286 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



or border should he about six inches above the level to 

 allow for settling. 



Jn setting out peonies, a space three feet in diameter 

 should be allowed for each plant. The crown of the 

 plant or roots, when set out should be no more than three 

 inches nor less than two below the surface. Too deep 

 planting sometimes appears to cause a paucity of flowers. 

 The roots, after they are planted should be covered with 

 several inches of coarse, strawy manure, or manure and 

 leaves, the coarser part of which should be removed in the 

 Spring and the finer dug into the soil, care being taken 

 while so doing not to injure the tender crowns. Pref- 

 erably peonies should be set out in September or Octo- 

 ber. From these autumn-set plants, some blooms may be 

 expected the next Alay and June. Peonies may also be 

 ])lanted in early Spring, but these Spring-set plants should 

 not be expected to flower to any extent until May and 

 June of the next year. 



Peonies have a variety of uses in the garden and land- 

 scape work. They are suitable for border planting, es- 

 pecially when the border is at the same time the boundary 

 of a garden or lawn. They are even more effective when 

 set at intervals among other herbaceous perennials than 

 in a continuous row. Clumps of peonies may be set on 

 small lawns or on each side of steps leading up to a 

 veranda. They are equally as eflfective when planted in 

 great masses at the turns of drives or walks. Large 

 groups of peonies of the same variety or of varieties whose 

 flowers harmonize in colors, may be planted in open spaces 

 on large grounds, giving an excellent effect. Peonies are 

 not averse to a partly shaded position and in such, their 

 blooms are of a deeper color and their flowering period is 

 lengthened. 



The peony is a plant which in poor soil and in an un- 

 favorable location, and with little care, gives greater satis- 

 faction than almost any other plant under like conditions. 

 Nevertheless, it greatly appreciates a suitable location, rich 

 soil, and careful culture, and freely responds to these 

 better conditions by producing blooms of a higher cpial- 

 ity and in larger number. 



FLOWERING PLANT NOVELTIES 



t L'ontinitcd from poi^c 284) 



the Spring, during a long ramble in the woods, for wild 

 flowers had not been altogether neglected in favor of those 

 modified, and jxjssibly not in every case improved, by the 

 hand of man. 



With interest thus aroused the five friends were stimu- 

 lated by visits to one another's gardens. Each took de- 

 light in showing to the others his latest acquisitions. The 

 beholding of a new prize in a garden visited awakened the 

 desire to possess it, or .something like it that might be 

 better. But such rivalry began to be ex]3ensi\'e and some- 

 times the same gladiolus, iris or peony, tulip or narcissus, 

 was found in two of the gardens, which were not far 

 apart. Hence came the idea : Why not have an under- 

 standing in accordance with which the expensive novelty 

 might be enjoyed by all five friends while it would be a 

 drain upon the treasury of one alone? This was then 

 crystalized, without writing or even oral pledges, into a 

 definite plan that led to conferences and agreements. The 

 one by-law was that when the game might tend to make 

 the members of this unique organization evasive, deceptive 

 or less manly, they would quit. There was found need of 

 such determination, to be insisted upon with firm will, for 

 the plan naturally led, as plans and bulbs increased and 

 became ca])able of division, to exchange. 



But now, after several years of trial, the association of 

 the friends continues and continues with gre'it success. 

 In the case of the Gladiolus, for example, the development 



of which into splendid new varieties has been swift 

 and very marked, there is scarcely a single variety of note, 

 no matter where or by whom it was originated, that is not 

 found in one of the four gardens, for one of the five friends 

 has passed away. Even the man who is perhaps most 

 famous of all in the world of this flower comes several 

 times each year to study the collections of these amateurs. 



In view of the fact that so much enjoyment and cultural 

 value is found in the study and cultivation of inijjroved 

 floral novelties by amateurs the question might well be 

 raised : "Why is it that these treasures are so little known 

 and appreciated, with some gratifying exceptions, by pro- 

 fessional gardeners and their employers?" Is the answer 

 that gardening on a large scale, even that planned by 

 landscape architects and professional designers, is too 

 stereotyped? They seem nearly all to think that the old 

 and the tried are the best and that to enter into the new 

 fields opening up would involve perplexity and confusion. 

 And it is true that the varieties offered in the catalogs of 

 specialists are multitudinous and that some of the old 

 varieties are still among the best. Iris Pallida daimatica. 

 Peony Fcstiva maxima, and Gladiolus America are hardly 

 surpassed, all points considered. But there are new irises, 

 new peonies and new gladioli that ought, if possible, to be 

 in every garden and which are worth searching out. When 

 found they will yield satisfaction corresponding to that 

 aiiforded by new roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and 

 orchids. The desirable new among the four flowers named 

 last are more quickly taken up by the professionals, 

 largely because they are grown in glass houses and con- 

 sequently can be made to yield quicker results and can be 

 seen more continuously. They are propagated more easily 

 and are. as a rule, seen more conveniently at shows. But 

 the outdoor plants, like the peony and the iris, require 

 planning in the garden and preparation of soil at a season 

 when the general work upon a big place is pressing. And 

 this work still demands much attention when the flowers 

 can be seen at competitive shows or in the exhibition 

 grounds and growing fields of specialists. That such 

 visits, even at the sacrifice of some other things, would 

 be worth while would soon be evident in a quickening and 

 deepening of interest in finer gardening. Employers 

 should not only see to it that their superintendents and 

 gardeners have such opportunities ; they ought themselves 

 to enter into the enjoyment of the finest embellishments of 

 modern gardens. 



The undertaking on the part of gardeners and owners 

 is not formidable, nor does it any longer involve one in 

 perplexity and confusion. The national urganizalions like 

 the American Peony Society, the American Iris .Society, 

 and the American Gladiolus Society publish from time to 

 time reliable estimates of the desirability of all varieties 

 of the flower that is of their especial interest. The 

 specialists growers themselves now give, as ;i rule 

 luibiased advice in selecting, and many of them 

 frankly give the authoritative ratings. Increasing 

 attention on the part of professional gardeners and their 

 employers would win favor for the organ of the National 

 .Association of Gardeners, our own G.vrdenkrs' Chron- 

 icle, from the advertising specialists, growers who know, 

 as the writer knows from talkincr with a number of them, 

 have great cause to lament that the very ]>crsons who 

 ought to enjoy most their finest products are .giving little 

 encouragement. 



The best things are nearest, — light in your eyes, flowers 

 at your feet, duties at your hand, the ])ath of God just 

 before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's 

 plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties 

 and daily bread are the sweetest things nf life. 



— .Seliccted. 



