GARDENING. 



Mar. /. 



garden, while such flowers as phloxes, 

 verbenas, etc., as well as hardy plants, 

 are again found elsewhere. You will 

 notice that the center bed (star shape) is 

 rcser\'ed for scarlet geraniums. For 

 this I should like a border of a fancy 

 leaved variety. Last year No. 1 was 

 planted with gladioli. No. 2 with various 

 annuals, interspersed with tuberoses and 

 gladioli. No. 3 with dianthus and Mar- 

 guerite carnations and No. 4- with 

 petunias. Up to midsummer this arrange- 

 ment seemed satisfactory, but later on 

 the beds assumed an appearance anything 

 but pleasing to me. What arrangements 

 of plants and varieties can you suggest 

 that will obviate this trouble, and bring 

 about a pleasing and effective result? 

 Dayton, O. A Rk.\dkr. 



Your flower beds are large, heart- 

 shaped, star-shaped, half circle, angular 

 and oblong square and spread out on a 

 grass plat so as to form a geometrical 

 flower garden, this style is not at all 

 suited for the plants you wish to grow in 

 them because one cannot keep them filled 

 full of fresh bright plants all summer; 

 after July they must present a more or 

 less ragged appearance. We would suggest 

 a long deep undulating border on the 

 other side of the walk from the chrysan- 

 themum bed, divided across twice by a 

 curved walk, then an oval bed on each 

 side in the concave depression of the 

 curve, this would hold more than your 

 present beds and not cut up your ground 

 as much. Write out a full list of what 

 flowers you wish to have all summer 

 long, then find places for them in the 

 border or beds, arranging them so that 

 there will be few gaps at anytime. 

 Annuals or perennialsdon'tlastin beauty 

 all the time, and as the perennials are cut 

 down and theannualsexhaustthemselves 

 the empty spaces should be filled up by 

 the more room needed for contiguous 

 plants or with extras from the reserve 

 garden Summer-flowering bulbs as 

 gladiolus and hymenocallis comein nicely 

 for this work. " Edge your bed of scarlet 

 geraniums with the white edged geranium 

 Beauty of Auburn. The momenta plant's 

 usefulness is past out with it and in with 

 dwarf nasturtiums, single dahlias, China 

 asters, petunias, coreopsis, marigolds, or 

 anv other plants you may have prepared 

 beforehand, or sow some mignonette or 

 sweet alyssum in spots. 



nOVIER OflRDEN QUESTIONS. 



The following questions are asked by 

 F. N. B , Northern Indiana. 



1. GiLiA Die HOTOMA —This is said to 

 be smothered in flowers, and useful for 

 bedding. Is this really so? 



.4ns. It is a small Californian annual 

 of dense growth and extremely floriferous. 

 Its chiif use is for garden decoration, not 

 for cutting, with us it has not been of 

 long duration. 



2. GoDETiAS.— .\re they worth grow- 

 ing? 



Ans. Among mixed garden flowers, 

 yes. Sometimis it is a little hard to get 

 them well started, but when they do well 

 they are quite pretty annuals. 



3. Summer Blooming Car.nations — 

 Are there any carnations that can be 

 purchased that will bloom from June 

 through the summer? 



Ans. June is rather early. About the 

 best 3'ou can do is buy 100 rooted cut- 

 tings now of greenhouse varieties, say 

 Portia, scarlet; Thomas Cartledge, red; 

 and Wm. Scott, or Albertini, pink; and 

 plant these 2 inches apart in a shallow 

 flat, keeping them indoors till the end of 

 April, when they should be planted out in 



GERANIUM ENID 



the garden. They will start to bloom in 

 July or August ^nd bloom more or less 

 till November. And if you want some of 

 them for winter blooming lift what ones 

 you want in August or September and 

 pot them. The Marguerite carnation sown 

 indoors in February should begin flower- 

 ing in July and last in bloom most all sum- 

 mer, but while many are good, there is a 

 good deal of poor stuff' among them. The 

 new Chabaud strain of carnations is really 

 fine, and while they will bloom the first 

 year from seed, they won't start in June, 

 or in our experience, before August. 



