October 17, 1914 



HORTICULTUBB 



547 



The Water Lily Pond at ^'Pen- 

 broke/' Bryn Mawr^ Pa* 



It seems that floriculture as a vocation to a certain 

 extent shortens our vision in regard to the beauty in- 

 vested in flowers. We are prone to look at the product 

 of ornamental plants and flowers as the shoe-manufac- 

 turer looks at his boots whicli is a serious short-sighted- 

 ness. In order to be successful we should be able to 

 transfer ourselves into the position of our respective 

 patronage and endeavor to look at the matter their way. 

 If we are imbued with a real innate love for flowers, 

 how can we expect to be able to awaken and strengtlien 

 the appetite of others for a thing we do not relish our- 

 selves? Evidence of narrow perception is shown in 

 every case of poor staging of otherwise excellent material 

 at our flower shows ; also in the frequently neglected and 

 ramshackle outside appearance of a florist's place. 

 Horticulture in its editorials has in the past repeatedly 

 called attention to those weaknesses. 



I am convinced it is time for many of us to make an 

 honest effort to regain the wide perspective showing the 

 urgent necessity of finding more telling ways and means 

 to augment the general appreciation of floral beauty. 

 Barring the specialist, our rank and file has every rea- 

 son to strive for the attainment of taste and a better 

 understanding of the decorative side of our calling. We 

 cannot afford to be satisfied alone with perfection in our 

 trees, shrubs, plants and flowers. If nothing more, 

 prudence should prompt us to miss no opportunity for 

 assuming the leadership by giving practical demonstra- 

 tions and helpful suggestions of how to use and enjoy 

 our product to the very best advantage. Once interested 

 in this line of missionary work we will, by seeing what 

 others have done, often discover things we should have 

 done, too, and, perhaps done long ago. 



In studying the ever-important problem of arrange- 

 ment for effect in our gardens we find ourselves some- 

 times confronted by novel solutions of surprising sim- 

 plicity. The waterlily-pond at "Penbroke" in Bryn 

 Mawr, Pa., the subject of today's frontispiece of Horti- 

 culture is an object lesson in this direction. To en- 

 liven the surface of the formal basin as part of a regular 

 flower parterre with an appropriate aquatic vegetation 

 is a comparatively easy task. The selection of material 

 and the arrangement for an irregular pond or natural 

 pool embracing naturalistic shore plantations offers more 

 latitude for exertion of individual taste and talent. 

 But the situation of the pond at "'Penbroke" between two 

 formal flower gardens made a naturalistic treatment 

 well-nigh impossible. In this instance, by setting aside 

 all rules laid down in standard works on landscape gar- 

 dening and aiming solely for a gorgeous floral effect 

 during the time tlie tropical nymphaeas were at their 

 height the designer showed excellent judgment. The 

 employment of the hardy hydrangeas with their immense 

 white panicles as a relief and background for the rare 

 classic forms of the Nymphaea varieties dentata, 

 O'Marana, rubra, William Stone and zanzibarensis, re- 

 sulted in an extremely fascinating picture. We wish 

 here to congratulate Mr. Wm. Fowler, in charge of the 



Penliroke estate, upon his skill as a grower of aquatics. 

 His nymphaeas were the best we have seen in Philadel- 

 phia private gardens and we regret that tlie camera gives 

 only a very vague idea of their exquisite beauty particu- 

 larly in color effect which we were privileged to wit- 

 ness. The arrangement we believe is not of the type to 

 be laid down in rule books of garden art, but it strongly 

 impressed us as a design and execution testifying to the 

 resourcefulness of an originator who, when necessity 

 calls, is able to emancipate himself from cast-iron rules. 

 It is the' kind of work we may expect of a horticulturist 

 living up to what Friedrieh von Schiller in his "Song of 

 the Bell" says : 



"This forms a man's chief attribute 



And reason is to him assigned, 

 That what his bands may execute. 



Within his heart, too, he should find." 



Glenside, Pa. 



-^ceJioAx^-SBcM^ 



When to Plant Iris 



A reader wishes to know when to plant these flowers. 

 August is the very best time, especially in the north. 

 Then they get well rooted for winter. You can plant 

 them, however, any time until the ground freezes. But 

 if you are far north you had better mulch them. Don't 

 plant too deep. You will note that some kinds lift 

 themselves out of the ground, to get into the sunlight. 

 Some think because a few kinds grow in water they 

 should be planted in wet ground. This is fatal to the 

 German or rhizomatous iris; they cannot endure wet 

 feet. This summer, I had a very vigorous row that 

 were badly mixed. Wlien in bloom I could separate 

 them, so, as the weather was moist and the ground 

 in good condition I dug them, cut off the tops and plant- 

 ed them, and all made a fine growth. The very worst 

 time is just as they are about to bloom. I placed an 

 order with a dealer and he was overcrowded and sent 

 the stock very late and nearly every one died. Great 

 care should be used in shipping early. You must send 

 them diy; packed in damp moss they are sure to rot. 



Diseases of the Iris 



In our collection of 200,000 we have never noticed 

 any trouble save occasionally the root rot, where the 

 top joins the rhizome. And this trouble is due to too 

 much manure and too much wet. Nebraska is an ideal 

 place for iris. We generally have hot dry summers and 

 if xery hot and dry they seem to enjoy it. .4nd in such 

 rt season they are always healthy. They should be 

 planted on land high and dry with good surface drain- 

 ao-e. If we have a very wet season on low ground we 

 are sure to find some disease. Some sorts are immune 

 and some are very subject to the rot. The ISlori King is 

 the worst of the lot, for it will get sick on the least prov- 

 ocation. They were so bad we dug up the whole row 

 and threw them away in disgust. Had they been planted 

 on a sandy ridge without manure they would have done 

 all right but we didn't have tlie sand. 



(^ S lt<Vi 1 V4.W 



York, Neb. 



