For May, 1922 



153 



surroundings. In this, as in all other connections, cH- 

 matic and soil conditions frequently place some limita- 

 tions upon the kind of things which one should plant, 

 and it always pays to engage the services of an expert 

 rather than a salesman, pure and simple. 



A good deal of careful consideration .should be given 

 to the planting around the house foundation. A beauti- 

 ful house in a fair landscape is the most delightful scene 

 of the cultivated earth. The union between the house 

 and the ground near it — a happy marriage it should be 

 — is worthy of more thought than is generally given to it. 

 If one does not care to carry out the landscape develop- 

 ment of his entire property all at once, the first thing he 

 should do is to tie the house to the grounds by suitable 

 foundation planting. For all the year round elfects such 

 plants should invariably have evergreen foliage, and pro- 

 duce flowers and ornamental berries. While it is not 

 absolutely necessary it is desirable that each species 

 should be capable of exhibiting during the year all three 

 of these features. It is extremely rare to find foundation 

 plantings combining these characteristics, and far too 

 many of them consist almost entirely of the most un- 

 suitable subjects, such as Pine, Spruce, Fir, and other 

 cheaper fast growing things which in a few years will 

 have to be removed. It is in every way preferable to 

 use dwarfer, slow growing plants of high quality which 

 are less commonplace. 



^^'ithout enumerating all of the better class plants 

 which may be used in creating a perennially pleasing 

 foundation ])lanting, we would like to mention a few 

 of the better and in some cases, the least known sub- 

 jects. 



For the background the upright Cotoncastcr siiuiitoitsii 

 is good, as it gives evergreen foliage, prettv flowers and 

 bright red berries. Ilex crciiata. Japanese Holly, is no- 

 table for its rich, glossy foliage and lilue-black fruit. 

 Another interesting plant for the back, but not so com- 

 pact as the above, is Vibunumi rhytido[<hyUum. Evef- 

 green Snowball, its leaves are a rich green all the year 

 round, the white flowers being followed by jet black 

 berries. Having the same characteristics as its upright 

 relative, the trailing Cotoncaster microphylla is very ef- 

 fective in front, and where anything low growing is de- 

 sired the Japanese Yew, Taxus cuspidata is one of the 

 best foundation plants from the point of view of its 

 evergreen foliage alone. This does well both in shade 

 as well as in full sun. ^^'hile not absolutely evergreen, 

 excepting in .the South, Abclia rupcstris is a valuable 

 dwarf shrub, as its chaste, light pink, bell-shaped flow- 

 ers are produced in great profusion from June until the 

 advent of Winter. 



For the quite shady side of the house that gem among 

 our native Rhododendrons, R. caroUn'iamim, should al- 

 ways have a place, and the well known Mountain Lau- 

 rel, Kahiiia latlfolia with its pink and white flowers in 

 June is also suitable. Among dwarfer subjects for a 

 shady situation are the evergreen Azaleas, Andromeda. 

 Lencothoe. Scotch Heather, together with its lovely 

 flowers of intense fragrance, and Daphne cneorum. 



Use should be made of the unique little ground cover 

 plants like Pachystima canbyi and Paehysandra tenni- 

 nalis. Dotted about towards the foreground among taller 

 things the Lily of the Valley and hardy double Violet are 

 verv effective. Pleasing use can also be made of Na- 

 tive Ferns. 



A good deal of foundation planting is done by the use 

 of the dwarfer and slow growing Thuya, Reiinospora, 

 Biota and Buxus. these do not, however, present so many 

 interesting and pleasing features as plants like those pre- 

 viously mentioned as they are simply evergreens and 

 when used exclusivelv become monotonous. 



LOYALTY TO THE AMERICAN TRADE 



""THIC severe frost that has recently been experienced 

 in Holland, bringing disaster to a large percentage 

 of the stock of Fall bulbs, will make it difficult to secure 

 a sufficient supply of bulbs of the best quality. This 

 calls strongly to mind the practice of so-called "rep- 

 resentatives" of Holland growers who tour this 

 country during the Spring and early Summer months, 

 soliciting bulb orders, and who return to Holland in 

 July when they buy up the remaining bulb stock of 

 the I lolland growers. The significant point is that they 

 do not buy the bulbs until they have sold them in this 

 country. In this way it is impossible for these so-called 

 "representatives" to secure the best bulbs as they can 

 purchase at that time only the stock that has been left 

 over. This season with the bulb supply in Holland so 

 greatly reduced, it will be necessary for them to buy up 

 stock anywhere and everywhere in order to fill their 

 orders. One need not over-exert one's imagination as 

 to the quality of the bulbs the_\- will he able to ship to 

 America this Fall. 



Reputable and dependable American importers of Hol- 

 land bulbs buy the bulbs before selling them, contractmg 

 a year in advance with reliable Holland growers for 

 their cultures. They thus make certain of securing only 

 the best quality of bulbs for the American public. With 

 the recent heavy damage to the stock of Fall bulbs 

 these firms as well as the so-called "representatives" are 

 going to find it no easy task to obtain bulbs sufficient to 

 meet the demand. They can, however, be depended upon 

 to import no bulbs of questionable quality, for the Hol- 

 land growers from whom they secure their bulbs plan 

 in advance to raise a crop of bulbs large enough to 

 cover any possibility of loss by natural causes. 



Another dangerous factor in purchasing bulbs from 

 "representatives" of Holland growers lies in the trans- 

 portation. L'pon placing their orders with Holland 

 growers they give instructions to ship the orders direct 

 to the purchasers, for they provide no means of looking 

 after the bulbs on their arrival in this country. As 

 a general rule, fourteen to fifteen days are required 

 from the time of leaving Holland to the arrival of the 

 bulbs at the pier on this side. Here the transportation 

 company more often than not puts the cases aside for 

 a week or ten days. Then another three to four days, 

 or more, are required to transport the bulbs to their 

 final destination. With such a lapse of time the bulbs are 

 quite likely to become blind, from being overheated in 

 the cases, while the cases are lying on the pier in the 

 warm September sun, the month when such bulbs are 

 usually shipped to this country, and their productive 

 value is thus entirely lost. It is not possible to detect 

 that the bulbs have become blind after they have cooled 

 again, so the purchaser on the recei|3t of the bulbs has 

 no knowledge of this condition, nor does he gain this 

 knowledge until the bulbs have been planted and failed 

 to bloom. 



Immediately upon their arrival at the piers, cases of 

 bulbs which have been packed with care in Holland, im- 

 ported by reliable American firms, are opened for exam- 

 ination. If there are any indications that the contents 

 are overheated, the bulbs are cast aside so that there will 

 be no risk of sending blind bulbs to customers. Every 

 precaution is taken that the bulbs with which the orders 

 of dependable American firms are filled, are in perfect 

 condition. The American public should think twice be- 

 fore placing an order with a "representative" of a Hol- 

 land grower and then should place it with an American 

 firm whose reputation is well established. 



