, and 

 all broad-leaved evergreens are benefited 

 by that. 



1. We submitted this inquiry to Mr. 

 Gabriel Du Val, who is much interested in 

 these trees and has a beautiful country 

 home in Prince George's Co., Maryland, 

 with splendid hollies on it (see Garden- 

 ing, March 1, 1895, page 178), and he 

 kindly replies as follows 



"Although holly trees, undeniably are 

 of very slow growth, yet I think the age 

 of the tree has little relation to its bear- 

 ing berries, and I am sure your corres- 

 pondent is grossly misinformed that she 

 'would have to wait twenty years for the 

 berries.' I have seen many young trees, 

 not more than six feet in height and 

 probably not more than six or eight j'cars 

 old— with tjuite a number of clusters of 

 berries on them. It is true nevertheless, 

 that the older the tree the more the ber- 

 ries. I would suggest to your correspon- 

 dent the caution necessary to successfully 

 transplant the bush. I know ot nothing 

 more uncertain as to results. The smaller 

 the plant the better for the purpose, and 

 a sine qua non almost is that the roots 

 should not be disturbed but be transferred 

 with the dirt in which they aregrowing." 



QUESTIONS ABOUT TREES. 



H. B. K., Hackensack, N. J., asks: 

 1. "The red-klowering horse chest- 

 nut.— Is it as large a tree as the white 

 one, and is it as suitable a tree for the 

 street?" 



Ans. It is not such a large tree as the 

 common white horse chestnut, and on 



