200 



GARDENERS' CHRONICLE 



flourish in any soil or situation which suits the Ronineva 

 and, like the latter, it is hest cut hard hack to the hase in 

 Sprinq". 



Of the many fine shrulis and trees sent over hy Mr. 

 E. H. Wilson none is likely to create a more notahle and 

 enduring cft'ect than Spiraea (Sorbaria) arborea. This 

 splendid species, which hails from China, is easily the 

 crowning triinnph of its race and one for which the best 

 place in the garden will never be too good. S. arborea 

 belongs to the ash-leaved group of shubby meadowsweets, 

 and it will attain fhe dignity of a small tree, sending up a 

 number of tall, gracefully arched, whip-like branches with 

 ruddy stems and very large, pinnate leaves. Towards the 

 end of Summer these elegant branches terminate in enor- 

 mous fiossN' plumes of creamy-white inflorescence which 

 droop with the weight of their innumerable flowers with 

 the most graceful effect imaginable. This admirable 

 spir.Ta grows fa.st, needs plenty of space to display its sin- 

 gular loveliness and, though not fastidious as regards soil. 

 a fairly rich and moist medium appears to suit it l)est. 



Perhaps the most striking of all climbing plants of late 

 Summer, and one that will continue to give color imtil 

 the flrst frost comes along, is the Flame Nasturtium 

 (TropKolum speciosum). This gorgeous subject, though 

 a South American, will, however, not prosper in all our 

 gardens. Strangely enough it dislikes the warm south 

 and flourishes most abundantly in Scotland where it has 

 become naturalized in some parts. Here, on the west 

 coast, we grow it on nordi walls, or among such shrubs 

 as azaleas, zenobias, picris and others which enjoy cool 

 conditions, and it rewards us throughout the later months 

 of the season with its abundant masses of brilliant scarlet 

 flowers. Once established T. speciosum needs no more at- 

 tention. It will sink its fleshy roots to a great depth and 

 every year with unfailing vigor wreathe and garland its 

 supports with its wonderful ropes of color. Then as the 

 flowers fade the seed ripens to a vivid china blue and, if 

 propagation is to be effected by that means, sowing should 

 be done at once, i.e., in the Fall. Roots are best ])lanted 

 in Spring, just when they begin to show signs of activity 

 and thev should be laid not less than nine inches deep. 

 How the Flame Nasturtium stands the Winters of Eastern 

 America I do not know, but in this country it is hardy 

 enough to endure without injury the severest conditions. 



Considered as a group the Evening Primroses (Qino- 

 thera) must always be accorded the highest merit among 

 ■the herbaceous i)lants of late Summer, and among these I 

 do not think any can e.xcel the old (K. biennis, (iiven a 

 good form (Lamarckiana or grandiflora) this splendid 

 subject will send its elegant stems to a height of four to 

 five feet and bear a long succession of its lovely flowers. 

 These, as most people are aware, arc cup-shaped, some 

 three to four inches across, very sweetly scented and a 

 clear lemon yellow which is always so telling a color in the 

 evening border. Though a biennial this sjiccies regularly 

 J<eeps us su])i)lied with a sufficiency of .self-sown seedlings. 



Less than half the height of the above is the perennial 

 (F.. fruticnsa, with its admirable forms, Eblorado and 

 Youngii. These Evening Primroses are among the luost 

 reliable of their family in practically any soil, and their 

 crimson l)uds and ricli golden-yellow flowers are very 

 Mriking. P.ut when we come to these dwarfer species 

 from the more westerly States of .America and Mexico a 

 free, warm soil and not tf:o hard a climate are essential. 

 The best knt.wn, and possibly the hardiest, of these is fE. 