4. Ampelopsis Veitchii on painted 

 brick wall.— Will this vine cling to it? 



Ans. Yes, but not as tenaciously as to 

 an unpainted one, therefore every here 

 and there it should be securely tacked to 

 the wall. 



5. Cki.nums.-How shall we treat them 

 to make them bloom, stating soil and 

 size of pot? 



.\ns. Don't bother with them in pots. 

 Plant them out of doors in summer in 

 fair common soil, and lift them in fall, 

 letting them stay dry and free from frost 

 till spring, when they should again be 

 planted out. 



6. Deutzia Lemoinei.— Where can I 

 get it? I was charmed with Mr. 

 Trumpy's article on select hardy shrubs, 

 page 134. 



Ans. Probably our nurseryman have 

 no stock of it on hand, bat any of the 

 leading ones among them can get it for 

 you, in fact we believe most of them will 

 have it in stock next fall. Prompt them 

 now. 



7. Trop.eolvm sPECiosiM — Of whom 

 can I get some tubers? Isn't it a "must 

 have' to a vine lover? 



.4ns. Ask Vaughan or some otherseeds- 

 man to get it for j'ou. Iftheysendto 

 Ware, Carter, or some other florist-nur- 

 seryman or jobber at once for it, the 

 tubers will come by n ail this spring. We 

 earnestly hope you may be successhil 

 with it, but we have grave doubts. But 

 trj' anyway, it takes enthusiasts and 

 enterprising folks like j-ou to keep flori- 

 culture alive. 



8. Barrels v. straw for winter 

 PROTECTION. — Am already tired of seeing 

 the boxes and barrels filled with leaves 

 over my plants. Have wrapped two 

 deutzias in straw and tar paper. Will 

 this protection be as good? 



Ans Yes, it will answer admirably. 



9. ViTis CoiGNETL-E — Is it Superior to 

 the American ampelopsis in summer foli- 

 age and finer in fall? 



.4ns. It is decidedly distinct from the 

 American ainpelopsis in general appear- 

 ance, ha vingjmore leaves like agrape vine. 

 •'.Al vine lover" must have this new Jap- 

 anese fine foliage vine. 



HflRDY SiiRUBS IK MY GARDEN. 



The list of hardy trees and shrubs I 

 gave vou three years ago (page 51, 

 November 1, 1893) have all lived and 

 done well. Of the evergreens, Colorado 

 blue spruce is the most satisfactory as it 

 keeps its lower branches and has the best 

 growth. Of all our Norway spruces we 

 haven't one that would be called a beau- 

 tiful tree standing alone. They lose their 

 lower branches and do not thicken up I 

 would never plant them if I could get the 

 blue spruce even though I should have to 

 pay five times as much for the blue. 

 Shrubberj' that will live in our climate 

 always gives plenty of bloom with the 

 exception of the lilac, yet when mine do 

 flower they are one mass of fragrance. 



E.xochorda grandiffora. Japan or tree 

 lilac and flowering crab never winter-kill 

 but they have not bloomed as yet. [The 

 tree lilac is generally eight or ten years 

 old or nearly before it blooms, the 

 cxochorda and crab bloom earlier in life. 

 — Ed.] Weigelia and Japan quince kill 

 back every winter. Pa;onies, Lilium can- 

 didiim and L. speciosum, day lilies, yucca, 

 Koempfer's iris and common iris, tiger 

 lilies, lily of the valley, C/emat/s/acA-n7an; 

 and other large and small flowered kinds, 

 Russian taniarix, and smoke tree, all are 

 free bloomers but must be protected 

 through the winter. We put boxes and 

 headless barrels on some and fill with 

 leaves. .\\\ otliers \vc cover with strawv 



