542 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



Walks and Talks Among the Spring Flowers 



FLORUM AMATOR 



AS we renew our garden walks and talks now in 

 mid-May, the garden beds and borders, the rock- 

 gardens, and the wild gardens are becoming in- 

 creasingly gay each day with blossoms whose sweet per- 

 fumes fill the air. If we were permitted to live only three 

 months each year in the north temperate zone and had 

 to lie dead in our grave the remaining months, we would 

 certainly choose to live in May, June and October. 



How stately these Darwin Tulips are! What a wide 

 range of colors we see in their cup-shaped flowers with 

 obtuse petals, all colors except yellow. We see blue, white 

 and black, but never yellow markings, at the base of their 

 petals inside. Here too we see the beautiful May-flower- 

 ing or Cottage Tulips and among these we see a fine 

 yellow variety, the Inglescumbe yellow. This type of 

 Tulips, we note is not as tall as the Darwins ; their flowers 

 in general smaller, and though some have obtuse, most 

 have pointed petals, and a chalice form and inconspicuous 

 yellow marking at the base of the petals inside. Not far 

 from these two types, we find the Dutch Breeder Tulips. 

 What wonderful color combinations their flowers have ! 

 Note these soft blendings of buff, purple, terra-cotta, 

 maroon and bronze. Here are other types still of these 

 lovely late Tulips, the Rembrandts and Bybloemens, the 

 Parrots and the Bizarres. The Rembrandts, we note, 

 are onlv oddly striped and feathered Darwins ; the "Rose 

 Bybloemens" have beautiful rose, pink and scarlet mark- 

 ings on a white ground, and the "Violet Bybloemens" on 

 the same ground color have blue, violet and purple mark- 

 ings. These Parrot Tulips which we are looking at, are 

 quite different from all other types ; their petals are mar- 

 velously colored in stripes, and their edges are curiouslv 

 slashed. These Bizarres differ from the other types in 

 that they have yellow ground colors, variegated with 

 crimson, purple and white. A notable display of these 

 late Tulips in bloom is seen annually from mid-May to 

 earlv June in the Botanical Gardens in Bronx Park. New 

 York "City. 



As we pursue our garden walks, we find in l)loom other 

 |)lants, whose flowers, though not as sliowv as the late 

 Tulips, are, nevertheless, beautiful to see. 



Vying with the Tulips in their claim for colorfulness is 

 this bed of Poppies, botanically known as Papai'cr. This 

 is the Dwarf Alpine Poppy, P. alpinnm. with large, fra- 

 grant, white flowers with yellow centers, and with fern- 

 like leaves ; this is the Atlantic Poppv, P. rupifragum 

 Atlanticum, with silvery and hairy foliage, and laree red 

 orange flowers. Here we see the Hairy-stemmed Poppv, 

 P. pilosuin. with soft hairs and pale scarlet or clear- 

 orange flowers with white marks at their base. This is 

 one of the gaudiest and largest of all Poppies, the Brac- 

 teate Poppy, P. bracteatmn. whose blood-red flowers with 

 inside marking of purple-black spots are six to nine inches 

 across. Here is another very showy species, the Oriental 

 Poppy, P. oricnfalc. whose scarlet flowers marked with 

 black spots within, are as large as those of P. bracteatum. 

 Some varieties of this vou see here in pink and orange 

 shades, and silvery white. The first is known as Blush 

 Queen, and the last as Silver Queen ; these varieties are 

 not as hardy, it is said, as the species. Here are two 

 more strong growing rare varieties of orientale, known 

 as Parkman's and Roval Scarlet. 



In this wild garden in the half shade we see the Man- 

 drakes, or May Apples. PodophyUnm peltatum. the native 



species, and P. cmodi, the Himalayan. Their great cup- 

 shaped, waxy white flowers are followed by edible fruit, 

 that of the peltatum, yellow, and of the eniodi red. 



In this shady spot are two species of Solomon's Seal, 

 Polygonatm)i gigantcum, the Greater, and P. midtiftorum, 

 the jMany-I'lowered. Note how their greenish white 

 tubular flowers droop, on gracefully arched leafy stems. 



In this half-shaded border we see several species of 

 Buttercup, Ranunculus. This is the Aconite-leaved But- 

 tercup, R. aconitifoUus, with white flowers, and also its 

 more attractive double flowered variety, R. aconitifoUus 

 flore plena (known as Fair Maids of France). Here iu 

 the sun is the white Buttercup, R. amplcxicaulis, whose 

 white flowers with yellow centres are borne on slender 

 stems above a gray-green foliage. These are Bachelors' 

 Buttons, Ranunculus acris florc plcno, an old-time fa- 

 vorite, with very double golden yellow flowers. This is 

 another variety of the Aconite-flowered Buttercup, R. 

 aconitifoUus luteus-plenus, with rosette-shaped, double 

 yellow flowers in clusters. This downy plant with solitary 

 yellow flowers is the low growing Mountain Buttercup, 

 pretty in a rockgarden. Here is another neat little yel- 

 low Buttercup with a formidable name, the Lesser Celan- 

 dine Figwort, Ranunculus ticaria. In the moist part of 

 Ibis border we see the Creeping Double-Flowered Butter- 

 cup, R. rcpcns flore plena, with semispherical double yel- 

 low flowers. 



This plant growing in the grass comes from a bulb. 

 It is the common Star-of-Bethleheni, Ornithogahtm iiin- 

 bcllatuuu This increases rapidly and likes the sun. Note 

 its clusters of many star-shaped white flowers, and its 

 narrow leaves spotted with white. 



The several varieties of Tree Peonies, Pccania inoutan, 

 the earliest of all Peonies, we see now in bloom. This 

 is the Poppy-flowered Tree Peony, P. moutan papaver- 

 acca: its large white poppy-like flowers have red mark- 

 ings in the center. All of these Tree Peonies which, you 

 note, are of shrubby growth, and quite different from 

 the herbaceous Peonies, are suitable for growing in sun 

 nr shade, in the rich border or the edge of shrubbery. 

 This variety is the striped Tree Peony, P. mouta-n znttata, 

 whose single sweet-scented white flowers are shot with 

 pink. The flowers of this large Rosy-Tree Peony. P. 

 moutan rosea superba, are, as its name implies, large and 

 rose-colored, and they are also double. This beautiful 

 variety is sometimes called "Reine Elizabeth" and also 

 "Trioniphe de Grande." 



The earliest of the herbaceous Peonies are now coming, 

 as we see. into flower. This is Pceonia officinalis rubra 

 plena, the common Peony of the oldtime gardens, with 

 double crimson flowers; here also are several varieties 

 iif this P. officinalis rosea-plena, with rich crimson 

 flowers, and ancmanceftora, having deep crimson flowers 

 with twisted yellow edged crimson stamens. 



This group of the several species and varieties of 

 Jacob's Ladder, Palemamum, is interesting. This plant 

 growing from six inches to three feet high thrives here 

 in this half-shade. P. ccrruleum has bluish purple, bell- 

 shaped flowers, and its variety album, white flowers, and 

 reptans, a dwarf variety, flowers of azure blue, and 

 hum.ilc another dwarf, pale blue flowers. 



In this half-shady spot are two species of squills, 

 Scilla, and several varieties of each, Scilla festaUs alba, 

 having drooping, hell-shaped, fragrant white flowers; 