 Missouriensis (macrocari)a ) a trailing, herbaceous siK'cies 

 whose flowers, like great goblets of gold, often five inches 

 in diameter, are produced throughout the later months of 

 the season. Oil. taraxacifolia might be described as a white 

 form of the above, but it has decply-tf)othed leaves and 

 the trailing flower stems may extend a yard or more. Even 

 more chastelv beautiful is fE. cespitosa (marginata) 



which, instead of trailing, sends up at intervals from 

 tuulerground stems tufts of gray-green, crimson-ribbed 

 leaves with wavy margins. The flowers of this species 

 are the largest of the family, often lieing six inches across. 

 Thev are pure snow-white and emit a delicious magnolia- 

 like odor. Another excellent species, also a native of 

 North America, is (E. speciosa, a sub-shrubby plant with 

 rosy-pink flowers, and QL. arendsi (eight inches) is appar- 

 entiv a hybrid from this, and a very good one too. The 

 midget of the group is QL. pumila, a wee, rock-garden 

 ])]antling of about four inches, w'hich maintains a succes- 

 sion of bright yellow flowers from May to October. 



Though there are many other excellent kinds among the 

 (JCnolheras the above are those most generally grown over 

 here. .Vmerican botanists have, I believe, undertaken a 

 complete re-classification of the Evening Primroses, but 

 of this I can claim no exact knowledge and make that my 

 excuse for adhering to the old nomenclature. 



THE SHRUBBY SPIR^AS AND THEIR 

 CULTURE 



Tl 1 E genus Spiraea contains some sixty to seventy bushy 

 or shrubby species and a ver}- considerable nuinber of 

 varieties. For garden decoration, however, twelve, or in 

 extensive shrubbery borders twenty to twenty-five, species 

 or varieties would provide a representative collection. 

 They vary in height from the six inches to the nine inches 

 of S. decumbens (procumbens) to the twenty-five foot to 

 thii-tv foot of S. arborea and S. Lindleyana. Few families 

 of shrubs provide such a lengthy season of flowering, 

 which extends from March to October. The Spir;eas are 

 natives of Europe, North America and North Asia. A 

 large number have white blossoms, and, mostly among the 

 Summer and Autunui flowering kinds, those with pink and 

 red blossoms are beautiful. 



Obviously, shrubs which vary so much in stature and 

 jjroduce such a profusion of blossoms should be exten- 

 sivel}-. planted not only in the borders and as single lawn 

 specimens, but in large groups and masses in the pleasure 

 grounds and on the boundaries of woodland. Some of 

 the .S])ineas are also adapted for waterside planting. 



The cultivation of Spiraeas presents no jiroblems, and 

 for this reason we seldom see their full beautv. The 

 first desirable items are an open position and a loamy soil 

 inclined to be moist rather thait dry and sandy. This, 

 however, is not all. In the fruit garden we trench and 

 manure the grotind for Gooseberry and Currant bushes, 

 giving them also an occasional mulch of decayed manttre. 

 The shrubby Spira;as revel in such treatment, making 

 ])lenty of young growths, which are the heralds of an 

 abundance of blossoms. If, in eight or ten years after 

 planting, the bushes show any signs of weakening, lift 

 them and trench the ground — planting a fresh stock, or 

 the healthiest pieces from the clumjis lifted. 



Scarcely too mttch stress can be laid on the importance 

 f)f ])runing .Spirals. Broadly speaking, they divide nat- 

 urally into two large groups for purjioses of pruning: 

 (a) those which flower in .Spring on the growths of the 

 previous year and (b) those which flower in .Summer and 

 .\utumn on the current season's growths. 



The correct treatment for group (a) is to thin out the 

 older wood and weak twigs as soon as the blos.soms .shat- 

 ter. This serves to encourage vigorous new growth at 

 once. If through any cause the bushes become tall and 

 straggly, sacrifice a season's flowering and cut the shoots 

 hard back in March. 



firoup (h) is best prunecl in l"ebru;u"y or March. Eir.st 

 remove r)ld wood and weak r.hoots which can be cntirelv 

 dispensed with, shortening l)ack the remaining vigorous 

 wood so that the resultant young shoots form shapely 

 bushes. — The Cnrdrn f British). 



